Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[Senator]

Just replaced a wood window in one of my apartments. Two rocks were thrown threw it by one of my tenants kids. At first she denied it was her kid, and I was planning on giving her the boot. She admitted to her kid doing it the next day, and paid me $250 for a new window.

Total cost of materials was closer to $300, but I figured a new pane would have only been close to $250. All vinyl, new vinyl sill and brick mold trim. It took longer than I thought, as I had to go back to the store to get some supplies. Probably ~5 hours total, all removed, replaced and installed. Caulked in nicely too.

It actually got broke back in late April, finally got time to put it in.

 

[ejman]

Replaced the power supply in my ancient ex windows XP computer that is now running Linux mint. $24 from amazon, perfect fit. I'm amazed that this old computer running Linux is actually now faster than my laptop running windows 7 with an I3 processor.

 

[nash031]

Your recent repair?

Removed/cleaned/reinstalled the throttle body and idle air control valve on DW's 05 Acura RSX after it started stalling at idle at 150,000 mi. Here's hoping that changes the conversations about buying a new car! $10 and about 2.5hrs.

 

[ERD50]

I was looking at an old receipt the other day and saw how it had faded to invisible. I knew it was the correct receipt as I had written "Battery" on it.

I think its a trick the stores know, so you never have the receipt years later.

Now I take a picture of my receipts I think I will need in the future and keep the images on my computer.

You might be able to resurrect that old receipt. I can recall using something like rubbing alcohol on some I had (old 'thermal paper' style). It reacts with the faded print to make it visible again. Or maybe heating it will create a 'negative'? But experiment first!

... I'm amazed that this old computer running Linux is actually now faster than my laptop running windows 7 with an I3 processor.

I'm not! Linux just isn't bloated like the other OS.

I recently had some tricky, one-time event kind of oddball file manipulations I had to do on some large directories (part of my family video archiving/editing project that I may detail later), and it looked like getting into the terminal was the best way to handle this (and I'm a klutz with terminal commands). Found what I needed, experimented a bit, and it worked like a charm. It's stunning how fast some stuff is when done straight from the terminal, you assume it errored-out and did nothing, and then you look and 500-some files were renamed just as you specified - in the blink of an eye!

-ERD50

 

[Sunset]

I've been using Ubuntu for 3 yrs now. I'm very happy with it.

The terminal is super, I wrote some scripts to backup my computer because I didn't like the built-in backup software, and my rsync scripts only copy changed files to the NAS, its nice and fast.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Re-caulked the downstairs shower.


Original grout work had developed some cracks in two lower corners.


I originally thought I would be 'smart' and use clear latex based caulk, but that developed icky black mold.


Friday I stripped it all out. Let it dry Saturday and Sunday morning.


Color matched the original grout with sanded caulk and got a perfect color match. Can't even tell where the caulk is.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Removed/cleaned/reinstalled the throttle body and idle air control valve on DW's 05 Acura RSX after it started stalling at idle at 150,000 mi. Here's hoping that changes the conversations about buying a new car! $10 and about 2.5hrs.View attachment 22252

good job! those iacs can be a pain

 

[nash031]

good job! those iacs can be a pain

We are three days post repair and the low idle is up to 800 from 400 to stall... I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.

 

[ls99]

Replaced rear brake shoes on 95 quadrunner ATV. Sometime next week will do the fronts.

 

[John Galt III]

During oil change, noticed passenger side cv boot leaking on gf's 2009 Hyundai Elantra. Considered fixing it, Youtubed it. Many different Youtube fixes, but I may let the mechanic fix this.

 

[samclem]

During oil change, noticed passenger side cv boot leaking on gf's 2009 Hyundai Elantra. Considered fixing it, Youtubed it. Many different Youtube fixes, but I may let the mechanic fix this.

Once the boot is torn and water/grit gets into the CV joint, there's no choice but a costly replacement. If the boot just tore recently and the joint isn't badly contaminated, she might be in luck. Two-piece boots are made that can be replaced fairly easily (compared to replacing the one-piece boot). I don't know how well the two-piece boots hold up in service, but it might be enough to give her a couple of years more time from the CV joint.

 

[John Galt III]

Once the boot is torn and water/grit gets into the CV joint, there's no choice but a costly replacement. If the boot just tore recently and the joint isn't badly contaminated, she might be in luck. Two-piece boots are made that can be replaced fairly easily (compared to replacing the one-piece boot). I don't know how well the two-piece boots hold up in service, but it might be enough to give her a couple of years more time from the CV joint.

Thanks. I got under the car again to check the boot before she brought it to the dealer. This time I saw much less grease and it was in a different spot. Strange. I couldn't find any specific hole or tear anywhere although there was definitely grease in one of the folds. I told her to cancel the appt with the dealer. They were giving her double-talk about whether it was covered under the warranty, and finally admitted they would charge her $150 just to CHECK the boot. I'm going to keep an eye on it. I have heard about the *split boot* option, but have read that they have mixed results. If the boot does rip, I'll probably have her take it to our local mechanic and have the whole half-axle replaced, including boot, which is only a bit more expensive than changing out just the boot.

 

[NW-Bound]

The boot may have a crack or split along an inner fold. This would not be visible until you bend or spread the accordion folds to check.

I have used a split-type replacement boot. The two halves are welded together using a special supplied solvent, after getting clamped onto the shaft. It seemed to hold up well.

 

[Ronstar]

Replaced the bath light/vent fan combo. The new one is bigger than the old one, so I had to do some minor reframing in the attic and make the hole in the ceiling bigger.

 

[John Galt III]

The boot may have a crack or split along an inner fold. This would not be visible until you bend or spread the accordion folds to check.

I have used a split-type replacement boot. The two halves are welded together using a special supplied solvent, after getting clamped onto the shaft. It seemed to hold up well.

Thanks, NW-bound. You'd think, in this modern age, that they'd have some sort of strong rubber-adhering tape and /or glue that one could carefully apply to the cracked area on the boot, after cleaning it. I have used Plumber's Goop glue on a moving plastic part in a toilet tank assembly that has lasted for years.

 

[splitwdw]

Thanks, NW-bound. You'd think, in this modern age, that they'd have some sort of strong rubber-adhering tape and /or glue that one could carefully apply to the cracked area on the boot, after cleaning it. I have used Plumber's Goop glue on a moving plastic part in a toilet tank assembly that has lasted for years.

Someone on this forum recommended Sugru......would that work as an adhesive for this application. I bought it to patch a wire rack in my dishwater but haven't used it yet.

 

[NW-Bound]

This is the 1st time I heard of Sugru. Interesting product, but the only way to know if it sticks to the rubber compound of the boot is to try it.

With the split boot that I used, the glue that is supplied is actually a solvent that melts the two halves along the seam. Hence they call the joint a "weld".

 

[turbo89]

Another vote for a split-boot on the CV joint. Make sure you pack it full of grease during the repair, and I'm sure it'll last for several years.


Back on topic: Today I fixed a leaking axle seal on my plow truck, and fixed the previous owner's hack job on the drum brakes (springs were in wrong, adjuster was on backwards).

 

[38Chevy454]

Replaced master cylinder and rear wheel cylinders on my 68 GTO. The master was leaking, and the wheel cylinders were not in spite of being very old same as master cyl. Since the system needs bleeding due to master cyl, I just replaced the wheel cylinders as well.

 

[ejman]

Changed the garbage disposal. $300 -$400 job if done by a professional. The identical replacement unit was $80 at local hardware store. Took me about 45 minutes to do.

 

[jetpack]

50" Samsung TV wouldn't turn on. Found out there was a recall for Bad capacitors. However the recall was done a few years ago. So I ripped it apart myself and put in the new parts. It was easy to find the bad ones because they looked bad.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[splitwdw]

One month ago we replaced the PTO switch on our zero turn and the switch just went again yesterday. Just picked up a new one at a different dealer. The first was suppose to be a replacement and even though everything matched up (configuration of pins and serial #) it was a different color. This one is identical to the part I removed.

 

[sengsational]

I'm not quite done yet, but I tore out and replaced a 6 foot wide window sill (double hung in the middle and a fixed window on either side). It was obviously not built to take apart, but between the sawsall and my new oscillating saw, I got the old one out, and cut off the rotten wood. I stuck a pvc replacement in, and did a little bondo work. It started to rain, so I've still got a little breeze blowing through, but this is the season where the indoor and outdoor temps are about the same.

 

[Cobra9777]

Two projects today:

1. Fixed a leaky shower valve in one of our rental houses. The new washers and springs were $1.99 at Lowes. Took me about 45 minutes. Would have been quicker but the cartridge would not go back in all the way. After struggling for about 10 minutes, I felt around and discovered a small piece of debris in the valve housing. Once removed, it was smooth sailing.

2. Fixed the shift lever on DD's Ford Escape. The column shift lever moved up and down freely but was not shifting anything. The cable had popped off at the transmission. I was easily able to put it back on, and used a plastic tie wrap to temporarily hold it in place until I can find a more permanent solution. New shift cable probably.

 

[sengsational]

Tie wraps seem to be becoming the new duct tape.