Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[lwp2017]

Your recent repair?

A repairman in our house on another matter told us to hang on to our 21 year old Maytag washer and dryer (which have never needed a repair). He said they don't make them like that any more

Great advice, I do all of my own repairs.

I recommend SpeedQueen washers, they built like maytag used to make em.
SpeedQueens are what laundromats use.

On a SpeedQueen, the model with analog controls were more expensive than the one with digital controls.

 

[Dash man]

Kitchen drain clogged last night. Took apart the drain trap and decided to replace al the pvc connections. Once done I was running the water checking for leaks, when I spotted a leak from an unexpected source. The connection for the pull out faucet sprayer was leaking. We may not have noticed it for a while if the drain hadn't clogged and cleared out all the stuff under the sink to see it. Could have rotted out the bottom of the cabinet. Found the needed hose on Amazon so we should get it tomorrow at the latest. Never thought a clogged drain would be my friend.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

took a 10 year warranty on a Maytag washer, 2 repairmen replaced the gears they were leaking oil, they offered a free replacement but then i lose the remaining 4.5 years of my extended warranty, had to make a new appointment , after they left, i used the machine , its banging like crazy hahahah

 

[Ronstar]

My floating dock started to float away. I replaced the rusted/broken off posts with new ones and should be ok for another 12 years.

 

[Cobra9777]

A week ago, DW informed me that the hot tub was cold. Uh-oh. Tried a power-cycle. No luck. Opened the equipment panel and checked for a reset button on the heater. None found. Opened the plastic box containing the electronics and noticed some discoloration on and around one of the circuit boards. After some testing with a volt meter, turns out the heater relay board was fried and was providing no current to the heater.

Went online and watched a few how-to YouTube videos and checked a few sites for parts and pricing. Five days and $138 later, the new board arrived. Replacement was fairly easy. Only problem was mechanical... when the board fried, some of the plastic mounting supports were burned and became brittle. So when I tried to replace the screws to secure the new board, they just crumbled. So that required some improvisation... drilling new holes, spacers, bolts, etc to secure the new board in place.

Got everything wired up and hot tub is hot again. DW is happy. While the hood was up, I did some other maintenance like replacing the tubing and check-valve for the ozonator. It's making bubbles, but I have no idea if it's actually producing ozone (it's 14 years old, so I suspect it's not). That's a $280 part, so I'll hold off for now. I also priced a new insulated cover, which is anywhere from $250 to $600. That can wait as well, but it's taken a beating over the years from full exposure to the Texas sun.

 

[Sunset]

. After some testing with a volt meter, turns out the heater relay board was fried and was providing no current to the heater.......

Got everything wired up and hot tub is hot again. DW is happy. ......... I also priced a new insulated cover, which is anywhere from $250 to $600. That can wait as well, but it's taken a beating over the years from full exposure to the Texas sun.

In Texas the insulated cover is to keep the tub from getting too hot in the sun

 

[Cobra9777]

In Texas the insulated cover is to keep the tub from getting too hot in the sun

Ha. That's not far from the truth. The spa has a "summer mode" that cuts off the heater during the day to prevent overheating. In the pool, we've seen the (unheated) water get up to 95 degrees in July and August. That's just not pleasant at all when you want to cool off.

 

[Keim]

In Texas the insulated cover is to keep the tub from getting too hot in the sun

In Texas they just call it a tub. Any body of water is presumed to be hot.

 

[Dash man]

Got the new kitchen faucet hose from Amazon that matched the part number for our model of faucet on the Kohler website. It wasn't the right one. After reading deep into the Amazon reviews, it turns out there was a second part number for older versions of the faucet. The picture looked like a match so I ordered it. It came today and was a perfect fit. DW happy to have her faucet back!

 

[Stratman]

DW and I got home from spending a couple of days at a cabin in the woods. I was relaxed and ready to tackle something so I decided to open the pool. Got the cover off, water was pretty and clear. Took the plugs out of the lines and started the pump. It squalled like a banshee. Two year old pump and the bearings were gone. Got a new pump and just finished installing it. Went well, just shot the crap out of $600 that I wasn't expecting.

 

[Dawg52]

New over the range microwave being installed tomorrow to replace the old one. Purchased from Lowes. When you're an old bachelor, a fully functioning microwave is a must!

 

[Sunset]

DW and I got home from spending a couple of days at a cabin in the woods. I was relaxed and ready to tackle something so I decided to open the pool. Got the cover off, water was pretty and clear. Took the plugs out of the lines and started the pump. It squalled like a banshee. Two year old pump and the bearings were gone. Got a new pump and just finished installing it. Went well, just shot the crap out of $600 that I wasn't expecting.

" a cabin in the woods" with a pool -> That is roughing it

 

[Ronstar]

My corvette is having problems where it tries to compensate for wet pavement, etc by going into active handling- but it does it on dry pavement. Doesn't throw any error codes. Dealer service couldn't figure it out. I did a lot of research - could be corroded grounds. I cleaned up one of the grounds today and the frequency of the problem is about 10% of what it was yesterday. I need some ratchet extensions to get to the other grounds, but this may be the fix

 

[travelover]

.......... I did a lot of research - could be corroded grounds. I cleaned up one of the grounds today and the frequency of the problem is about 10% of what it was yesterday. I need some ratchet extensions to get to the other grounds, but this may be the fix

It is so often the really simple, stupid stuff that gets you.

 

[ls99]

My corvette is having problems where it tries to compensate for wet pavement, etc by going into active handling- but it does it on dry pavement. Doesn't throw any error codes. Dealer service couldn't figure it out. I did a lot of research - could be corroded grounds. I cleaned up one of the grounds today and the frequency of the problem is about 10% of what it was yesterday. I need some ratchet extensions to get to the other grounds, but this may be the fix

Electrical junction grease should keep the corrosion from returning, at least far longer than without.

 

[aja8888]

My corvette is having problems where it tries to compensate for wet pavement, etc by going into active handling- but it does it on dry pavement. Doesn't throw any error codes. Dealer service couldn't figure it out. I did a lot of research - could be corroded grounds. I cleaned up one of the grounds today and the frequency of the problem is about 10% of what it was yesterday. I need some ratchet extensions to get to the other grounds, but this may be the fix

Ahh, the grounds...you should see some of the grounds on my 1971 VW Beetle I am presently restoring. Ever seen green connections? I have measured a 2 volt loss at the tail lights!

My choices are to completely rewire the car or find every connection that is corroded and clean or replace it.

I can buy a new harness with original color wires for under $300. No computers or solid state in the car! All brass spade connectors.

If I recall, your Vette is a 2003 (?). That's about the period of time, age wise, when car electrical components and connections start failing. I have seen this on my 2003 Jetta and a few other cars I have had. Maybe it's time to unload the Vette? Move up to a Z06?

On a similar note, it's going to be interesting when the current crop of high tech cars start experiencing electrical failures. My friend's 2010 Hyundai Genesis just had the cruise control get flaky. The replacement electrical module was $800 installed. It will get worse as these cars get long in the tooth.

 

[Tom52]

65 Impala fuel system refurb.

My 65 Chevy Impala was having carburetor issues last fall. I decided that this years project would be to totally refurbish the fuel system as I know that a lot of crud was getting into the carburetor. Rust in the fuel tank is a common problem in older vehicles that sit a long time with old gas in the tank.

The work consisted of replacing the fuel tank with a new fuel tank, cleaning fuel lines, dissemble and rebuild the fuel pump, replace the fuel filter and most tricky is to clean and rebuild the carburetor. Since carburetor work is tricky, especially when they are full of crud necessitated sending it to a professional to make sure it is done right.

After getting everything back on the car and hooked up, I was really nervous as to whether it would start up and run as hoped. Other than adding 4 gallons of premium fuel to the tank, the fuel lines, fuel pump, fuel filter bowl, and carburetor were dry from the rebuild. I poured about a quarter cup of fuel down the carburetor and hit the ignition key. Engine cranked about 2 seconds and fired right up. It stumbled for a second but never died, then the engine idled very smoothly once the fuel system was fully charged. I took it out for a couple mile drive and the car seems to run better than it had for several years.

These old cars cost a lot to keep on the road. I probably have about $600 in this project split mostly in the carburetor rebuild ($280 including shipping) and the new fuel tank including new fuel sending unit, and anti-squeak material ($300 including shipping).

 

[2soon2tell]

Installed an over the range microwave. Only problem was that I had to expand the opening using my jigsaw. Fortunately the trim piece covered up my not so neat sawing.

 

[Music Lover]

Simple fix...my wheelbarrow tire wouldn't hold air for longer than a half hour. I took the tire off and put it in a bucket of water and saw that it was leaking around the rim. A few well placed gentle taps of a hammer was all it took to re-seal the tire.

 

[Hermit]

My corvette is having problems where it tries to compensate for wet pavement, etc by going into active handling- but it does it on dry pavement. Doesn't throw any error codes. Dealer service couldn't figure it out. I did a lot of research - could be corroded grounds. I cleaned up one of the grounds today and the frequency of the problem is about 10% of what it was yesterday. I need some ratchet extensions to get to the other grounds, but this may be the fix

My Jeep has a problem the dealer can't figure out too! The horn doesn't honk. No. I'm not kidding.

 

[Ronstar]

Electrical junction grease should keep the corrosion from returning, at least far longer than without.

Yep - read the same tip on the online corvette forum - going to do this soon.

Ahh, the grounds...you should see some of the grounds on my 1971 VW Beetle I am presently restoring. Ever seen green connections? I have measured a 2 volt loss at the tail lights!

My choices are to completely rewire the car or find every connection that is corroded and clean or replace it.

I can buy a new harness with original color wires for under $300. No computers or solid state in the car! All brass spade connectors.

If I recall, your Vette is a 2003 (?). That's about the period of time, age wise, when car electrical components and connections start failing. I have seen this on my 2003 Jetta and a few other cars I have had. Maybe it's time to unload the Vette? Move up to a Z06?


On a similar note, it's going to be interesting when the current crop of high tech cars start experiencing electrical failures. My friend's 2010 Hyundai Genesis just had the cruise control get flaky. The replacement electrical module was $800 installed. It will get worse as these cars get long in the tooth.

I wish I had green ground connectors like your Beetle. Then I could find them easier.

My Vette's a 2001 - original owner - and it sits in the garage all winter - next to DW's car that usually leaves a deluge of snow melt under my car. So yes I may have some connection issues. But no - I'm not moving up. I'm keeping this one till it drops. I agree that it's going to be interesting when these high tech cars start having electrical issues. They'll never figure them out.

 

[Chuckanut]

One of my Tivo units (the newest one, go figure) developed a very noisy cooling fan. After checking a few YouTube videos on exactly this problem, I opened the unit and sprayed some lubricant into the fan, as best as I could. I ran the fan with the unit open for about five minutes and there was not much improvement in the noise.

Figuring I would have to purchase a new fan, I reassembled the unit and plugged in my TV and antenna. I turned on the power and ....... it is now blissfully quiet. A soft purring noise that is barely audible from two feet away.

We'll see how long the lubricant will fix the noise problem.

 

[Ronstar]

I had a printed circuit break in my drone. I ordered the part and installed it. So far the drone is acting fine.

 

[aja8888]

Finished the brake job on my 1971 VW Beetle. Installed all new brake shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware. Cleaned and installed original star adjusters and added anti-seize to the threads. Then did the first brake adjustment and power bled the system with my Motive Power Bleeder.

Took it for a spin and tried to set in the brake shoes. Wow, I forgot how crappy 4 wheel drum brakes are in relation to modern day disc brakes. I may go ahead and convert the front brakes to disc units as kits are available.

 

[sengsational]

Nothing like the smell of Bondo in the morning!

These shed doors that I had neglected had their veneer getting soggy and no longer attached. I should have taken a "before" picture. I probably could have avoided this job if I had kept getting new paint on the doors, but painting is not something I do very often, hehe! Anyway, I cut the loose veneer and sub layer in some places and slapped on some Bondo. I don't think I'll bother getting it smooth...just paint it. It is a shed, after all.

Those door slabs I bought probably 15 years ago were supposed to be exterior, but the veneer glue doesn't hold up well to moisture. They weigh a ton (solid core of pressed board). At least that stayed dry, or it would have swelled. I hung them myself and they're​ on the tight side... touching the threshold, so when rain splashes around, it takes a while to dry-out. But I trimmed the bottom and have a layer of Bondo down there now. We'll see how they hold up.