Automotive Mechanical Thread

[Jake Smith]

Starting this thread, so it may help me and others with mechanical tasks, on vehicles. Just changed out the engine on my 1986 Nissan XE, and test drove it today for first time, about 100 miles today to get groceries, and another little town, to the post office. It took us there and back safely. Found it still needs a little more work to be at its best performance. Like maybe change carb, and also it has a double drive shaft which I pulled out and notice that the bearing in center between the two shafts looks pretty worn, and today when I would take off starting I could feel a little shake or slight vibration during take off, so need to change that and change u joints. Also when I had pulled the rear brake drums, I noticed that the left wheel cylinder had a little leak, so will need to replace them on both sides and rear shoes too. All and all it's doing well after such a major overhaul.

I will be posting about all my mechanical activity on all our vehicle work, and hope others fill free joining in on their mechanical task too.Here's a couple or few photos, of truck and work done last two weeks.













While loading groceries in it today, older black man walking by looked at me and said now that's a nice looking truck; I told him thank you.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

That is a GORGEOUS truck, @Jake Smith ! You have kept it looking like brand new ! It reminds me of my beloved 90 Mazda. I had almost 300,000 miles on it when it died. I loaned it to a friend, and when I went to get it back, it would barely run. I never knew what killed it, but I have missed my little truck ever since.
This is it around 1995, in the snow in Western Washington. It moved with me to Missouri, and then back home to Idaho, and was a great little truck. In the winter i put on 4 studded snow tires, and weight over the back axle to get around in the snow.

View attachment 76

 

[Jake Smith]

That is a GORGEOUS truck, @Jake Smith ! You have kept it looking like brand new ! It reminds me of my beloved 90 Mazda. I had almost 300,000 miles on it when it died. I loaned it to a friend, and when I went to get it back, it would barely run. I never knew what killed it, but I have missed my little truck ever since.
This is it around 1995, in the snow in Western Washington. It moved with me to Missouri, and then back home to Idaho, and was a great little truck. In the winter i put on 4 studded snow tires, and weight over the back axle to get around in the snow.

View attachment 76

"Nice truck", Yvonne; king cab too, really helps, with the extra room. Camper top too, with 300,000 miles, you cannot ask for more than that. Smart move, on snow tires and extra weight on the back Axle for mobility on snow. In Ga. we used snow chains on the tires, which helped a lot in getting around. A bunch of snow in that photo. Is that where you lived back then, Western Washington; when that picture was taken? You take the photo?

 

[Yvonne Smith]

This picture was taken in western Washington , and I lived high enough up to actually get snow, unlike most of the Seattle area , who’d seldom get snow. It was about midway between Seattle and Portland, and close to Mount ST. Helens , but taken around 1995, so a long time after the volcano blew in 1980.
We used to go up the logging roads and sometimes camped near one of the mountain streams up on the mountain. I had horses, goats, chickens, rabbits, and my llama. This is Gilligan, giving me a llama kiss.

 

[Jake Smith]

This picture was taken in western Washington , and I lived high enough up to actually get snow, unlike most of the Seattle area , who’d seldom get snow. It was about midway between Seattle and Portland, and close to Mount ST. Helens , but taken around 1995, so a long time after the volcano blew in 1980.
We used to go up the logging roads and sometimes camped near one of the mountain streams up on the mountain. I had horses, goats, chickens, rabbits, and my llama. This is Gillian, giving me a llama kiss.

View attachment 77

Great photo; Rosie one of our donkeys , used to give me a kiss like that; miss her she'd be around thirty now if she's still alive. Tobacco my tennessee walker horse I think of all the time, there are no words, for how much I miss him. Never had a llama before, used to check them out, and couldn't believe the price of them. Really sweet animals I've heard. I remember hearing about the Mt St Helens volcano years ago too. Be scary living around one of those, but it is very beautiful there.

You did camping in that truck, with the camper top, at a mountain stream, right? You seemed to be bad about loving animals, as I am.


Rosie and Tobacco, and I was having a bad hair day in this photo.




I think I've "high jacked", my own thread, here. Back to mechanical stuff. Waiting until I pay down the cost of the engine before I buy anything else for my truck. Will just keep driving it short distances, breaking in a new motor; until then.

 

[Don Alaska]

I only do the mechanical stuff I have to do, as I don't enjoy it a lot. I have a couple sons who are good at it, and one, the youngest, who is a professional and can work on anything, just like his grandfather. I do stuff on the tractor if I must, and I always did things on vehicles that absolutely needed to be done. I don't think I dislike mechanics as much as plumbing though. I really hate plumbing.

 

[Jake Smith]

I only do the mechanical stuff I have to do, as I don't enjoy it a lot. I have a couple sons who are good at it, and one, the youngest, who is a professional and can work on anything, just like his grandfather. I do stuff on the tractor if I must, and I always did things on vehicles that absolutely needed to be done. I don't think I dislike mechanics as much as plumbing though. I really hate plumbing.

I find plumbing easier than mechanics. I think with me though; it's the results; when things "function" right, after you fix them, that pushes me to do the work.

 

[Tony Page]

First let me say I am not a auto mechanic, however I have worked on my cars.
I remember my first car a 1949 Dodge, it had fluid Drive. I can't tell you because I don't remember the symptoms but it was having a problem, so I asked one of my cousins who was visiting who could fix cars in the blink of an eye. He said "sounds to me like you got problems with your head gasket." I said "what do I do can I fix it", he made me up a list of things that we needed. It was a flat-head 6 fairly easy car to work on.
There was an auto parts store about a half mile away I walked there purchased all the parts on my list, including head gasket, ratchet set, scraper, and some Ply- Bond, I think a screw driver set also.
The ratchet set was S&K it had maybe 10 to 12 sockets some extensions and a reducer was from 3/8 drive to 1/4. In came in a metal case, I still have it and it (64 years) works fine.
He showed me what to do, and he watched that I was doing it correctly. When we were finished the car started and drove like it did before.
After that I was hooked on doing some of the work needed on my cars, mostly to save money. I did brakes, oil changes, tune ups, replaced hoses, radiators, thermostates, starting motors, solenoid. Except for one time I didn't take the engine apart. I changed the timing chain on my father's rambler, I followed the "book" step by step.
I wouldn't be able to work on today's cars, when you open up the hood there's so much stuff under it you can't even see the ground below it.

 

[Jake Smith]

First let me say I am not a auto mechanic, however I have worked on my cars.
I remember my first car a 1949 Dodge, it had fluid Drive. I can't tell you because I don't remember the symptoms but it was having a problem, so I asked one of my cousins who was visiting who could fix cars in the blink of an eye. He said "sounds to me like you got problems with your head gasket." I said "what do I do can I fix it", he made me up a list of things that we needed. It was a flat-head 6 fairly easy car to work on.
There was an auto parts store about a half mile away I walked there purchased all the parts on my list, including head gasket, ratchet set, scraper, and some Ply- Bond, I think a screw driver set also.
The ratchet set was S&K it had maybe 10 to 12 sockets some extensions and a reducer was from 3/8 drive to 1/4. In came in a metal case, I still have it and it (64 years) works fine.
He showed me what to do, and he watched that I was doing it correctly. When we were finished the car started and drove like it did before.
After that I was hooked on doing some of the work needed on my cars, mostly to save money. I did brakes, oil changes, tune ups, replaced hoses, radiators, thermostates, starting motors, solenoid. Except for one time I didn't take the engine apart. I changed the timing chain on my father's rambler, I followed the "book" step by step.
I wouldn't be able to work on today's cars, when you open up the hood there's so much stuff under it you can't even see the ground below it.

"Neat", Tony you have experience now for sure, and on "today's" vehicles I think a lot of what they put on it is so they can charge more, control it, and you; to get your money. Like my truck, I did away with all the extra bs they put on it; and it's never "run" as good it does now. I heard before, if you are wondering "why"; just follow the "money", and I "believe" that's true .

 

[Don Alaska]

Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I don't do it sometimes. I changed a thermostat, and I have done water pumps, and axles/CV joints in the past. I do regular maintenance on the tractor and all the other little machines around the place, but I would never attempt what @Jake Smith did, even in my prime. I have been screwed by mechanics in the past, and now am very cautious. Fortunately, my son will do much of the heavier stuff for me, and I think I can trust that he has our best interests at heart.

 

[Jake Smith]

Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I don't do it sometimes. I changed a thermostat, and I have done water pumps, and axles/CV joints in the past. I do regular maintenance on the tractor and all the other little machines around the place, but I would never attempt what @Jake Smith did, even in my prime. I have been screwed by mechanics in the past, and now am very cautious. Fortunately, my son will do much of the heavier stuff for me, and I think I can trust that he has our best interests at heart.

Yeah Don; I know exactly what "you" means, if I hadn't done so much mechanical work over the years, I wouldn't attempt doing it either. Used to change truck frames which means you have to remove and replace everything including the engines, Plus take a car hit in the rear, get a clip, cut the wreck one in half, put them all back together painted and delivered in "one week". So my bosses would load me down, with wrecks, which needed clips, I was their only employee, who worked for them who could do that. Not trying to brag"; just needed the money, and felt used by them, every time they gave me a job, it had to go yesterday, I used to "hate" that. It's no wonder to me now that I dream at night, working and wake up tired, more so than when I went to bed.

Enough about me, I have no doubts about your "capabilities Don", just after reading all the things you done, in your "post".

 

[Don Alaska]

@Jake Smith I once changed my oil and even lubed my cars, but I decided that getting it changed and lubed was a whole lot easier and it didn't cost much then, so I started getting the oil change and lube done at a local garage...THEN I started dating a girl and I found out she changed her own oil. I had to go back to changing my own to save face I found up here when I commuted that I was much more likely to get it done on a schedule if I had someone else do it, so I started getting it professionally done and the first truck lasted 387,000 miles and was still running great when I sold it.

 

[Jake Smith]

@Jake Smith I once changed my oil and even lubed my cars, but I decided that getting it changed and lubed was a whole lot easier and it didn't cost much then, so I started getting the oil change and lube done at a local garage...THEN I started dating a girl and I found out she changed her own oil. I had to go back to changing my own to save face I found up here when I commuted that I was much more likely to get it done on a schedule if I had someone else do it, so I started getting it professionally done and the first truck lasted 387,000 miles and was still running great when I sold it.

I've had some things done, as I posted once before, Marie's van worked on at Ford dealership; and they told me each time I called it need something else and kept taking it apart, until I'd had enough told them to stop, had a wrecker pull it home and I put it back together, it's still going today, another shop working on a Honda Accord broke the spark plug off and I had to drill it out and rethread it, just seemed like I always found the bad ones; so I just do it myself unless I find a good shop who cares.

The 387,000 miles is great, Don. Marie's 1995 E 350, only has a little over 100,ooo on it now.

 

[Jake Smith]

I made my first payment towards that new engine today, so feeling a little better about buying it now; will take a while to pay off, but it was well worth it. Like I posted before, I'm gonna wait until it's paid for, then finish the few more things needing to be done. I had changed the spark plugs on 1995 Marie's E 350, and was going to change plug wires and distributor right before we got truck engine, but after I changed the plugs, it ran better; it was starting to miss is why I did it. Just stopped on it after spark plugs; since it was running so well with new plugs; until I finished the truck. Didn't want to have a chance of two vehicles down, at the same time, with no way to go. Now I can get back on it finishing the tune up.

 

[Don Alaska]

Was the engine new or rebuilt @Jake Smith ? I have plugs and wires for my old Dodge Ram, but so far have been too lazy to change them. I really can't do it easily in the winter, as it too cold outside to mess with metal tools and bare skin, and the truck doesn't fit well in the garage. It still runs pretty well, though, and I use it for errands, trash hauling, and building materials and such, especially if the car is not available. It also comes in handy if the snow is deep on the roads.

 

[Jake Smith]

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To me "Don"; listening to it "run", It's new. You may have to pick from your warmest days, in order to get that Dodge tuned up. I surely know what you mean about the cold and how cold the tools can get.

 

[Jake Smith]

@Don Alaska , you reminded me of my old 1966 Dodge Cornet, I changed the engine out in it with a remanufactured 318, Painted it black and Marie and I drove it down to the Keys one weekend after I had painted a rebel flag on center of hood. I was copying the Dukes of Hazzard The General Lee. I wasn't trying to be racist just being like John Snyder, folks down there were giving us thumbs up, whistling, shouting going crazy over it. We got back and had stopped at a station and an old black women came out the store, saw the flag and rolled her eyes at it. Marie said you need to take that flag off this car; so I repainted it, black.



Then there was my 1972 Ford F150, I painted yellow and sprayed some stripes on it.



You got me going "Don:, reminiscing of old times, and vehicles.

This 1976 Ford Econoline 150 Marie and I had, changed the engines 2 or 3 times, last time I did I changed it from a 6 cylinder to a 351 Windsor, and added a double drive shafts to it, but putting these old photos up made me think about it too. I turned it into a catering truck for Marie and she sold to all the construction sites, where we lived in Atlanta; eventually I added another serving window on the opposite side, and my brother Bobby seen it, and said oh look no waiting on aisle 2. lol

Painted that old van, "numerous" times, and even added a commissary kitchen to our home, which the County passed, so she could prep her on food.

 

[Marie Mallory]

First let me say I am not a auto mechanic, however I have worked on my cars.
I remember my first car a 1949 Dodge, it had fluid Drive. I can't tell you because I don't remember the symptoms but it was having a problem, so I asked one of my cousins who was visiting who could fix cars in the blink of an eye. He said "sounds to me like you got problems with your head gasket." I said "what do I do can I fix it", he made me up a list of things that we needed. It was a flat-head 6 fairly easy car to work on.
There was an auto parts store about a half mile away I walked there purchased all the parts on my list, including head gasket, ratchet set, scraper, and some Ply- Bond, I think a screw driver set also.
The ratchet set was S&K it had maybe 10 to 12 sockets some extensions and a reducer was from 3/8 drive to 1/4. In came in a metal case, I still have it and it (64 years) works fine.
He showed me what to do, and he watched that I was doing it correctly. When we were finished the car started and drove like it did before.
After that I was hooked on doing some of the work needed on my cars, mostly to save money. I did brakes, oil changes, tune ups, replaced hoses, radiators, thermostates, starting motors, solenoid. Except for one time I didn't take the engine apart. I changed the timing chain on my father's rambler, I followed the "book" step by step.
I wouldn't be able to work on today's cars, when you open up the hood there's so much stuff under it you can't even see the ground below it.

Tony since our van is 30 and our truck is 40 now Jake can work on them. He can work on some of the newer ones too.

 

[Tony Page]

"Neat", Tony you have experience now for sure, and on "today's" vehicles I think a lot of what they put on it is so they can charge more, control it, and you; to get your money. Like my truck, I did away with all the extra bs they put on it; and it's never "run" as good it does now. I heard before, if you are wondering "why"; just follow the "money", and I "believe" that's true .

I was thinking (which usually gets me in trouble) but the more parts car companies put into their car the more part failures you're going to have, the more money they make selling parts for repair. I remember reading if you built a car by buying the parts it would be up to 10x the cost of a new car.

 

[Marie Mallory]

I was thinking (which usually gets me in trouble) but the more parts car companies put into their car the more part failures you're going to have, the more money they make selling parts for repair. I remember reading if you built a car by buying the parts it would be up to 10x the cost of a new car.

Tony if we rebuild it one part at a time though, it eliminates the high monthly car, insurance paraments. And we may not look pretty but we know what's really wrong with it.
We only use the vehicle's once a month for groceries and a couple times a year for doctor if that,
Maybe a trip to river or beach a few times a year.
Yes, we do have a boring life. lol.