Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[Winemaker]

I replaced the water heater today. D*mn thing was 2" higher than old one, requiring adjustments to incoming lines, and exhaust. Started at 9:30, done at 1:30, took 2 trips to HD to get pieces right.

 

[Just_Steve]

I replaced the water heater today. D*mn thing was 2" higher than old one, requiring adjustments to incoming lines, and exhaust. Started at 9:30, done at 1:30, took 2 trips to HD to get pieces right.

Thats all? Great job

 

[JP.mpls]

I have to admit that I still get some satisfaction out of doing mechanical and home repair work. Kind of silly. I'm very much a self taught amateur, but I enjoy doing this type of work, and I like the results if I'm successful.



The problem:

The starter was acting up on my niece's old Honda.



I helped her replace the battery a few weeks ago, because it was over 5 years old, and I was hoping that would resolve the intermittent starting issues. The alternator tested out good, and we cleaned up the cable connections in the process of replacing the old battery.



That didn't resolve the intermittent starting issues, so it was time to try a replacement starter motor.



I was going to have her change it out with my help, but the damn thing was buried underneath the intake manifold, so a bunch of stuff had to be removed. It was going to be a much more difficult job than I anticipated. I ended up swapping cars with her, and planning a whole day for the task.



It went okay, but I couldn't get the main starter motor mounting bolt loose. It was in a very tight area, and I was trying to reach it with a long 1/2" socket wrench with extensions.



I ended up going to Northern Hydraulics to purchase several new tools. (One of my favorite parts of repair work, accumulating more tools.)

I needed something called a "wobble" extension for a 1/2" socket (this allows the extension to be slightly angled from the socket), and I purchased a set of larger metric sockets that only have 6 sides, so the bolt will be less likely to strip on the socket.

I also upgraded to two new socket wrenches with flex heads to maneuver into tight areas.



With the proper tools, I managed to get that stubborn bolt loose, and complete the repair. It even seems to work properly. Amazing.


My niece was very happy to have a working car back, and I stopped over at my father's home nearby to have a cold bloody beer with him from a distance. I have been staying away from him, so it was nice to talk with him in person.



Take care, JP

 

[Winemaker]

Since you accumulated more tools in your endeavors, you are to be congratulated as well as forgiven.

 

[Keim]

Two recent repairs. One worked, one didn't.

SUCCESS!
Dehumidifier I picked up used about 20 years ago started making a god awful racket. The electric motor was worn. Took it apart. It was manufactured in 1969! (The green exterior should've been a giveaway). Managed to find a drop-in replacement. Back to life.

Failure!
About a week after the dehumidifier went, the 25 year old laundry dryer started to make a sound like the belt was going. Replaced the belt. The new, tighter belt highlighted the motor was in bad shape. It started over heating.
New laundry machines being delivered today.

I sure wish I'd succeeded with the dryer and failed with the dehumidifier...

 

[Walt34]

I needed something called a "wobble" extension for a 1/2" socket (this allows the extension to be slightly angled from the socket)....

My "first car" (actually titled in Dad's name because I was 16) was a 1956 Plymouth with a 272 c.i. V8 engine. To change the spark plugs on that thing required a different combination of wobble extensions, other extensions and sockets for every single spark plug. When cleaning/changing plugs I spent more time fiddling with sockets and extensions than working on it but it did make me intimately familiar with the geometries of wobbles and extensions.

 

[JP.mpls]

Walt,
I've had a standard 1/2" knuckle socket for a long time. Mine broke attempting to loosen this bolt.
I watched a guy on YouTube do it with a wobble extension. I never heard of these tools, but it worked great.
Take care, JP

My "first car" (actually titled in Dad's name because I was 16) was a 1956 Plymouth with a 272 c.i. V8 engine. To change the spark plugs on that thing required a different combination of wobble extensions, other extensions and sockets for every single spark plug. When cleaning/changing plugs I spent more time fiddling with sockets and extensions than working on it but it did make me intimately familiar with the geometries of wobbles and extensions.

 

[georgemoe]

Have a four to five year old Maytag refrigerator and the ice maker in the freezer drawer stopped working. This happened last year and was able to get it back working somehow. Last month stopped again. It's not the solenoid valve for the water so most likely the circuit board has an issue. Will pull it out this week so I'm sure what to re-order.

 

[freedomatlast]

That didn't resolve the intermittent starting issues, so it was time to try a replacement starter motor.

Great job on the starter R & R. Next time, look at just replacing the two copper contacts in the solenoid instead of replacing the whole starter. That's usually the issue on Hondas with intermittent starting issues, and long term, I've had better luck just replacing the contacts in the OEM starter, than gambling with an offshore parts house rebuild.

 

[Time2]

I opened my cabin yesterday.

Turned on the water, and the copper pipe connected to the main water valve came flying apart. Water everywhere.

This valve is in the dark damp root cellar of my 1925 shack of a cabin.

I tried to just resolder it back together, and it still leaked. I ended up cutting off the section with the valve, and replacing the whole thing. Very satisfying when it didn't leak, and everything is now working properly.

I even have a working toilet.

I earned my evening beer.

JP


View attachment 34854

My advice to everyone when sweating copper pipe, Clean, Clean and Clean again.

 

[Telly]

My advice to everyone when sweating copper pipe, Clean, Clean and Clean again.

Yes! And no moisture, either. I have used the white bread trick (no crusts ), and sometimes have resorted to using compressed air to blow a line backwards for 5 - 10 minutes with other faucets open, to dry out a pipe that kept doing little dribbles that would soak white bread too quick. In all the years I've soldered copper in repair and in totally new work, I have made exactly ONE bad joint! And when I took that one apart, I found that it was due to water, that caused me to keep on heating... which burned the flux up, leaving a non-wettable (soldering-wise) residue on one side.

 

[Telly]

Just replaced the run capacitor on my 4-ton HVAC unit. On startup, it was pulling too much current and making noise, so I figured it was time to change it. Runs great now, but I also ordered a 5-2-1 Soft Start kit on Amazon to lower the LRA even more. Might even be able to run it off the Honda EU7000is generator after that...we'll see.

Also installed a new Pentair variable speed pump for the pool. Got a $350 rebate from the utility company and should save about $400/year on electric vs. my old single speed pump. It's really quiet out there now...no pump noise when running at a lower RPM, so it was a good decision.

All ready for summer!

Great job!

I keep a spare parts inventory for our 2 and 4 ton units. Start and run caps, start relay. I also have some used but good parts that can be pressed into service - contactor or two with different mountings, a condenser fan with blade and its cap, lots of wires of different lengths with 1/4" QC's on them. I can and have patched the used motor with fan blade and its matched cap in to temporarily replace a motor that the bearing died on. My spare motor and fan has a greater blade pitch, and is a higher fractional HP, and blade is a bit smaller in diameter, but it moves plenty of air and worked well, so I could wait a week to get the proper motor via internet.

Question on your variable-speed pool pump motor... what kind of ON duration do you set your pump timer to now, versus what you had the previous single-speed set to? Or is it running 24/7?

 

[Time2]

Last year when my air conditioner was working properly, I found the cooling fan on the condenser unit was not turning, and it was very hot!
I had a squirrel cage fan with close to the same size capacitor, I swapped the cap and it ran fine. Found the exact cap on Amazon and ordered it. Then my BIL stopped over (HVAC guy) and he got in his truck and gave me a cap.
I cancelled the Amazon order.
I also oiled the bearings.

 

[mystang52]

I just replaced my leaking outdoor spigot. This pales in comparison to other posts here, but nowadays that's about my limit. I no longer try complicated DIY projects.
But this was a grand success because: 1) Removal was easy and I didn't crack the pipe coming from the houses 2) Surprisingly, after putting on the new one there was no leak (and days later still no leak) and 3) Never once uttered the F word.

 

[nvestysly]

Not exactly a repair, but sort of...

DW and I had a solid oak front door installed in 2011. We decided to stain the door to bring out the natural grain and then apply a clear polyurethane finish to protect the door. Having done all that back in 2011 I was pleased the finish held up for nearly 9 years. The finish was beginning to show its age but had not peeled or blistered. A light sanding and some prep work the other day and I applied 6 more coats of polyurethane over a period of 3 days. Looks good. Hope it last for another 9 years. The before and after pictures don't do it justice - the new finish looks really good!

A side note... DW and I purchased the door way back in 2003 for a wedding anniversary gift for ourselves. I procrastinated with the installation as DW and I discussed the merit of staining the entire door (exterior too) versus staining only the interior and painting the exterior. Well, that very large, heavy door stood in the garage for over 7 years before we finally took the plunge and had it installed. We originally planned a DIY install with a friend but instead lucked into having Ask This Old House guru Tom Silva perform the installation. I've attached an abbreviated YouTube clip of the installation. The ATOH episode is actually quite a bit longer.

BTW, ATOH staff wanted only DW in the video.

 

[Palmtree]

It's been a plumbing kind of week. First problem was in the kitchen. We have a pull out faucet and the hose sprung a leak. It's an off brand from Costco so there was not a handy replacement at the big box stores. Thanks to Google I found a customer service phone number. A five minute call got me a free replacement, shipped FEDEX next day!

About 24 hours after that was fixed we noticed that sink in the bar was not draining well. Since it's only two years old, it was puzzling. I pulled the P-trap and it was clean. What the... With the trap removed, I shined a light back up towards the sink. Ah Hah! There was a disc of solid growth about 1/8 inch thick plugging the drain pipe. It must have been created by left over beer and wine that was poured down the drain. Somehow it "floated" on top of the water in the P-trap and turned into a hard plastic like mass.

 

[aja8888]

It's been a plumbing kind of week. First problem was in the kitchen. We have a pull out faucet and the hose sprung a leak. It's an off brand from Costco so there was not a handy replacement at the big box stores. Thanks to Google I found a customer service phone number. A five minute call got me a free replacement, shipped FEDEX next day!

About 24 hours after that was fixed we noticed that sink in the bar was not draining well. Since it's only two years old, it was puzzling. I pulled the P-trap and it was clean. What the... With the trap removed, I shined a light back up towards the sink. Ah Hah! There was a disc of solid growth about 1/8 inch thick plugging the drain pipe. It must have been created by left over beer and wine that was poured down the drain. Somehow it "floated" on top of the water in the P-trap and turned into a hard plastic like mass.

Leftover beer and wine......not acceptable! LOL!

 

[Ronstar]

Not exactly a repair, but sort of...



DW and I had a solid oak front door installed in 2011. We decided to stain the door to bring out the natural grain and then apply a clear polyurethane finish to protect the door. Having done all that back in 2011 I was pleased the finish held up for nearly 9 years. The finish was beginning to show its age but had not peeled or blistered. A light sanding and some prep work the other day and I applied 6 more coats of polyurethane over a period of 3 days. Looks good. Hope it last for another 9 years. The before and after pictures don't do it justice - the new finish looks really good!



A side note... DW and I purchased the door way back in 2003 for a wedding anniversary gift for ourselves. I procrastinated with the installation as DW and I discussed the merit of staining the entire door (exterior too) versus staining only the interior and painting the exterior. Well, that very large, heavy door stood in the garage for over 7 years before we finally took the plunge and had it installed. We originally planned a DIY install with a friend but instead lucked into having Ask This Old House guru Tom Silva perform the installation. I've attached an abbreviated YouTube clip of the installation. The ATOH episode is actually quite a bit longer.



BTW, ATOH staff wanted only DW in the video.

Nicely done - back then and now!

 

[jollystomper]

The end of last week was one of those wonderful "when a planned enhancement leads to an unexpected repair" situation.

I simply wanted to install a TV/monitor wall mount in the "audiophile" section of my basement man cave, where I play records, do my vinyl-to-mp3 conversion, and am re-establishing my recording "studio" for various hobby purposes. The mount location turned out to be directly on a stud, which are metal. The TV and monitor (both have the same mount template so I can choose to switch between them) each weigh under 16 lbs, so I could have made it simple and just mount it to the drywall. However, to quote the late John Belushi line on SNL, "But noooo...." .. I decided to install the mount to attach to the drywall studs. Who knows, some day I might want to have a larger TV or monitor there.

Little did I realize how much vibration occurs when drilling through studs... enough that I noticed the sound of something falling behind the wall, which seemed strange. Looking behind the drywall from a nearby closet, sure enough, there was a pile of something on the ground that was not there before...

I was puzzled until I realized this section of the man cave is below the family room fireplace. Fortunately, when the basement was finished, they put an access port in the drywall to get to the ash dump cleanout. When I opened the access port I was now staring into the ash dump... yep, the ash dump clean out door - which was 40+ years old, thin, and rusty, had fallen out (along with some of the cement holding it in place) and broken up.

We have not used the fireplace in several years. It is not very efficient and our plans are to have a wood stove and pipe installed in it.But I still needed to repair the opening. Fortunately it is a standard size opening, and I was able to get a replacement (and much sturdier) cast iron clean out door in a couple of days (thank you, Amazon). Though I have to move all of my audio stuff out of the way to better access the repair area via the access door, I was able to remove the old, loose cement and use fireplace cement to install the new clean out door. It is good for now, but when we do get a wood stove install I will have the installers double check it.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I realized my washing machine was barely agitating. So a few minutes of googling suggested that there were cogs (or AKA “dogs”) on Kenmore/Whirlpool/Roper washing machines that have been used with an unchanged design for like, for-evah! They limit the motion of the agitator to one direction, but they, of course, can wear out. I “risked it” and ordered a replacement set of cogs for the princely sum of $4 delivered.

After prying off the agitator cover, expecting to find a nut to engage with the socket, what do I see but a square hole? Kinda big square hole. I quickly surmised that it fit a 1/2” square drive tool. I looked around, and the thing that came to hand was my 24” breaker bar, which conveniently had an extension on it already. So, bottom line, I used a damn breaker bar to unscrew the plastic threaded piece, that probably needed about 0.0004 foot-pounds torque to unscrew. I held the bar vertically and used it like a screwdriver. Good thing I had a breaker bar!

The job took less than 5 minutes. Unscrewed the retainer, found 3 of 4 cogs broken, popped ‘em out, replaced them, screwed back together, snap the cover back on. When I first discovered the problem with the agitator, I honestly thought I would need to replace the 22-year-old washing machine, but I guess I saved another $600 or so.

 

[homestead]

Replaced the battery in my Iphone 6S plus. Bought battery kit off Amazon for about $20. Took about 45 minutes. Very small screws. There was a Youtube video to show you how to change it. No soldering. The tools they provided weren't great but they worked. My phone now lasts about 24 hrs before it's down to 50% charge. Much improved. Most time was spent scraping the old gasket off the phone.

 

[Chuckanut]

I don;t know if this counts as a repair or maintenance, but I am going about the house with paint and a small artist's brush painting over chips, stains, blemishes etc. that are on the painted surfaces. Those things really accumulate after a while.

 

[Walt34]

When I first discovered the problem with the agitator, I honestly thought I would need to replace the 22-year-old washing machine, but I guess I saved another $600 or so.

I did the same repair a few years ago but thanks to your post now I feel ripped off. Those parts cost me $12.

 

[Telly]

The job took less than 5 minutes. Unscrewed the retainer, found 3 of 4 cogs broken, popped ‘em out, replaced them, screwed back together, snap the cover back on. When I first discovered the problem with the agitator, I honestly thought I would need to replace the 22-year-old washing machine, but I guess I saved another $600 or so.

I think I've replaced the dogs three times on our 30+ years old Kenmore by Whirlpool. The last time I bought them, I bought a quantity 2 set, so I have a ready spare set... which increases the lifetime of the parts presently in use

Just as an FYI, over the years I eventually replaced:
The solenoid fill valve 'round back, just got weak over many years.
The pump, easy to replace with the 3-sided cabinet taken off, it's bearing went, rounded out the seal, which caused it to leak into our handy utility room floor drain.
The pressure switch that senses water level for Low-Medium-High, it became finicky, I suspect the rubber diaphragm inside wore out.
The timer assembly, because the clutch in it became problematic and finally could not push/pull to start it up, this one was at the ~25+ year point.

It has gotten a lot of use all these years, and I would like it to outlive me. Can't get a heavy duty machine like those anymore. There are people in the appliance business who look for the old Whirlpool/Kenmore direct-drives with the tub tri-mount setup, who replace a part or two in them and then sell them as used machines in good condition.

We bought a used one for one of our kids in college from a lady who was living in a mobile home, she was moving out to live with her daughter. That machine (replaced the dogs once) soldiered on through college, rental houses after college, into a permanent home, where it was eventually replaced (it was still working fine) by a new fancy LG washer with all sorts of bells and whistles... The new fancy machine after a couple years blew up on spin, breaking drywall on two sides, luckily no one was in the room when it's tub suspension failed miserably. Piece of crap. Both LG and Samsung had the same idiotic design. Newer top-loader Whirlpools also went to top tub suspension from four corners, but they use all-steel suspension, with heavy steel rails up top where the shock absorbers hang from, they won't rip out.

 

[mckittri2000]

Replaced the defrost board and sensor on my heat pump last winter.