Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[ERD50]

Another story about "wonderful" Harbor Freight electronics.

I had a few of the following HF meter. They give them out quite often with coupons stating "Free with any purchase - Value of $x.xx". How can I resist this? Travelover admitted to having a few himself. ...

Don't sneer at the accuracy; ...

I've bought a few of those meters years ago, from ebay or Amazon, for maybe $5? And I agree, they are surprisingly capable for the price. Hard to believe they can sell them for that.


But of course they are cheaply made, and I just had too much trouble with intermittent connections on the selection switch. The readings would be wacky, and I'd 'massage' the switch, and they'd come back. It was just too annoying, especially when working on an intermittent problem - adding an intermittent meter to the mix was beyond frustrating. "Free" is too much to pay in that case.

But like you say, if you can put them somewhere and leave the switch set, they might be OK.

-ERD50

 

[travelover]

.......... Travelover admitted to having a few himself.

Guilty. I realize that these are not high quality, but for the work I do, they provide plenty of useful information.

I've found the same issue with the leads, they are a tiny gauge of wire, which makes the 10 amp measuring position laughable. But for free, I'd say they are worth twice the price!

 

[akck]

Recently, our pellet stove shorted out. All signs pointed to a dead circuit board, so that part was ordered. When it arrived, the fuse blew within a second, caused by a shorted igniter. Fortunately, it didn’t kill the $400 circuit board this time. So a new igniter was ordered, but had to wait a couple of weeks before replacement as we were going on a trip. So far, it is working normally and we have pellet heat in our basement.

 

[jcfradio]

We had a toilet that was leaking while I was away last week. DW wanted to replace the toilet since it had not be flushing very well. I had a look at it and determined that the fill valve needed replacement - and just coincidentally, I happened to have an extra valve in the house. Thirty minutes later, all fixed and now it is flushing completely. So, not only did I save several hundred on a new toilet, but I also had the satisfaction of another fix-it job. I can now watch the football game with a smile on my face.

 

[FrankiesGirl]

This week I recalked both bathtubs, touched up some chips in one tub,and a few ceramic floor tiles in one bathroom and kitchen while I had the chip repair stuff out, then replaced one NASTY bent (no idea how that happened) tub overflow cover with a shiny clean new one. SO MUCH BETTER!

 

[Megg1141]

Installed a new hot tub cover but will be installing a hydraulic lift as well. This way i can remove and replace the cover by myself when needed.

 

[ls99]

Cut off 6" of bed legs. Now I can sit down on it, instead having to climb up to get into the bed. Been considering the idea for several years. Can't rush these things.

 

[NW-Bound]

Cut off 6" of bed legs. Now I can sit down on it, instead having to climb up to get into the bed. Been considering the idea for several years. Can't rush these things.

With the bed low to ground, you can also be sure that no monster will be able to hide under the bed, and to spring out in the middle of the night.

 

[NW-Bound]

One of my vehicles drove squirrelly, and I even had to call a tow truck to get it home. Thought it was the front wheel bearing, because it made noise and the wheel was hot when I touched it. This was more than 1 year ago. And the car just sat there, until I have time to look at it.

Now, it's time to fix it or to give it away. Start up the engine, and man it starts right up (I have a small solar panel on the dashboard to keep the battery alive). Darn! AC still blows cold and everything. Hmmm... Maybe I should fix this car, and keep it as a spare.

Pull off the front wheel, and discover that it is the brake caliper that is stuck and the pads are dragging on the rotor. Should be an easy fix, but look at that torn CV boot. Might as well replace it.

Turns out that for old cars, the entire half-shaft is not much more expensive than the boot itself, and how the heck can you put on the boot without taking apart the messy joint, which is also worn? Nope, the whole thing has to go.

I can't get over how cheap the half-shaft is at less than $40, including the shipping cost from 2,000 miles away. The darn thing is heavy too. How can that be, other than these parts are so old stock, and nobody drives this car anymore, and the vendor may as well get a couple of dollars for it?

Now, it's all back together, with a spanking new half-shaft. But I still have the other side of brake pads in the kit. I should replace the other side too. And I guess I might as well look to buy the other half-shaft.

There's always something to do.

 

[aja8888]

I can't get over how cheap the half-shaft is at less than $40, including the shipping cost from 2,000 miles away. The darn thing is heavy too. How can that be, other than these parts are so old and nobody drives this car anymore and the vendor may as well get a couple of dollars for it?

Now, it's all back together, with a spanking new half-shaft. But I still have the other side of brake pads in the kit. I should replace the other side too. And I guess I might as well look to buy the other half-shaft.

There's always something to do.

Those cheap half shafts are cleaned and rebooted used shafts from China (or Mexico). I hope they are balanced and straight. I went through a few of these in the past. Now I have my old shafts rebuilt locally.

Only replace the other half shaft of the boot is torn and the grease has all leaked out.

I've also sent mu old axles to this place:

https://www.raxles.com/

 

[ls99]

With the bed low to ground, you can also be sure that no monster will be able to hide under the bed, and to spring out in the middle of the night.

And with removing any mirrors in the bedrom one can be sure that if a monster shows up, won't see two of them.

 

[NW-Bound]

Uh Oh!

I just went out and looked at the box the shaft came in. It said "New", "Premium Quality", and also "Made in China".

Hmmm... I recently replaced the half-shaft on another vehicle, and it is OK so far. Forgot what brand that one was, but this one is GSP.

 

[aja8888]

Uh Oh!

I just went out and looked at the box the shaft came in. It said "New", "Premium Quality", and also "Made in China".

Hmmm... I recently replaced the half-shaft on another vehicle, and it is OK so far. Forgot what brand that one was, but this one is GSP.

Yes, we all believe the notations on the Chinese boxes to be true!

These are probably OK on normal, light duty service use. I tried a couple on my BMW and they failed after a while. One problem is that the cheap shafts I used were hollow and the OEM ones were solid and could handle more torque.

i remember on one shaft the spline was damaged and it wouldn't go into the hub.

 

[OldShooter]

... One problem is that the cheap shafts I used were hollow and the OEM ones were solid and could handle more torque. ...

Actually FWIW, the stiffness of a shaft like that goes as the fourth power of the diameter. The steel towards the center contributes almost nothing to strength or torsional stiffness. It just adds weight and shipping cost.

 

[aja8888]

Actually FWIW, the stiffness of a shaft like that goes as the fourth power of the diameter. The steel towards the center contributes almost nothing to strength or torsional stiffness. It just adds weight and shipping cost.

I'll search for a picture of my broken half shaft from my BMW and post it if I can find it.

 

[NW-Bound]

I already forgot about the weight of the half-shaft that I put in the other car earlier, but this one I just did, the thing is heavy like heck, just like the OEM one.

About the other side half-shaft, I am going to replace it too. Boot is torn, and the joint is worn. The car is drivable, so there's no hurry.

 

[OldShooter]

I'll search for a picture of my broken half shaft from my BMW and post it if I can find it.

Oh, I don't doubt that it broke. I have seen plenty of twisted half-shafts on race cars. But it almost certainly wasn't the hollow center that is to blame. Maybe crummy steel, maybe corrosion. Look carefully at the broken/exposed steel. Sometimes you can actually see where there was a radial crack that had corrosion and was creeping in. Maybe just a rough surface; really serious half-shafts are shot peened to keep cracks from starting at the surface. Or a stress raiser where there was a sharp transition between diameters like at the ends.

 

[freedomatlast]

Uh Oh!

I just went out and looked at the box the shaft came in. It said "New", "Premium Quality", and also "Made in China".

Hmmm... I recently replaced the half-shaft on another vehicle, and it is OK so far. Forgot what brand that one was, but this one is GSP.

I recently used a half shaft from APW International which is also a new Chinese Made Half Shaft. It's been on the car about 6 months and is fine. I'm having better luck with the new Chinese shafts than with the rebuilt ones. The last rebuilt ones I got were 0.015" too small on the diameter were the oil seal rides and it leaked.

 

[NW-Bound]

Parts for older cars are amazingly cheap. Unless it is for an exotic car, I think the overstock is liquidated for dirt cheap, because if the vendor sits on it for too long, he may have to throw it away.

Here's an example that I just look up on Amazon. Both are new, not reman'.

Half-shaft for 2000 Honda Accord: less than $50 for 1 side, shipping included.

The same, but for 2014 Honda Accord: $160, also for 1 side.


PS. If you cannot do it yourself, the difference of the part costs becomes insignificant inside the total bill due to labor charges.

 

[travelover]

Fixed the ice water dispenser on my fridge. Two year old grandson had hit the "extra ice" button and the next day, no water would come out of the dispenser. I suspected the line had frozen and an internet search found this to be a common problem. I found this YouTube video on how to fix it with a syringe and a length of thin tubing like IV line. It took about 6 shots of hot water to do the trick, but eventually a little ice slug shot out and then water.

 

[John Galt III]

Investigating a slow leak of water into the toilet tank from the inlet ballcock. Disassembled the top assembly, thought I needed new neoprene washers in there since the old ones were actually looking pretty rotted, almost crumbling! Bought 3 new washers, but after some more looking at the thing, appears that the washers are actually supposed to allow water IN, just at a controlled angle, so new washers won't fix it. Looked back in my notes and saw that I had previously found a crack in the inlet tube years ago, and had sealed the crack with 'plumbers goop' which has held for several years. Spent a long time staring at the inlet tube trying to find a crack with 'plumbers goop' on it. Panicked, thought I might never find it, but have finally located it. Next step is to buy a brand new tube of plumbers goop (old one is used up on other stuff, works great) and reglue the crack, hope that fixes it. Alternative to regluing crack is to replace the entire ballcock with a FluidMaster ballcock, but that would involve removing old plastic nuts at bottom of tank which may crack apart under stress, also may need to loosen up other tank bolts, and all that potential nightmare, where the supposed one hour job turns into a 3 day affair with multiple trips to hdw store, and lots of Youtubing, lol.

 

[Sunset]

I've replaced the entire guts of a few toilet tanks. It's surprisingly easy, as the $15 kits I bought had everything inside, including the plastic nuts for the outside bottom of the tank.
As long as you can reach the underneath, I've never found a need to remove the tank for this type of replacement.

 

[Walt34]

I've replaced the entire guts of a few toilet tanks. It's surprisingly easy, as the $15 kits I bought had everything inside, including the plastic nuts for the outside bottom of the tank.
As long as you can reach the underneath, I've never found a need to remove the tank for this type of replacement.

What he said. It really isn't that hard. The kits come with all new bolts and stuff so if some of the old hardware does crumble at the touch of a wrench it's not an issue.

Now, if that's the only toilet in the house like where I grew up, the pressure is on!

 

[travelover]

..........Now, if that's the only toilet in the house like where I grew up, the pressure is on!

One can flush a toilet with a bucket of water.

 

[Samething]

Your recent repair?

Replaced my 20 year old garage door opener today. Took 4 hours and wore me out. The old gray mare...