Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[Tetto]

I just looked and I can get a whole new carburetor, delivered, for $10!

Make sure your muffler isn't blocked- excessive backpressure can cause the exact symptoms you're seeing. Take it off and try to start the machine, if it starts right up, your muffler is shot. Ps- it will be LOUD...

 

[nativenewenglander]

I used to tinker on engines for years, but now just bring it to the small engine guy for $25-50.00 and it's running good. There are always challenging things to do I'm better at, so I choose my battles.

 

[MichaelB]

Not so much a repair as a problem resolved. While changing the 9V battery on the Liftmaster garage door keypad, one of the terminals from the battery broke loose and stuck to the keypad connector. I could easily see braking the connector and having to replace the whole thing, so I took my time to remove it. About 35 minutes to pry it off, no damage , then reprogram the keypad.
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[zinger1457]

Has anyone had to replace the plastic auger inside a GE refrigerator ice dispenser, easy job? Last week I noticed a small piece of plastic come out with the ice cubes then yesterday another small piece came out. It still dispenses the ice but looks like it's just a matter of time before it breaks apart.

 

[travelover]

Has anyone had to replace the plastic auger inside a GE refrigerator ice dispenser, easy job? Last week I noticed a small piece of plastic come out with the ice cubes then yesterday another small piece came out. It still dispenses the ice but looks like it's just a matter of time before it breaks apart.

Have you checked YouTube? There seems to be a how-to video for every common repair.

 

[jazz4cash]

It seems like the auger is ok but the tub is bad and I assume you can use your current auger with a new tub. Good thing you weren't using the crushed ice option. Check YouTube or an outfit called RepairClinic.

 

[ERD50]

I crafted a really odd repair this past week. I have a 1970's vintage Console Organ, a Yamaha E-3 model. Been trying to play more lately (actually in anticipation of buying one of the new Hammond recreations), and the volume pedal just went out, stuck at low volume.

Took it partially apart and saw that they used a light bulb in it. I can see that the pedal has shutters that allow more/less light to sensors that are light dependent resistors, which are used to change the volume (no potentiometer scratchy sounds). There are two sensors, one for the upper keyboard, and one for the lower keyboard and pedals. They need two separate channels, as each keyboard can be routed to either the main speaker, or the built in rotary speaker.

Of course, the bulb is rather special (marked 24V5W - I assume 24 Volts and 5 Watts), and with shipping rather expensive to replace. I measured, and saw they ran it at 15V to extend the life of the bulb. So I decided to use 6 LEDs from a strip of LEDS designed for 12V operation. I did some math and guestimates to add a resistor to run them at 15V, and at approximately the same brightness as the bulb would have been, and wired them up so I could use them in place of the bulb.

Got it together, and the upper manual worked, but the lower was stuck at a high volume now! Hmmmm. Take it all apart again, further this time to get the sensor board out, and I find the photo-sensor element is a constant low resistance. Not sure why this went out at this time, maybe my handling during the other repair stressed it somehow?

But no markings on it, so I don't know what to replace it with. I find a bunch on amazon and other sources, but specs are all over the place, and I'd have to wait for shipping, maybe that wouldn't work, etc. I didn't really want to take the other one out to measure, for fear of damaging that in the process.

Then it hits me - those little light sensors in cheap night lights might work. I measure one that I had laying around, seemed to have a reasonable resistance light/dark range, so I removed it, soldered it in place of the bad one, and reassembled it.

It works! I think the lower manual is a little softer than before, but I can balance that with other controls - good enough.

I need to find a home for this thing, so I can get that Hammond. No market for old home organs, but this thing is too nice to send to recycling. I'm going to have to put some effort into donating it somewhere/someone.

-ERD50

 

[samclem]

I need to find a home for this thing, so I can get that Hammond. No market for old home organs, but this thing is too nice to send to recycling. I'm going to have to put some effort into donating it somewhere/someone.

Congratulations on the repair, that was a tricky one. Re: Finding a home for a useful thing--I had the same problem with my 1985 Camry. It had some rust, but still ran great with 250K miles on it, just the usual small issues (failing dashboard lights, iffy trunk release, intermittent heater blower, etc). It would be a great get-around car/daily driver for someone who needed it (that's how I used it), but I didn't want to give it to a young driver (no airbags, a small and lightweight frame, plus the expected ongoing need for small repairs. And, it had a manual transmission). Donating it to a charity wouldn't have netted us any tax benefits, and I still wouldn't know who was driving it.
Anyway, talking with a barber at the shop yesterday and he has a truck, but the fuel bill for it is hurting him. He's short on cash (recent divorce) , loves old Toyotas and Hondas, and is a gearhead. Super. I sold it to him for $100, gave him all my spare parts, and I'm sure he'll get good use out of it (which was the goal).

 

[FiveDriver]

The toilet was acting wonky. I jiggled the handle. My knowledge of the inner workings of a commode begin and end with the handle. When you push that handle down........everything is whisked away. That's the way it's always worked since Thomas Crapper invented the thing.

I can get myself into serious trouble poking around with a pressurized water system......ask me how I know. I called a Plumber I know who works cheap, for cash only. (You wanna talk about a high return on the Cash Position in your AA -- my $40 would have cost at least a $200 check with any other Plumber.)

The line needed snaking and who has a snake ?? I declared success, not a drop was spilled. The sum total of my contribution to this repair was making the phone call and peeling off 2 Jacksons.

 

[Texas Proud]

The toilet was acting wonky. I jiggled the handle. My knowledge of the inner workings of a commode begin and end with the handle. When you push that handle down........everything is whisked away. That's the way it's always worked since Thomas Crapper invented the thing.

I can get myself into serious trouble poking around with a pressurized water system......ask me how I know. I called a Plumber I know who works cheap, for cash only. (You wanna talk about a high return on the Cash Position in your AA -- my $40 would have cost at least a $200 check with any other Plumber.)

The line needed snaking and who has a snake ?? I declared success, not a drop was spilled. The sum total of my contribution to this repair was making the phone call and peeling off 2 Jacksons.

Well, I actually have two snakes.... a short one for the toilet and a 50 ft one... have used the short one a few times, but never the 50 footer... however, I think I will be using it on my sprinkler system as there seems to be a clog between heads that does not want to come loose...

 

[samclem]

The line needed snaking and who has a snake ??

I'm crying here! Take another $15 and go buy a 25' drain snake that will hook onto your drill, it'll save you the plumber call next time and you'll have a working drain/sink inside of 10 minutes. And if the 25' snake won't reach it, at least you'll have gotten your $40 worth when the plumber comes.
And if you don't have a battery charger for your car, or a compressor to put air in a flat tire, buy those, too. Ya gonna call a tow truck because you left your lights on?

Well, I actually have two snakes.... a short one for the toilet and a 50 ft one... have used the short one a few times, but never the 50 footer... however, I think I will be using it on my sprinkler system as there seems to be a clog between heads that does not want to come loose...

I've got one of those 50' power snakes, works great. But I know if I ever tried using it in a PVC pipe I'd end up blasting through an elbow or snagging/destroying a "T". I'd probably try gentler approaches first (maybe a tape used for fishing wires into walls, or a stout piece of steel wire with an spiral or small hook on the end. A piece of 1/4" plastic pipe and a hose adapter to blast through the clog?).

 

[FiveDriver]

I have an air compressor for car and bike tires. My car has an audible warning if I leave the lights on -- sounds like an Aircraft Stall Warning, you can't possibly miss it.

That drain snake would hang around the garage for years. Until I need it....and won't be able to locate it. HA !!

 

[zinger1457]

It seems like the auger is ok but the tub is bad and I assume you can use your current auger with a new tub. Good thing you weren't using the crushed ice option. Check YouTube or an outfit called RepairClinic.

It was the auger (see photo), two small pieces of plastic broke off. I found a replacement for $16 but haven't gotten around to ordering it yet. I did find a video showing the replacement, a little more involved than I expected but doable.

 

[coveredbridge]

Replaced the long worn out electric motor in my bathroom exhaust fan today. Was able to find the replacement motor in stock at the local Lowes. Pretty easy repair, but I got too aggressive cleaning the dirt/dust out of the housing and broke off the baffle in the housing. It's a pretty long hose run, so I don't think it will be a problem. Baffle looked like it was stuck open with clogged dust/dirt anyway. Now that I've seen how much dust accumulated up there, I'm going to have to get up in the attic and pull the hose for inspection. That's a job for another day. I've got lots of them

 

[Texas Proud]

I'm crying here! Take another $15 and go buy a 25' drain snake that will hook onto your drill, it'll save you the plumber call next time and you'll have a working drain/sink inside of 10 minutes. And if the 25' snake won't reach it, at least you'll have gotten your $40 worth when the plumber comes.
And if you don't have a battery charger for your car, or a compressor to put air in a flat tire, buy those, too. Ya gonna call a tow truck because you left your lights on?

I've got one of those 50' power snakes, works great. But I know if I ever tried using it in a PVC pipe I'd end up blasting through an elbow or snagging/destroying a "T". I'd probably try gentler approaches first (maybe a tape used for fishing wires into walls, or a stout piece of steel wire with an spiral or small hook on the end. A piece of 1/4" plastic pipe and a hose adapter to blast through the clog?).

Mine is not a power snake.... it is hand feed and hand crank!! It was my dads and he probably bought it over 60 years ago...


Edit.... looking at HomeDepot... I probably have a 25 ft one... similar to this...

Also, a toilet one...

 

[Sunset]

Mine is not a power snake.... it is hand feed and hand crank!! It was my dads and he probably bought it over 60 years ago...

Edit.... looking at HomeDepot... I probably have a 25 ft one... similar to this...
<img deleted>
Also, a toilet one...
<img deleted>

So its true, everything in Texas is Bigger.

 

[Palmtree]

I'm repairing, fixing, altering, building, renovating or improving something around here every single day. I cannot imagine how people get through even a week without a basic set of tools and some home improvement skills.

 

[ls99]

A while back bought a blender at goodwilll for $3.99. Then broke it. The coupling between the motor and blade sheared, it is some kind of rubber thingy. I would have tossed it to recycling, but a could not find another one in any of the goodwills I troll.

A fast search via the web revealed amazon selling it for $9.99 +shipping Another site showed same thing for 7.99 free shipping. Amazon lost the deal, naturally. Got it today, installed and now it works.

I find the stuff I need elsewhere cheaper than amazon, they have lost my business years ago. Seems their dynamic pricing strategy looses every time even though they come up as first in the search quue.

OTOH Bezos is doing just fine without my help.

 

[manerac]

New brakes on 2003 Jetta:

View attachment 23696

You should have replaced the calipers too.

 

[Tom52]

You should have replaced the calipers too.

Why do you say the calipers should have been replaced? I have been doing brake work on my cars for many years and never changed one out during normal rotor/pad replacement.

 

[euro]

Well, I actually have two snakes.... a short one for the toilet and a 50 ft one... have used the short one a few times, but never the 50 footer... however, I think I will be using it on my sprinkler system as there seems to be a clog between heads that does not want to come loose...

Same here - I have a short one and a 50 footer. Have used both (successfully) in the past. Very proud of myself

 

[Surewhitey]

Fixed a weedeater trigger...then milled down some tree planks to make a table...then made an ottoman tray from some leftover walnut. Busy day.

 

[Keim]

Fixed a faucet with a broken handle. Parts free due to Kohler lifetime warranty. Easy Peasy job.

Also did some repair to the patio furniture thanks to spring like weather.

 

[Stratman]

Had to replace some shingles on the roof that blew off during a storm that went through last week. Luckily they were low so I could work off of the ladder. My roofs are steep so I don't get on them any more.

 

[aja8888]

You should have replaced the calipers too.

The calipers were in great condition with no evidence of leaking or binding. Also, the brake fluid was changed with a pressure bleeder about every two years, according to the documentation that came from the original seller of the car. VW recommends brake fluid changes on the 2 year cycle.

There is no need to replace wheel cylinders (drum brake cars) or calipers (disc brake cars) unless problems or lack of maintenance is a factor. When replacing pads and/or rotors, it's a good idea to also inspect the slide pins, clean them up and grease them with the recommended grease for that application.