Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[travelover]

I was drilling some holes in concrete when the brushes on the hammer drill started arcing like crazy. I took the drill apart and found that one brush was worn to its limit. I didn't want to fool around with finding a new set of brushes, so I clipped a short length of 6 gauge copper wire and used it as a shim under the brush. Worked perfectly. I think I'll trash the drill rather than find brushes for it, as the bushings are shot.

 

[Finance Dave]

Htown Harry lives in Houston (Htown) where it is common to run plumbing through the attic rather than within the slab (no basements in that part of the world). Freezing temps are very uncommon. But when temps do dip into the 20's as they did on a rare occasion in the early 80's, broken pipes and major water damage can - and did - ensue.

Water heaters located in the attic are commonplace as a means of saving space - but they are a PITA to replace.

Not just saving space, but energy and $$. The attic is already hot...so the water gets heated by the ambient attic temps and very little electricity is needed. I live in Indiana and am a home inspector...we don't see them in attics around here LOL.

 

[Finance Dave]

Way to go.
I did that same job on my 91 Ford Escort wagon. If not for the safety issue, I seriously considered cutting a hole in the firewall.
Now I am doing a valve job and replacing the timming belt driven water pump on the same car.
We recently bought a 2003 Honda CRV. DW hates it - prefers the size/lack of prestige of the Escort + simplicity of manual transmisson/hand crank windows. Its still playing out.

I drive a 2002 CRV and now have 90k miles on it...it's the second best car I've ever owned. The best car was a 1992 Honda Civic DX hatchback. That car got 40 MPG city, and 41 highway. It did not have a passenger side mirror to cut down on wind drag and improve fuel mileage LOL...seriously! Here is a pic.

 

[Calico]

I drive a 2002 CRV and now have 90k miles on it...it's the second best car I've ever owned. The best car was a 1992 Honda Civic DX hatchback. That car got 40 MPG city, and 41 highway. It did not have a passenger side mirror to cut down on wind drag and improve fuel mileage LOL...seriously! Here is a pic.

I owned a 1992 Civic DX hatchback too! Bought it new and drove it until December 2008. I loved that car and still miss it. Replaced it with a 2009 Honda Fit, which is a great car, but not as much fun as the hatchback.

 

[LitGal]

Honda Civic Was the Best Car I've Had So Far

Bought it in 1977, when you had to place an order and wait for it to be shipped from Japan. There were only about 4 colors: I bought the dark green. That car got incredible mileage, needed few repairs, and was very dependable. We sold it at 117,000 miles, in the mid-80's, but only because DH took a job that came with a company car.

It sold quickly for a good price.

(The only reason that we haven't bought another is that we have been able to buy DH's company cars, used, at salvage price: an offer we couldn't refuse.)

 

[bjorn2bwild]

No dispute from me on Honda quality. It is hands down the nicer car.
Up to 110k miles the Escort proved very reliable. After that point it was in such a constant need of repair I removed the Escort and relettered SNAFU. Then it started developing mystery problems observable only to DW, so I changed it again to QUANTUM SNAFU.
Nonetheless, DW still prefers it to the CRV.

 

[John Galt III]

I use JB weld for many things that need to be solid/unmoving. Another great glue is the Goop glues, I use the plumbers Goop it's like silicone glue on steriods.

+1 for Plumbers Goop. I used the Goop for Plumbing on a toilet part that gets pressure on it, and is also underwater constantly. Just removed the part, dried it, applied Goop, let it dry 2 days, replaced it into the toilet. It's been working great for about 2 years now.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

DW and I have had many successes using Youtube for how to and Ebay for spare parts. Failures - 1) DVDs and Receivers are so cheap, there is no point 2) New batteries for portable power tools are maybe $29 but a new power tool is $35. Not worth it. 3) Small engine repair - local Community College does not have a course in small engine repair. When I have it in my mind that I am going to weed whack that day and the weed whacker just won't start, I am not pleasant. So I have spares for my chainsaw, weedwhacker and a few other goodies.

 

[frank2009]

It's great reading about DIY repairs! You guys seem to be a cheap, ahem, resourceful, bunch.

The drivers side window on my mazda 3 no longer worked. My mechanic said the switch was probably bad. I took a chance and ordered a new switch ($180) from mazda. Done in 10 minutes. Didn't even need to remove the door panel. Only the plastic cover over the switch needed to be removed. Works perfect! Don't know how much I saved.

 

[H2ODude]

The worst kind of maintenance issue is one that is intermittent, as in it works fine when the tech is there. Had (Have?) this problem with gas furnace. Have a great guy who doesn't even charge me half the time he has to come out. I can usually figure it out, but anymore will call because I just want it fixed.

Recently the burners would not fire. Well, (Goodman unit gas pack) there are three burners. Igniter fires the lower, and the flame "crawls" up to the 2nd then top one, which has the temp sensor to let it know that everything is firing, OK to stay on. Problem is it would not "crawl" up to the higher burners, would time out and shut down (only lower burner firing, uppers passing raw gas). Mechanic had never seen that, has tried adjusting gas pressure. Called him today to schedule, he said he would call Goodman tech service as he had not dealt with anything like it.

Well, I'm retired and didn't have anything to do so opened it up and stared at it for a few minutes, had it try to come on. Only thing I could figure is that maybe there was a slight obstruction in the narrow passage that directs the flames to the burner above each. Took it apart and fished some sandpaper and a wire into the passages; didn't seem obstructed. Anyway, put it back together and all three fired right away. Called my guy and left him a vm to call factory to see what they say but I think I may have it licked. Have to admit, it always feels good to conquer a challenge. Perhaps one of the few things I miss about w--rk!

 

[travelover]

....... Only thing I could figure is that maybe there was a slight obstruction in the narrow passage that directs the flames to the burner above each. Took it apart and fished some sandpaper and a wire into the passages; didn't seem obstructed. Anyway, put it back together and all three fired right away..........

Probably a tiny spider web - really. It is a common problem with RV refrigerators.

 

[ERD50]

... Problem is it would not "crawl" up to the higher burners, would time out and shut down (only lower burner firing, uppers passing raw gas). ...

I just repaired my furnace, and in the process I tried to check as much as I could, watched a lot of youtube videos for info. I did see recommendations to clean those passageways between the burners, I think they called them flame spreaders. That seems consistent with the problems you had.

One thing still has me scratching my head. I recall having trouble keeping the pilot lit years ago, the TC just didn't sit far enough in the flame, and I couldn't seem to get it adjusted. I ended up tweaking things a bit, then wiring the TC in place, and later had problems with the pilot getting sucked towards the burners when the draft inducer comes on, the TC would cool and shut down the gas. So I twisted it around so that the TC was in the pilot flame at all times. It's working, but it just doesn't seem right to have to do this. This is NOT a safety issue, if anything it is 'too safe' and shuts the furnace down early.

-ERD50

 

[Co2012]

This is not a repair but almost was.

I called to have my yearly furnace checkup. When the guy came, he said that the furnace tested high for carbon monoxide and was dangerous to use. He said I would need an expensive part or either buy a new furnace. I asked what the cost would be to install a new furnace and also how much that part would be. He said he did not know and that the owner was out of town and would call me. After a week, no one called, so I started calling other companies for estimates.

The estimates were really high so I called the first company back to see if the owner had returned as they had always been more than reasonable with us. The receptionist said the owner had returned but then she said, "You probably don't need a new furnace. We just got a new carbon monoxide machine but something is wrong with it. Every house we tested was at dangerous levels. So we have to retest everyone." They came back and my furnace tested out just fine and is in good shape. I was very thankful not to have to spend the money but it was very annoying to have my week disrupted for nothing with people coming in and out giving estimates, high pressure to buy, not to mention the follow up calls. I should not be surprised that so many companies were willing to pull out a perfectly good furnace.

 

[aja8888]

This is not a repair but almost was.

I called to have my yearly furnace checkup. When the guy came, he said that the furnace tested high for carbon monoxide and was dangerous to use. He said I would need an expensive part or either buy a new furnace. I asked what the cost would be to install a new furnace and also how much that part would be. He said he did not know and that the owner was out of town and would call me. After a week, no one called, so I started calling other companies for estimates.

The estimates were really high so I called the first company back to see if the owner had returned as they had always been more than reasonable with us. The receptionist said the owner had returned but then she said, "You probably don't need a new furnace. We just got a new carbon monoxide machine but something is wrong with it. Every house we tested was at dangerous levels. So we have to retest everyone." They came back and my furnace tested out just fine and is in good shape. I was very thankful not to have to spend the money but it was very annoying to have my week disrupted for nothing with people coming in and out giving estimates, high pressure to buy, not to mention the follow up calls. I should not be surprised that so many companies were willing to pull out a perfectly good furnace.

It would have been even less funny if they sold you a new furnace and checked it after starting it up with the meter that was not calibrated properly and found out their mistake that way.

 

[tinlizzy]

All I have to do is kill spiders.

A guy on my route once said, "I don't get women. They're scared of a itty, bitty spider but will go toe to toe with a 6 foot, 200 lb. male!"

I love DIY you tube videos. My 95 Nissan was running terrible and had a small oil leak. The mechanic determined that the oil was coming from the distributor and interfering with the sensor above it. He replaced the distributor and it still leaked. Frustrated I googled all the pertinent words and up came a video explaining that the o-ring in the middle of the distributor needs to be replaced.

He replaced the o-ring and it's fixed!

 

[NW-Bound]

Car Headlight Lens Restoration

So, I have a 2001 car with dull or cloudy headlight covers. I have seen kits for restoration for sale in auto parts stores, Walmart, and HarborFreight for $10 to $20. Basically, they give you some polishing compounds, plus a buffing pad or cloth.

I told myself that the cost of $10-20 would be cheap, compared to replacing the polycarbonate covers (in the $100!). But what kit works the best? I meant to research on the Web, but kept forgetting.

Then, one day I sat down and finally looked it up on the Web. No, you need nothing more than a piece of cloth and toothpaste. Yes, common toothpastes nearly always have a very fine polishing powder mixed in.

So, I jumped up and headed out there with my tube of toothpaste. After about 1-2 min of buffing, I rinsed off the paste, and what do you know, the cataract was mostly gone! Son of a gun!

I could have spent a few more minutes of buffing to bring it to 20/20 vision, but not being picky and having suffered the terrible look of the covers for years, that was good enough so I declared it done.

Yep, no need to spend $10, which gets this LBYM guy a couple of [-]cheap[/-] underpriced bottles of wine. My toothpaste happened to be a variety of Colgate, but there is no reason to doubt that Crest or any other brand would not work as well.

 

[aja8888]

The polycarbonate lenses are covered with a UV protective coating from the factory. Over the years, that coating loses its protective properties and deteriorates. Once you clean up the yellow stuff, it will come back over time. I have heard that an occasional coat of Sunblock will help keep the lenses clear. Or you can spray them with acrylic clear coat paint.

 

[Walt34]

The polycarbonate lenses are covered with a UV protective coating from the factory. Over the years, that coating loses its protective properties and deteriorates. Once you clean up the yellow stuff, it will come back over time. I have heard that an occasional coat of Sunblock will help keep the lenses clear. Or you can spray them with acrylic clear coat paint.

This is good to know. Our headlight covers are still clear (vehicles are garaged) but if we keep them long enough that will happen.

 

[Tandemlovers]

This is good to know. Our headlight covers are still clear (vehicles are garaged) but if we keep them long enough that will happen.

Depends on the car.

Our 2001 Toyota minivan has cloudy, yellowed lenses, but
our 2000 Toyota RAV has lenses that are crystal clear!

Neither have been garaged.

We used one of the aforementioned lens polishing kits on the minivan
and they looked pretty good for about a year, but have since become
cloudy once again.

 

[twolfy]

Replaced the three motor mounts on my son's car. It was vibrating very badly, now it feels like a new car. Also replaced part of frame on my snowthrower as unfortunately I will be needing it soon.

 

[Donzo]

Some kitchen repair/upgrade. My garbage disposal was really making a racket when turned on and the kitchen sink faucet was dripping and the sprayer made a high pitched horrid sound when used that would wake the dead and call the dog.
I got a really nice new faucet and a larger, good quality disposal at Home Depot. I took out the old disposal first making it easier to get the faucet area and replaced faucet/then installed new disposal - works great and most important.....no drips/leaks! It took a total of about 2 hours to do the upgrade......

 

[GT1 Doug]

Just replaced the power steering cooler on my truck due to a pinhole leak caused by corrosion. The OEM parts were half the price online than quoted by the local dealer. Probably also saved a couple of hours $95/hr service time.

 

[John Galt III]

I have a 1988 GTA Trans Am as my fun car. Been meaning to fix the pop-up headlights which stopped working a few years ago. Now that I have the time, I researched it on Youtube a lot, and finally started, at a leisurely pace, to take things apart. I got them both working again in about 4 days time, a lot of it soaking rusty bolts in Liquid Wrench, to get them out without breaking. But hey, I had the time. Very satisfying. And the dealer wanted a fortune to do it.

 

[twolfy]

Pulled off some siding around windows to fix a leak. Need to do some more but just too cold now (low 30's) to work on it. Too easy to crack the vinyl siding in these temps. Could really use a few days in the mid to upper fifties. Will hit some indoor projects in the meantime.

 

[Donzo]

I replaced the 8 ft slider that goes out from my living room to the raised front porch. The dual pane seal on the old one failed and half the slider was fogged up. The view is great again and the door slides...well...like new!
It took a month to get the slider delivered from Home Depot - this is the big season for new windows and doors.

Home Depot wanted $800 to install this door. I did it in about 2 hours including all the calking etc. I do have to cart off the old slider still tho.