Your recent repair? - 2021 to ?

[nphx]

With at least a year of procrastinating.. engine and tranny is out. A very productive weekend.

 

[Gevans17]

There's a big water spot on the 12' sheet rock ceiling out in my garage. I've had a drip drip in the shower faucet directly above that spot.



The grandson took a long shower in the other upstairs bath today, and there's water dripping down from my kitchen ceiling downstairs.



I've got to tear out the sheetrock to get to the underside of the shower/tub(s) to see if the problems are leaking drain or leaking faucet. If it's a simple plumbing repair, I'll do it and get a professional drywall person to hang new sheet rock.



Hanging sheet rock on 12' and 9' ceilings and finishing it is a job for a professional. The pros do such jobs effortlessly where it's best reserved for someone that does the job daily.

Salvaged my 52inch Samsung flatscreen TV by replacing two 50 cent capacitors on the circuit board. TV would turn on but no picture Evidently a known issue with this model. YouTube had the fix for it. Look for the swollen capacitors.

 

[Telly]

With at least a year of procrastinating.. engine and tranny is out. A very productive weekend.

I must have been busy and missed this! That big slabby fender looks familiar, and you mentioned engine AND transmission out. So I looked for an unmistakable THM (Turbo HydraMatic) 425 transmission... and there it is, sitting on a tire!

The front fender extension doesn't have a cut-out for a bumper, so I assume this is a 1974 or later big-bumper car, and the bumper is obviously off at the moment. I paused and did a search, looks 1975-78 with the chrome trim on the fender bottom.

My Aunt had a first-gen FWD 1968, I loved that car, high-compression 472 cu. engine that ran on premium, white with a black vinyl top, hideaway headlights, and the really cool rear-end design with the space-age minimal tail lights. It was sooo cool! But unfortunately, they lived states away.

It was later replaced by a second-gen 1972 powered by a reduced-compression 500. It was a bigger car, sort of leaving the realm of the "personal luxury car" beginnings. And the compression drop of 1972 was everywhere. The 1972 had a very fragile-looking exposed at the corners tail light treatment that seemed to be just looking to get crunched in a parking lot!
These were both factory-plate cars, unk's position being what it was. He himself drove pre-production prototypes and early releases that were monitored for issues, usually other GM brands.

The THM 425 sure was an unusual automatic transmission! To virtually build one, take the big-block THM 400 like I had in my 455 Cutlass Supreme, saw it in half somewhere behind the torque converter, take the sawed-off piece and spin it 180 degrees so it's output end faces forward, connect it to it's other part via a big roller chain. At the output end of the trans, where a u-joint yoke would be, meld in a rear differential from a big GM car there. But saw-off the axle tubes, and put on fittings to take axle half-shafts with CV joints to drive each front wheel. THEN set the engine in on top of it.
IIRC, most transmission work required removing the engine to get access.

Oddly enough, I just found there's a wiki on the THM 425! I never thought about it that it had to internally reverse-rotation, otherwise it would have had one speed forward, and three in reverse! They didn't explain it in the article, but I figured out why. The roller chain doesn't reverse rotation, but spinning the rest of the trans 180 to face forward, powering what was a RWD differential, would give the differential's pinion input the wrong rotation.


Oh, BTW, see you didn't use some wimpy cherry-picker type hoist to get that big block out, wise move!

 

[vafoodie]

Removing a tree that fell. I'm about to hear the bad news about a repair of my moonroof on my Mazda CX5.

 

[Chuckanut]

My nearly 8 year old MacBook developed a sticky key that often did not respond to my touch. Sadly it was the 'r' key rather than some lesser used key like 'z' or 'x'.

After wiping the keyboard surface clean, I gently pulsed gas across the keyboard. It did not do much good. I opened the back and cleaned that are also, though there was not much dirt and the keys were well hidden. On a lark, I gently tapped the edge of the computer on a wood table with the open back pointing towards the floor. I was hoping something lodged in the key mechanisms might loosen and fall out, perhaps a hair or particle of some sort. After reassembling the computer, it how works fine including the 'r' key.

I had thought to use the sticky 'r' key as an excuse to order a new M2 chip Macbook. But, the old one just keeps chugging along. Slow, but once again very reliable.

 

[Car-Guy]

I noticed one of the sprinkler discharge heads on my aerobic septic system had "blown off". Must have been gas. Easy fix with some PVC glue...

 

[euro]

I had thought to use the sticky 'r' key as an excuse to order a new M2 chip Macbook. But, the old one just keeps chugging along. Slow, but once again very reliable.

Same here with my 2013 Macbook Air. Just keeps plugging along. I did have to replace the battery a couple of years ago as the old one wouldn't hold a charge for more than 10 minutes anymore, so had to be kept plugged in. I think I paid $60 for the replacement and $5 for the required torx screwdrivers. Took maybe 45 minutes to replace.

 

[Sunset]

I'm diagnosing starting issues with a 40 yr old 80HP Mercury engine. Dealers won't work on it as it's too old.
I found some wires so brittle they broke when touched,
I looked up the cost of a new bundle of wires, it was $70, for what is basically 4 wires taped together with terminal ends.
Only one is broke, but I figure I might as well replace both bundles as the effort is the same and if one is bad, the other might go bad soon.

So I made my own for $7 each plus 1 hour of time. I've installed them both.
This is one of the ones I made, the snipper tool is for size comparison:

 

[Jerry1]

Not so much a repair as a newly found maintenance item. I had some plumbing hammering making noise when the washing machine was running. Looked over the plumbing, which is about 5 years since being redone, and noticed the plumber did install hammer arrestors. He also installed some shut off valves that made it easy to isolate the hammer arrestors. I thought I was going to have to drain the entire plumbing system. Anyway, I disconnected the washer hoses and drained that part of the plumbing and that seems to have corrected the issue. Glad it was an easy fix.

In doing some research, there were comments, even from the manufacturer of the hammer arrestors, that on the new front load washers, you may need to install arrestors in the plumbing AND right and the washing machine connection. I may still do that but was wondering if anyone has two (actually four because hot and cold both need 2), arrestors in their plumbing for the washing machine?

 

[mountainsoft]

The icemaker in our whirlpool fridge quit working yesterday. I even tried forcing a cycle by bridging the T-H test ports. No go. It's already the second icemaker I've put in the fridge and wasn't looking forward to buying a third one. I turned off the power, pulled out the icemaker, and melted the ice with warm water. Dried it off, reinstalled, turned power back on, and all seems to be working well again. Weird. Don't know what was up with it, but for now it's running.

I also made a new handle for the poker stick that came with our firepit. The original plastic handle broke years ago when it fell on our paver patio. Cut a short piece of closet rod I had laying around, drilled a hole through the middle to fit over the metal stick, then roughly shaped it to fit with a file and belt sander. Nothing fancy, but it looks decent, and is certainly nicer to hold than the broken plastic handle. Applied a quick spray of lacquer to make it extra fancy. Small task that has been on my to-do list for the last couple years.

 

[Finance Dave]

Did this last summer, but it's holding up well. Had a hole in the vinyl siding. Rather than replace the piece, took an old scrap and made a patch. Glued in a wood backer first, held temporarily with paper clips. Once adhesive dried, glued the patch to it and sealed edges with heat gun. Looks great.

 

[ncbill]

Nice!

Years ago I stole pieces of vinyl siding off the back of a rental house to replace the damaged ones in the front.

Back of that place was perpetually in the shade so even though the replacement pieces didn't exactly match no one noticed.

 

[JoeWras]

I think this will fit in well with the siding discussion above.

Recent disaster relief trip ended up also dealing with typical 3/8" drywall repairs, i.e. the "disaster" of the heavy nephew tripping and falling in the hallway and having his elbow contact the thin drywall.

I used a technique I've never tried before. Cut the patch 2" extra wide all sides, peel off the gypsum to the proper hole size, so the gypsum fits in the hole, and you have a paper "collar" to fit outside the hole.

I almost got this right, but I had the paper crinkle on me. I did two coats and our clients were pleased beyond belief. I think in three coats, I could have made it absolutely disappear. I will use this technique again for drywall holes.

I always used to use backing wood (much like the siding repair a few posts back) for this kind of repair, but the disaster construction manager suggested this technique, and it is something we talked about in the drywall class I took, although we didn't practice it. (Yep, an actual class sponsored by our local community college.) It also deals with the problem of matching 1/4" or 3/8" drywall with 1/2" drywall. You really can't use backing wood with the mismatch. This works best.

I will use this technique again!

 

[JoeWras]

Did this last summer, but it's holding up well. Had a hole in the vinyl siding. Rather than replace the piece, took an old scrap and made a patch. Glued in a wood backer first, held temporarily with paper clips. Once adhesive dried, glued the patch to it and sealed edges with heat gun. Looks great.

Great work. Help me out here... The screw is just used to "pull back" as you secure the sides held by the clips, right? Then the screw is backed out?

This is good stuff!

 

[Sunset]

.....
Recent disaster relief trip ended up also dealing with typical 3/8" drywall repairs, i.e. the "disaster" of the heavy nephew tripping and falling in the hallway and having his elbow contact the thin drywall.

I used a technique I've never tried before. Cut the patch 2" extra wide all sides, peel off the gypsum to the proper hole size, so the gypsum fits in the hole, and you have a paper "collar" to fit outside the hole.

...... It also deals with the problem of matching 1/4" or 3/8" drywall with 1/2" drywall. You really can't use backing wood with the mismatch. This works best.

..

That is a great idea, I'm going to use it from now on too, sometimes fitting in a backing is awkward so often I've resorted to cutting the hole larger to get to studs, which makes for a very large patch sometimes. Still I have to have the same thickness of patch material.

 

[Time2]

I think this will fit in well with the siding discussion above.

Recent disaster relief trip ended up also dealing with typical 3/8" drywall repairs, i.e. the "disaster" of the heavy nephew tripping and falling in the hallway and having his elbow contact the thin drywall.

I used a technique I've never tried before. Cut the patch 2" extra wide all sides, peel off the gypsum to the proper hole size, so the gypsum fits in the hole, and you have a paper "collar" to fit outside the hole.

I almost got this right, but I had the paper crinkle on me. I did two coats and our clients were pleased beyond belief. I think in three coats, I could have made it absolutely disappear. I will use this technique again for drywall holes.

I always used to use backing wood (much like the siding repair a few posts back) for this kind of repair, but the disaster construction manager suggested this technique, and it is something we talked about in the drywall class I took, although we didn't practice it. (Yep, an actual class sponsored by our local community college.) It also deals with the problem of matching 1/4" or 3/8" drywall with 1/2" drywall. You really can't use backing wood with the mismatch. This works best.

I will use this technique again!

It's a shame you went from a nice patch to a whole in the wall!

 

[Time2]

I bought a working RF meter off Ebay, it didn't work. Kind of expected it.
The seller was responsive and knocked $60 off the $90 original price.
I found the range switch was oxidized, I cleaned it with DeoxIT and ran it back and forth 100 times, then I cleaned off the DeoxIT and lubricated it with LPS1*. That solved a lot of the problems, but I still had to troubleshoot and found two bad capacitors that were mostly low value resistors .
Did a calibration with the equipment I have and it works great.
I'm now working on a second HP3400, that has a defective unobtainable part, but, I found a solid state replacement circuit online that I've started building.


*I read in an electronics forum that if you don't clean off DeoxIT, the the contacts will turn blue. So I checked some items, especially my DVM leads and found they were blue, I'm suspecting that is why I can measure just the resistance of the leads but an additional 5Ω to 15Ω. I have to mess around with them to get them to read lower. A repair job for another day.

 

[ERD50]

I bought a working RF meter off Ebay, it didn't work. Kind of expected it.
The seller was responsive and knocked $60 off the $90 original price.
I found the range switch was oxidized, I cleaned it with DeoxIT and ran it back and forth 100 times, then I cleaned off the DeoxIT and lubricated it with LPS1*. That solved a lot of the problems, but I still had to troubleshoot and found two bad capacitors that were mostly low value resistors .
Did a calibration with the equipment I have and it works great.
I'm now working on a second HP3400, that has a defective unobtainable part, but, I found a solid state replacement circuit online that I've started building.


*I read in an electronics forum that if you don't clean off DeoxIT, the the contacts will turn blue. So I checked some items, especially my DVM leads and found they were blue, I'm suspecting that is why I can measure just the resistance of the leads but an additional 5Ω to 15Ω. I have to mess around with them to get them to read lower. A repair job for another day.

Boy, that pic brings back memories of our RF labs back in the 70's and on. HP equipment all over the place, sig gens, spectrum analyzers, etc.

-ERD50

 

[Telly]

That HP 3400A looks a lot like the HP 400FL of which I used many. Oh that was long ago! I think they were tube-type, it's been so many years ago. I vaguely remember turning them on, and after a short delay, the needle would give a kick. There was a predecessor to the 400FL, I think it was the 400L. It was bigger and 1950's looking. The 400FL was smaller and sleek, built nicely into factory test stations.

 

[NW-Bound]

*I read in an electronics forum that if you don't clean off DeoxIT, the the contacts will turn blue. So I checked some items, especially my DVM leads and found they were blue...

Pray tell, how do you clean off DeoxIT? Do you use another type of spray?

I recall that I used to have another spray that was based on Freon. It did not have the oxide cleaning power, but perhaps would wash the DeoxIT off.

 

[Time2]

That HP 3400A looks a lot like the HP 400FL of which I used many. Oh that was long ago!

Yes, very similar look, I also haven HP400E.

I think they were tube-type, it's been so many years ago. I vaguely remember turning them on, and after a short delay, the needle would give a kick.

The HP3400 has one Nuvistor tube as the input amp. Cute little metal tube about 3/4" tall. Now it would be a simple fet input. I'm sure someone has developed a mod to replace the tube. Yes, I saw a recent discussion questioning whether that initial needle kick was a problem, it always has one full scale kick and couple smaller ones. I'm happy to have a decent RF meter, 10MHz is plenty for me, anything higher is magic and you need to be an artist to minimize strays.

 

[Time2]

Pray tell, how do you clean off DeoxIT? Do you use another type of spray?

I recall that I used to have another spray that was based on Freon. It did not have the oxide cleaning power, but perhaps would wash the DeoxIT off.

Isopropyl alcohol was mentioned, but I just used the LPS1. I figured it washed off the DeoxIT while lubricating the wafers. (I hope)

 

[TripleLindy]

Fixed a badly leaking outdoor faucet. I could hear water running in the wall and had checked all of the faucets, but I didn’t disconnect the water hose, as no water was coming out of the other end. When I couldn’t figure out where the water was running, I disconnected the hose and a pretty good stream of water was coming out of the faucet, just not strong enough to get to the end of the hose. Replaced a small rubber washer at the end of a long stem in the faucet assembly and leak was fixed. Cost about $3 for a package of the washers. Thank goodness for YouTube and a very helpful Lowes assistant!

 

[Sunset]

Fixed a badly leaking outdoor faucet. I could hear water running in the wall and had checked all of the faucets, but I didn’t disconnect the water hose, as no water was coming out of the other end. When I couldn’t figure out where the water was running, I disconnected the hose and a pretty good stream of water was coming out of the faucet, just not strong enough to get to the end of the hose. Replaced a small rubber washer at the end of a long stem in the faucet assembly and leak was fixed. Cost about $3 for a package of the washers. Thank goodness for YouTube and a very helpful Lowes assistant!

You might want to listen for the water some more, or look at your water meter and see if it moves in 1 hour with all the taps off. From your description, it sounds like my issue.
I had a tiny split in the outdoor water pipe so even with no water coming out the hose it was leaking inside the wall. I had to cut open the wall and replace the piece of pipe and get a new outside faucet piece (with the long tube part, not just the handle).

I'm sure you know, but leaving a hose on the outdoor faucet come winter freezing temps is how the pipe can be split inside the house.

 

[Bamaman]

Had a water leak on the kitchen ceiling coming from the shower above.
Had another water leak in the garage ceiling coming from my bathroom's shower.

Both had leaky drains where the 13 year old plumber's putty dried up and leaked. I never thought about shower or bathtub drains needing periodic maintenance.

I replaced the seal on one shower tub in 5 minutes. The other one will have to be cut out and new PVC pipes put in. It was originally installed incorrectly.