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Old 08-09-2014, 11:35 AM   #341
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I've been that guy. Then do the same thing to show the ID to get on the AFB.
The doors can be a big PITA to fix, hard to find the hidden clips (which break half of the time) for the trim and the crank handle (remember those?). I'd love to buy a car with simple exposed screws attaching the interior of the door, with easy-to-access wiper and heater motors, with light lenses that are held in place with simple screws, etc.
Yes.... The last easy to work on vehicle I had was a 1967 International pick up. No hidden screw / bolt heads, everything was accessible. I remember fixing the electrical in that truck with house switches, had a lamp pullchain for head lights - low beam, one high one low beam, and both high beams.

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Old 08-09-2014, 01:03 PM   #342
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I recovered the console arm rest in my Escape with Naugahyde type upholstery material. I had slid a piece of plastic pipe past it so I could fit the whole length inside the vehicle and the edge of the pipe had caught the console and made a series of nasty cuts in it. Even on eBay, used ones are north of $50.

I found a video on YouTube that explained how to secure one edge, then use a hair dryer to stretch the material so it fits tightly on a curved surface. It is surprising how much one can stretch the stuff. Total cost - $2.50 at Joanne's Fabrics bargain bin.
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Old 08-09-2014, 01:28 PM   #343
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I finished upgrading the front vent fan of the motor home to a Fantastic fan. Still have to remount the add-on rain cover, but I had to retreat from the top of the RV because of the heat and sunlight. I am getting old.

Yesterday, my wife finished making bug screens for the cab windows of the motor home. I got the idea from the following blogger.

Screens to keep bugs out of your van, car, jeep, etc.

In the past, when I stopped driving for the day, the heat from the engine kept soaking through the dashboard into the front cab, and the AC had to work hard to remove that heat for the next hour. I often had to lower the glass windows for the heated air to escape, but then had problems with bugs and flies entering. The house windows have bug screen, but the front cab windows of course do not.

Now, with the Fantastic fan reversible from exhaust mode to intake mode, and the front cab windows lowered with the bug screens installed, all that heated air will be blown out the windows.

The cost for material: $6.50 for 50 button-sized magnets, and $1.50 for the nylon screen at Jo-Ann. These neodymium magnets I got from eBay are super strong, a lot more than I expected.

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I recovered the console arm rest in my Escape with Naugahyde type upholstery material...
I thought Naugas had been hunted to extinction due to the demand of their hide, but apparently that is not true.
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Old 08-09-2014, 03:25 PM   #344
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..............I thought Naugas had been hunted to extinction due to the demand of their hide, but apparently that is not true.
That explains why it was so cheap! I hope I don't get static from the CITES.
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Old 08-09-2014, 03:29 PM   #345
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I surfed the Web and found the answer. Naugas are now farm raised in Montana for their hide.

The Reliant Self: What's A Nauga Farm?
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Old 08-09-2014, 03:38 PM   #346
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Decades ago we had a guy on our shift who was, well, so full of it his eyes were brown. These guys can be entertaining on occasion.

And we got him to claim that he had spent the previous weekend hunting Naugas. The next day we had a dictionary to show him, in front of everyone, what Naugahyde was.

Sometimes it's just too easy.
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Old 08-09-2014, 04:01 PM   #347
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Not really a repair, but ended up seeing one in the making....

I was changing the DSG (direct shift gearbox) fluid in my diesel Jetta today as it was time (40,000 mile interval). You have to pull a few things to get to the filter canister as it sits on the top of the transmission (battery, battery tray, some hoses). Once all apart, I did the service that includes about 5 liters of VW spec oil, filter, O rings, and a final level check at 35 degrees C (oil temp) with engine running and computer hooked to OBD port onitoring oil temperature (I have VAG diagnostic software).

Pulling the drain plug is the final step to allow the warm oil to run over a standpipe in the transmission to drain excess and set level. There are no dip sticks on the German cars so level check is an adventure.

Putting the battery tray, air filter, etc back in I glanced at the air intake at the front of the car and saw the remnants of dried coolant (G12 designation stuff - pink in color) on the inner side of the radiator core. Ouch!!

Looks like I have a radiator leak starting and that is not good. My expansion tank is a bit low, but not enough to set a warning light. Glad this didn't happen in West Texas in the middle of nowhere. Time to order a new radiator for next weeks car project.
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Old 08-10-2014, 07:31 AM   #348
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Was roto-tilling this spring with my 1972 roto-tiller, and the center of one of the wheels rusted out and was falling off. Ugh, I thought, I'll never find a wheel to match. Walked into my shed in disgust and turned around, and there on the top shelf was a wheel from a wheel-barrow that had rusted out 20 years ago (I had kept the wheel when I threw it away). Exact size needed, and I was back to roto-tilling. Gosh how I love freebies--also substantiates my being a pack-rat!
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:20 AM   #349
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Gosh how I love freebies--also substantiates my being a pack-rat!
Yep, I've got a whole box of orphan wheels. I used two recently to replace two on my lawnmower. I also cut the long power cords off dead shop vacs and other electrical equipment before throwing them out: they make good replacements or extension cords with the addition of a $2 female receptacle.
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:30 AM   #350
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NW-Bound. Say why not hang a fantastic fan on the grille. Will cool the engine compartment after being parked? Instead of soaking it through dog house.

In cold weather I used to hang a cover over the grille of the moho, thus trapping the engine heat and recycling it into the moho. It was good for a few hours "already paid for" heat.
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Old 08-13-2014, 11:30 AM   #351
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My son has an electrical switch by his front door that tested live for power, but it didn't seem to do anything. Upon further inspection, one lead of the line was disconnected under the house. As far as we could tell the switch used to be for the porch light, but when the garage was added, they moved the switch to the other side of the front door. So we re-wired the old switch (replacing it with a new one), to control half an outlet in the living room. Now my son can turn on a light in the house when he enters the house when it's dark.
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Old 08-13-2014, 05:13 PM   #352
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NW-Bound. Say why not hang a fantastic fan on the grille. Will cool the engine compartment after being parked? Instead of soaking it through dog house.

In cold weather I used to hang a cover over the grille of the moho, thus trapping the engine heat and recycling it into the moho. It was good for a few hours "already paid for" heat.
That Fantastic fan was mounted in an existing roof hole cut for a factory-installed fan. I needed to upgrade it for better ventilation anyway, and thought that blowing cool air down to blow the heat through the front cab windows might work better than sucking that hot air up for discharging through the ceiling. Will see how that idea will work. But in any case, the bug screens for the front windows will be a useful modification for bug-free ventilation.

About mounting a fan at the grill, there is not enough clearance. But your comment made me think of something else. How about wiring a switch to turn on the existing radiator fan as needed when the engine is off, but reversing its direction to suck cool air from underneath the engine and to exhaust that hot air out front? This is assuming that the radiator fan is a simple DC motor that is reversible with DC power.

About the occasional need of saving the engine heat instead of getting rid of it, I may have the need to do that towards the end of the trip. In mid October, I may still be up in the New England states, where temperature will get a bit chilly. I will bring an old blanket to wrap over the hood.
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Old 08-13-2014, 07:04 PM   #353
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............About the occasional need of saving the engine heat instead of getting rid of it, I may have the need to do that towards the end of the trip. In mid October, I may still be up in the New England states, where temperature will get a bit chilly. I will bring an old blanket to wrap over the hood.
You can also stick a small pump in the heater line (like police have in surveillance vehicles) then run the heater until the engine is cold. I picked one up designed for a VW to use in my tractor heater because the tractor lacks a water pump. It was about $50.
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Old 08-13-2014, 09:54 PM   #354
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Ah, that's another good idea. But I will be leaving home soon, headed towards the Canadian Maritimes, and will not have time to do that. My time is running out, and it is getting cold up there soon.

Anyway, I will need a reliable pump that will not leak and cause a disastrous loss of coolant. And how do I bypass the thermostat that would not allow me to get all that precious heat from the big-block engine?

It's something to ponder before my next year trip to Alaska.


PS. Oops. I forgot that the fan on this engine is the old-style belt-driven fan. I have not owned a big engine like this for a long time, and all my cars in recent years have had an electric fan for the radiator and AC condenser.
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Old 08-14-2014, 06:02 AM   #355
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I keep forgetting that new RV vehicles have electric radiator fans. I played with a few, they are reversible with DC polarity, less airflow running backwards due to blade design. I think they are brushless, bever took one apart, try a junk yard for cheap sample.

For coolant heating the radiator hoses bypass the thermostat. Could consider heat exchanger for safety, but they are $$$.

Edit add My Subarban with 7.4 engine has belt driven fan, also on the front of the radiator is a auxiliary fan which pushes air through the radiator if things get really hot.
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Old 08-14-2014, 07:02 AM   #356
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About a year ago, my 15 year old pool/spa heater just quit working. I thought about calling out a repairman, but procrastinated instead. A few weeks ago, DW started bugging me about it because she wanted to use the spa. So, I was considering my options and was leaning toward biting the bullet and purchasing a new one (about $2500 installed). Well, I procrastinated a little more and then two days ago I came home to see that the water level in the pool was way down. A quick inspection of my pool equipment revealed that water was pouring out of my pool heater. I removed an access panel and spotted a very rusty fitting that was leaking badly. I removed it and replaced it with a plug to stop the leak. I then did a little research and determined that it was a pressure switch, designed to shut down the heater in the absence of water pressure ( when the pump isn't running). The sensor had two electrical wires running to it. I decided to short these out and sure enough, the heater kicked back on almost immediately. I've got a new pressure switch on order from Amazon for $60 so should be back in business in a few days. But, if it hadn't been for my procrastinating, my old heater would have never revealed its fault to me and I probably would have spent the $2500 on a new one!! A pretty good result I think!


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Old 08-14-2014, 07:50 AM   #357
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.........Anyway, I will need a reliable pump that will not leak and cause a disastrous loss of coolant. And how do I bypass the thermostat that would not allow me to get all that precious heat from the big-block engine?...........
The pump I used was designed specifically for that purpose - a Bosch part. The heater circuit bypasses the thermostat. That is why you get heat in your car before the engine warms up enough to open the thermostat.
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Old 08-14-2014, 06:02 PM   #358
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The pump I used was designed specifically for that purpose - a Bosch part.
It must be something like this. They want more than $100 for it. All I'd have to do is to splice the pump into the existing coolant hose.



Quote:
The heater circuit bypasses the thermostat. That is why you get heat in your car before the engine warms up enough to open the thermostat.
Indeed!

All I thought of was getting the heat out of the several gallons of coolant in the radiator (the coolant capacity is more than 21 quarts), as I recently had to change out the fluid, and that is on the other side of the thermostat.

Engine or radiator, which has a higher thermal capacity? My guess is it's the engine, which also contains a large portion of the coolant.
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Old 08-14-2014, 06:36 PM   #359
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It must be something like this. They want more than $100 for it. All I'd have to do is to splice the pump into the existing coolant hose.
Actually it was this one. Amazon had a "used" one , which usually means it is out of the original box, for $50.

Amazon.com: Bosch 0392020073 Electric Water Pump: Automotive


Quote:
Engine or radiator, which has a higher thermal capacity? My guess is it's the engine, which also contains a large portion of the coolant.
I'd think the engine, but you'll pull heat from the water in the radiator, too, as it is still interconnected at the lower hose when the thermostat closes.
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Old 08-21-2014, 11:18 AM   #360
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My dishwasher wouldn't stop running this weekend (luckily I was home and noticed). It has a time left display and it wouldn't get to 0. I googled the symptoms for my model and found how to run diagnostics, which was a simple matter of holding a couple buttons while turning the power on, and hitting those buttons again. The error code returned was a heat fault. In the previous goggle I found this was a common problem, and often caused by a burned out connection on the circuit board, complete with a picture of what that looks like. Saw how to get to the circuit board and mine looked the same. Lightly sanded off the burned residue and got out the $12 soldering iron I bought for no apparent reason last year. Actually I had a friend do the soldering because I didn't want to try my first one on something that small and delicate. At first it didn't work, but I reseated the connections to the circuit board I'd had to pull out and made sure they were all making good contact. Re-ran the diagnostics and it came back with no errors, and just ran a full load to completion.

My alternatives were going to be either to replace the circuit board for $200 or just replace the dishwasher. It's a higher end Bosch, but it's 13 years old so I was leaning toward replacement. Total cost will be the beer I buy for my friend.

Google remains a great source. All I really needed was the service manual, which I did find in my google search and saw that it had all of this info including note of the common burnt connection issue, but some of the other websites were more direct to the problem.

Always a good feeling to fix something yourself.
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