Automotive Mechanical Thread

[Marie Mallory]

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

So sweet, I bet you miss those animals, I know we sure do miss our cats, horse and donkey. I had a goat too when I was a child.

 

[Jake Smith]

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.

Yeah, like I was telling you in the post above, most of what they put on vehicles isn't needed, and is to get more of your money.

 

[Tony Page]

Yeah, like I was telling you in the post above, most of what they put on vehicles isn't needed, and is to get more of your money.

If it's anything like the defense industry which I worked, the biggest profits are in the replacement parts.

 

[Don Alaska]

@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.

View attachment 156

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

View attachment 157

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.

View attachment 161

My first car was a 1964 Ford Econoline van, although I had a motorcycle before that. I think I bought it in 1968. It was parked while I was in the military and wasn't worth much when I got home. I didn't have a van after that until I got a Chevy van in the late 1970s, but it wasn't worth much to begin with and continually broke down. I have had nothing but trouble with GM vehicles. I bought a Dodge van in the mid-1980s and it was by far my favorite vehicle of all time, but I had to sell it when we moved to Alaska, as I needed something that would fit easily on a plane to the bush. My last van was another Dodge 2500 the I got in the 90s. That one was destroyed by an incompetent mechanic that I hired when I should have done the work myself. I would buy another Dodge van if I could find one cheap. We don't really need a large vehicle any more, but it would be nice to have when we get visitors.

 

[Tony Page]

My first car was a 1964 Ford Econoline van, although I had a motorcycle before that. I think I bought it in 1968. It was parked while I was in the military and wasn't worth much when I got home. I didn't have a van after that until I got a Chevy van in the late 1970s, but it wasn't worth much to begin with and continually broke down. I have had nothing but trouble with GM vehicles. I bought a Dodge van in the mid-1980s and it was by far my favorite vehicle of all time, but I had to sell it when we moved to Alaska, as I needed something that would fit easily on a plane to the bush. My last van was another Dodge 2500 the I got in the 90s. That one was destroyed by an incompetent mechanic that I hired when I should have done the work myself. I would buy another Dodge van if I could find one cheap. We don't really need a large vehicle any more, but it would be nice to have when we get visitors.

My daughter rented a Chrysler Pacifica in 2024 for their trip out to Mount Rushmore she loved it.

 

[Jake Smith]

My first car was a 1964 Ford Econoline van, although I had a motorcycle before that. I think I bought it in 1968. It was parked while I was in the military and wasn't worth much when I got home. I didn't have a van after that until I got a Chevy van in the late 1970s, but it wasn't worth much to begin with and continually broke down. I have had nothing but trouble with GM vehicles. I bought a Dodge van in the mid-1980s and it was by far my favorite vehicle of all time, but I had to sell it when we moved to Alaska, as I needed something that would fit easily on a plane to the bush. My last van was another Dodge 2500 the I got in the 90s. That one was destroyed by an incompetent mechanic that I hired when I should have done the work myself. I would buy another Dodge van if I could find one cheap. We don't really need a large vehicle any more, but it would be nice to have when we get visitors.

Your mechanic you spoke of, is the "type" I seem to get when I need mechanical work done, which made me do the work myself I got tired of going behind them and fixing their mistakes. We had one Dodge van too. This one ton van, is an E350, and has been a good one for us. Marie is the one making me get her a van, I had never wanted one , though they're great for lots of things in rain or camping and such things.



But this bus we made into a camper, was the only possession she ever loved.

 

[Jake Smith]

If it's anything like the defense industry which I worked, the biggest profits are in the replacement parts.

From what I heard over the years, for "more money", the parts were made to fail and be replaced, sort of the way colognes, perfumes and things, which smell good at first then they will change them to where they don't smell the same, just to sell their other products. Seems it's all about money to me.

 

[Jake Smith]

I broke my promise to myself today, about buying anything else, until I paid off the engine on the truck. I ordered the complete drive shaft assembly from the DriveShaft store, made in the USA, for $542.00. Oh well, I figured with 240,000 on the old double drive shafts, it didn't feel safe driving it like that. The center bearing between the two shafts is completely, "worn out".

 

[Mary Stetler]

I don't really belong in this thread. But My '96 Dodge 3/4 ton truck doesn't seem to have rack and pinion steering at the moment . There is a lot of play. But since I don't plan to use it till spring, I guess it is fine.
I don't intend to do any mechanical stuff. I can't even lift the battery out of the thing. But I was thinking back to my mom's '64 Plymouth Valiant. It had push button transmission controls and I guess that was impressive back then. But one day she came in fretting that the car would not shift. I did not know anything about cars but she was so upset. So I went out with a screw driver (as usual it was either that or a butter knife) and took off the face plate (few screws) and saw how the buttons were not sitting exactly as they should, moved things around and then replaced the face plate.
I fix stuff. Sometimes it works, Sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

I fix stuff. Sometimes it works, Sometimes it doesn't.

I kick stuff. (Or hit it with a hammer). Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Jake Smith]

I don't really belong in this thread. But My '96 Dodge 3/4 ton truck doesn't seem to have rack and pinion steering at the moment . There is a lot of play. But since I don't plan to use it till spring, I guess it is fine.
I don't intend to do any mechanical stuff. I can't even lift the battery out of the thing. But I was thinking back to my mom's '64 Plymouth Valiant. It had push button transmission controls and I guess that was impressive back then. But one day she came in fretting that the car would not shift. I did not know anything about cars but she was so upset. So I went out with a screw driver (as usual it was either that or a butter knife) and took off the face plate (few screws) and saw how the buttons were not sitting exactly as they should, moved things around and then replaced the face plate.
I fix stuff. Sometimes it works, Sometimes it doesn't.

I remember those push buttons on the dash, been years since I've heard about them. One of my best friends father had one, and my friend used to come to our house in it, we would go down to the reservoir, and race our fathers vehicles on dirt roads. Luckily we didn't get caught by them, or it would have been "Hell" to pay for that one. Bet your Mom was impressed, seeing you fixed her gears.

 

[Jake Smith]

I kick stuff. (Or hit it with a hammer). Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

Surprising how hitting some things will make it work, like when a starter starts to go out, and won't turn over. For a while you can tap it a few times with a hammer or wrench, and it will turn and crank the vehicle, I've had to do it before, and it worked.

 

[Don Alaska]

I don't really belong in this thread. But My '96 Dodge 3/4 ton truck doesn't seem to have rack and pinion steering at the moment . There is a lot of play. But since I don't plan to use it till spring, I guess it is fine.
I don't intend to do any mechanical stuff. I can't even lift the battery out of the thing. But I was thinking back to my mom's '64 Plymouth Valiant. It had push button transmission controls and I guess that was impressive back then. But one day she came in fretting that the car would not shift. I did not know anything about cars but she was so upset. So I went out with a screw driver (as usual it was either that or a butter knife) and took off the face plate (few screws) and saw how the buttons were not sitting exactly as they should, moved things around and then replaced the face plate.
I fix stuff. Sometimes it works, Sometimes it doesn't.

A common problem in Dodge trucks @Mary Stetler. It is a design flaw --probably the only real one that I know about. There is an after=market fix you can get, or you can replace the steering box. On most, it isn't really rack-and-pinion but has a steering box and power assist to go along with it. My son replaced mine a while ago and it is getting sloppy again. He may have to it up. He told me it could be tighter but it puts more stress on the power steering pump if he does it. I'll have to ask him about it again after the New Year.

 

[Mary Stetler]

A common problem in Dodge trucks @Mary Stetler. It is a design flaw --probably the only real one that I know about. There is an after=market fix you can get, or you can replace the steering box. On most, it isn't really rack-and-pinion but has a steering box and power assist to go along with it. My son replaced mine a while ago and it is getting sloppy again. He may have to it up. He told me it could be tighter but it puts more stress on the power steering pump if he does it. I'll have to ask him about it again after the New Year.

Thanks Don. I was kind of kidding. They don't come with rack and pinion steering but I knew it was tighter than this once upon a time. Will try to finess someone into working on it in the spring. Wait! I think I have a new handyman...

 

[Jake Smith]

Thanks Don. I was kind of kidding. They don't come with rack and pinion steering but I knew it was tighter than this once upon a time. Will try to finess someone into working on it in the spring. Wait! I think I have a new handyman...

Our 1995 Ford van e350, was the first part I had to replace on it; was the "steering gear box", and last year the 1986 Nissan I had to replace it, due to "lost motion" in it. Common in all of them it seems, no more problems with either truck or the van, the van has been fine now since 2005.

 

[Jake Smith]

As I had mentioned about my brother Bobby saying no waiting on aisle 2, here's Marie serving out of "aisle 2".




I got the "new carb" for the truck yesterday, the other one was used quite a while, with the old engine, which was running pretty ruff, so switching it out. The drive shaft is still not here yet.

 

[Bobby Cole]

Is this the thread where I can bi***ch about being forced to be a contortionist and apparently, a complete idiot when it comes to changing the trans filter on a 2001 Sonoma?
Whether it is or not, I have to vent.

I’ve done a dozen or so transmission filter changes on different vehicles so thinking that changing another one would only take me 2 or maybe 3 hours max wasn’t bad thinking. Wrong.
Noting again how wrong I can be now that I’m getting older and more senile, like a fight with a grizzly bear, a much closer look at the project told me that “this is gonna hurt”.

First, the shifter linkage. I’ve never seen this kind of configuration before so I consulted YouTube. Yup, I see the key and nope, I don’t see any tab that would allow me to take the linkage off the bracket so I can get to the two bolts hidden by it.
So…had to do it the hard way way and sneak an open end wrench between this and that just so I could remove one of ‘em about a quarter turn at a time. A half hour later, I got it out.
At just about the time when I was maxed out with high levels of frustration and thinking about using my universal metric tool (hammer), I found the tabs and released the linkage so I could get to the other bolt with a socket.
Total time between actual work and YouTubing: 2 hours.

Anyway, after loosening the other 16 bolts I tilted the pan in order to pour some of the fluid out into a container I had so inconveniently moved with my elbow hence heavily coating the surface I was laying on and my arm up to my shoulder with trans fluid.

* Note: At this point I had to ask the Lord for His forgiving grace because of my highly vocal utterances which included some words I doubt will ever be found in any dictionary of any kind.

Lest I digress, after moving the catch container to the right spot, I did manage to pour the most of the fluid out successfully and then proceeded to remove the bolts just to find out that the pan had very little wiggle room and wasn’t going to drop down entirely until I moved the crossbar.
Another 5 bolts says I and I’m already going to have to see my chiropractor to get my arms untied from around my neck which also will need tending to since now I could only look to the right because my head couldn’t turn anymore due to the neck cramping and out of joint neck and spine vertebrae.

Leaning to the likelihood that I might find procrastination more desirable, Yvonne suggested that I just put it back together and wait to finish the job when it wasn’t 32 degrees outside and I had the rig up on jack stands which, did appeal to me.
Granted, the rig needs a new filter but with the new $12 siphon I have coming from Amazon, I can finish getting the bad fluid out and put some fresh stuff in.

End of story……for now.

 

[Tony Page]

Is this the thread where I can bi***ch about being forced to be a contortionist and apparently, a complete idiot when it comes to changing the trans filter on a 2001 Sonoma?
Whether it is or not, I have to vent.

I’ve done a dozen or so transmission filter changes on different vehicles so thinking that changing another one would only take me 2 or maybe 3 hours max wasn’t bad thinking. Wrong.
Noting again how wrong I can be now that I’m getting older and more senile, like a fight with a grizzly bear, a much closer look at the project told me that “this is gonna hurt”.

First, the shifter linkage. I’ve never seen this kind of configuration before so I consulted YouTube. Yup, I see the key and nope, I don’t see any tab that would allow me to take the linkage off the bracket so I can get to the two bolts hidden by it.
So…had to do it the hard way way and sneak an open end wrench between this and that just so I could remove one of ‘em about a quarter turn at a time. A half hour later, I got it out.
At just about the time when I was maxed out with high levels of frustration and thinking about using my universal metric tool (hammer), I found the tabs and released the linkage so I could get to the other bolt with a socket.
Total time between actual work and YouTubing: 2 hours.

Anyway, after loosening the other 16 bolts I tilted the pan in order to pour some of the fluid out into a container I had so inconveniently moved with my elbow hence heavily coating the surface I was laying on and my arm up to my shoulder with trans fluid.

* Note: At this point I had to ask the Lord for His forgiving grace because of my highly vocal utterances which included some words I doubt will ever be found in any dictionary of any kind.

Lest I digress, after moving the catch container to the right spot, I did manage to pour the most of the fluid out successfully and then proceeded to remove the bolts just to find out that the pan had very little wiggle room and wasn’t going to drop down entirely until I moved the crossbar.
Another 5 bolts says I and I’m already going to have to see my chiropractor to get my arms untied from around my neck which also will need tending to since now I could only look to the right because my head couldn’t turn anymore due to the neck cramping and out of joint neck and spine vertebrae.

Leaning to the likelihood that I might find procrastination more desirable, Yvonne suggested that I just put it back together and wait to finish the job when it wasn’t 32 degrees outside and I had the rig up on jack stands which, did appeal to me.
Granted, the rig needs a new filter but with the new $12 siphon I have coming from Amazon, I can finish getting the bad fluid out and put some fresh stuff in.

End of story……for now.

That's why the only cars I play with these days is Matchbox and Hot Wheels. Wheee

 

[Mary Stetler]

Our 1995 Ford van e350, was the first part I had to replace on it; was the "steering gear box", and last year the 1986 Nissan I had to replace it, due to "lost motion" in it. Common in all of them it seems, no more problems with either truck or the van, the van has been fine now since 2005.

Old stuff didn't seem to have the built in obsolesence that things have today. From trucks to microwaves to furnaces to washing machines....

 

[Mary Stetler]

Is this the thread where I can bi***ch about being forced to be a contortionist and apparently, a complete idiot when it comes to changing the trans filter on a 2001 Sonoma?
Whether it is or not, I have to vent.

I’ve done a dozen or so transmission filter changes on different vehicles so thinking that changing another one would only take me 2 or maybe 3 hours max wasn’t bad thinking. Wrong.
Noting again how wrong I can be now that I’m getting older and more senile, like a fight with a grizzly bear, a much closer look at the project told me that “this is gonna hurt”.

First, the shifter linkage. I’ve never seen this kind of configuration before so I consulted YouTube. Yup, I see the key and nope, I don’t see any tab that would allow me to take the linkage off the bracket so I can get to the two bolts hidden by it.
So…had to do it the hard way way and sneak an open end wrench between this and that just so I could remove one of ‘em about a quarter turn at a time. A half hour later, I got it out.
At just about the time when I was maxed out with high levels of frustration and thinking about using my universal metric tool (hammer), I found the tabs and released the linkage so I could get to the other bolt with a socket.
Total time between actual work and YouTubing: 2 hours.

Anyway, after loosening the other 16 bolts I tilted the pan in order to pour some of the fluid out into a container I had so inconveniently moved with my elbow hence heavily coating the surface I was laying on and my arm up to my shoulder with trans fluid.

* Note: At this I had to ask the Lord for His forgiving grace because of my highly vocal utterances which included some words I doubt will ever be found in any dictionary of any kind.

Lest I digress, after moving the catch container to the right spot, I did manage to pour the most of the fluid out successfully and then proceeded to remove the bolts just to find out that the pan had very little wiggle room and wasn’t going to drop down entirely until I moved the crossbar.
Another 5 bolts says I and I’m already going to have to see my chiropractor to get my arms untied from around my neck which also will need tending to since now I could only look to the right because my head couldn’t turn anymore due to the neck cramping and out of joint neck and spine vertebrae.

Leaning to the likelihood that I might find procrastination more desirable, Yvonne suggested that I just put it back together and wait to finish the job when it wasn’t 32 degrees outside and I had the rig up on jack stands which, did appeal to me.
Granted, the rig needs a new filter but with the new $12 siphon I have coming from Amazon, I can finish getting the bad fluid out and put some fresh stuff in.

End of story……for now.

Love our universal metric tools!
You could be a writer on the Red Green Show.