The Warranty Process

"Its a brand new tiller and we never got it running". I enjoy a challenge but this one was easy. If you're gonna lie about it never running at least clean the mud off the tines. Now explain to me how an engine that never ran has a scored cylinder. Nobody wants to be accountable for their actions these days. Its always somebody elses fault and they will make up lies to ensure that. The saddest part is that the customer didn't have to lie. There was a legit issue with the equipment that the customer had no control over. A warranty claim was filed.

 This is typical of the kind of thing I've been seeing a lot more of lately. A person goes to the big box store, buys a cheap piece of shit and has problems. One of the problems is that they are selling "disposable" outdoor power equipment. The biggest problem is that the big box store doesn't do what a shop like ours does. At the big box stores you will get an offer to purchase an extended warranty but thats where it ends. A shop like the one I work at starts by matching the equipment purchase to the consumer needs. We set up the machines, test run them and train the customer how to operate and maintain them. Nobody leaves before all their questions are answered. I do see a problem every so often when a guy is too macho to listen to what I'm telling him, then later comes back bad mouthing the product. A good example is warm starting procedure for a chainsaw. We explained it when they bought the saw, theres a big sticker right there on the saw, but "nobody told me that". With a smile I politely point out the sticker right there on the saw is a reminder and the fact that its in the owners manual. OK I don't smile very often. In fact on the inside I'm quoting Red Forman...Dumbass! You were too smart to listen, now you're being schooled! The point is, the customer receives one-on-one help for their issues and usually leaves happy. If you ask the big box store for help on warranty issues they send you to us.

 When they are sent to us, I find people lie all the time about equipment that needs repair. Usually its because they weren't educated on the equipment and did something wrong. I don't mind setting them straight, denying warranty and writing up a bill for diagnostics even when the machine wasn't fixed. I'm not a dick about it, I just don't feel sorry for a person that brings on bad juju from their dishonesty. You'll get something for nothing if its covered under warranty. All others pay. You have to remember, the equipment manufacturers are our biggest repair customers due to warranty claims. We are on the customers side and make every claim we know will be accepted. Sometimes we can even get the manufacturers to agree to a goodwill gesture of some sort. The sad part about all of this is that it could have been avoided if they bought from a shop like ours that educates the customer. 

 Sometimes we have to educate a customer when we are explaining why they don't have a valid warranty claim. It makes me sad when I see a customer bring in all their paperwork and proof of purchase for a piece of equipment that won't run only to be denied a claim. They think it will be a free repair and then they get a bill. I have to be the dickhead that explains why. I do my best to let them down easy and be thorough in my explanation. I don't use 8x10 color glossy prints but I will show them pics from my phone. It must be a lot like seeing that the biggest package under the tree has your name on it, only to have some grumpy elf drop in and explain there was a clerical error at the main office and this gift ain't for you. 

 This happened yesterday. We've been busy so repairs are at least a week out so right away customers are antsy. I get a work order that has all the receipts and such attached and this tells me the customer isn't expecting a bill. Now the engine manufacturers have no control over what you put in the fuel tank and bad fuel isn't a manufacturer defect. A lot of people don't get that. A carb kit and cleaning labor fixed a problem with a rusty scum buildup issue in a chainsaw carb. The customer wasn't furious but he was whatever the next level of pissed off is right below that. He said he uses only premium fuel, no ethanol, and the brand name oil we sell. I told him I believed him and started asking a few questions. He told me where he buys his fuel and that he uses a one gallon can. If you deal with this stuff every day then you know where I'm going with my line of questions. This particular station uses one hose pumps. That is, whatever grade is selected comes out the same hose. I had to explain to him that he was getting at least some of whatever grade the guy before him pumped. There was a chance a good portion of his one gallon can was ethanol. Now if his can wasn't sealed tight with the humidity we've been having, theres also a good chance it was pulling moisture right out of thin air. BTW, to get around this problem, pump the first gallon or two into your vehicle before you fill your can with the good stuff.

 He wasn't happy about the situation. Heres a guy that thought he was doing everything right only to find out he was overlooking a few points. He was a reasonable man and didn't blame me for anything. In fact he thanked me for taking the time to explain everything. At the end of it all he said. " I wish I would have bought my saw from here".

 This is getting long but I have one more. A customer brings in a tiller, much like the first one I talked about. Someone must have been having a sale on crappy tillers. They never got it started and I believe them. First, if you follow the starting procedures on the sticker you will flood it every time and never get it started. Second, when I finally did get it started it wouldn't idle. It was set too low. I explained all this to the claims department of the distributor. I was talking with them because I wanted to make at least a minimal warranty claim for my time to get their piece of shit tiller running for their customer. We didn't sell the machine so we didn't make a dime on the deal but the customer was sent to us for service. He wanted to deny any claim because I told him I had to turn the idle up to keep it running. We went back and forth and both fell just short of any name calling. He did finally state he doesn't normally handle warranty claims but "Idle adjustment is clearly explained in the owners manual and the customer shouldn't have had to bring it in to you". "Oh really?", I said. "Please explain to me how the customer was supposed to know the idle was set too low on an engine they were never able to get started?" There was a long pause and then he gave me a claim number. Dumbass.

Later.

Front Porch Project

 What started out as a simple matter of replacing some porch posts that rotted out at their bottoms has turned into a major project. Its not major in terms of cash or complexity but rather in terms of how much time its taking up. Its true that when its nice enough to fix the porch its also nice enough to go for a bike ride but this is something thats been on my radar for a long time and I'm determined to get it in my rear view mirror. 

 It started with painting the metal roof over the porch. You may remember that I showed a pic of my raw arms from trying to get that paint off of them. They got worse to the point of bleeding but I'm happy to report I'm to the stage of just a little discoloration and some itching. That really was a bonehead maneuver. 

 A raggedy old piece of astro turf was glued to the concrete and that was scraped off. I still need to deal with the glue. I then pressure washed the concrete along with the front of the house. There has been some discussion of painting the concrete and I even bought the paint but I think it may be only enough to do my garage floor so we'll see what happens there. The real reason I'm having second thoughts about painting the concrete is how it will handle chairs being slid around on it. Scratches in the paint would look worse than just rough concrete.

 I primed the wood surfaces of the porch and also did the two picture windows. Before that primer went on I spent hours scraping paint. You'd never guess by looking at it that I scraped any paint because I did the same thing the guy before me did. I removed what would come off in about three attempts and left the rest. It has a nice retro look now :-) but looks perfectly fine as you walk past on the sidewalk. I can live with that. I still have to deal with the entire ceiling of the porch and instead of spending hours scraping paint I decided I'm gonna cover it with bead board panels. A top coat of paint still has to go on everything so I have that to look forward to.

 All this shit has to be done in a specific order or you end up back tracking and wasting even more time. The old posts were finally removed and to my surprise they aren't as structural as I thought they were. Sure the roof would eventually sag if they weren't there but I found that when I removed them the roof didn't droop. I probably could have done the swap without the use of a jack. Thats a good thing in my eyes because I wondered how sound that roof really was. 

 Once the posts were up I installed the decorative corbels but of course there was a few hours involved in repairing and painting those decorative corner brackets. It was worth it. Again, they aren't perfect but the cost to replace them is crazy. I cut some trim to wrap the bottom of the posts to cover up my mounting brackets. There was a lot of bs involved in cutting those things and I'm not gonna go into detail but for a non-woodworker guy like myself it kinda sucked. At the time of this writing I still have two to do and thats a good thing because I have since decided that I'm gonna add a 1/4" thick piece of plastic under each post to help prevent them from wicking up moisture. I'm back tracking and I kinda wish I would have thought about that before but hey, like I've said many times, I'm not a carpenter.

 I blogged about replacing the storm door and so far that door has been a big hit. The hide away screen is great and the glass running all the way to the bottom is a favorite of at least one of our cats, and shows off the antique inner door. I still need to put a second coat of paint on that inner door.

 The doorbell button was replaced and the last thing on the front of the house that needs attention is the porch light. I plan to refurbish the old one with either polish or paint. What else, oh ya the rain gutter needs to go back on. One other piece of the front that I want to address is the two bridal wreath bushes that mark the corners of the porch. They are odd shaped and if I let them grow out and droop naturally they rub against the house and also create an issue for Mowby. A chain and the big ass station wagon ought to fix their ass. Some simple landscaping and fresh plant material will spruce things up.

 I spent four weeks cleaning my shop and garage while I was laid off. In two weekends I managed to create a bigger mess than I started with four weeks ago. The good news is I've been picking away at making my garage into something I can be proud of. More details on that project another time.

Later.

 

I See The Problem

 If you clicked on this post thinking I had some interesting insight on the whole virus situation and how its affecting us then you give me way too much credit for being on the pulse of this nation. This blog doesn't dig that deep into politics or anything else thats not within my six foot circle.
 I was working on a power cutter the other day. This one was brought in without the blade attachment but this is the type of saw typically used to cut concrete. I've shown one on this blog where I was cutting metal. Anyway there was a complaint that it wasn't running right. Luckily for the owner they stopped using it soon after issues started or they may have completely wrecked the saw.
 When you work on this stuff all the time its amazing how quickly you can scan over a saw looking for problems. To me, this one stuck out like a Honda at a Hog rally.

 (above pic) Not much to see here. Its a power cutter sitting on a bench.

 (does it make more sense to put the caption above or below?) My eye caught it even at this distance. To me something was out of place and there appeared to be a big clue.

 You really need a keen eye to pick it up, even this close.

 A little closer...

 Come on, its right there. I'll give you a hint. Some of the dirt accumulation pattern is a clue to the problem.

 Bingo! A loose cylinder base bolt. Actually two of them were backed out like this. Its been sucking air and creating a lean condition but somehow the piston and cylinder still look good. This saw is old but would cost over a grand to replace so we're gonna chance putting a new gasket in and see how much longer it will run. Yes it may have subjected the crank bearings to some dirt but a base gasket is cheap and labor isn't bad on this one. Actually, cleaning it up takes more time than the repair.
 Chainsaws always have a brown oily mess under the clutch cover. Weed wackers have green grass stain messes. Blowers are usually pretty clean but these dang power cutters always come in all jacked up with a big powdery mess that destroys my clothes, tools and work area. I've decided I hate working on them, even when the problem jumps out at you the moment it hits the bench.

Later.

Are Emergency Room Visits Up?

 Right now there are a lot of people laid off from work and I'm sure DIY home improvement is happening more so than usual. It is here. That got me thinking, I wonder how the emergency rooms are holding up when there has to be a bunch of knuckleheads showing up needing stitches, crap removed from eyes and even casts.

 I know all of you out there run all the proper guards on your equipment. Some of my old equipment was built before anyone thought about guards or Grandpa removed them decades ago. Actually they were built before everyone got sue-happy.

 Then you have other things like ladders where it just takes one wrong step to screw up your day.  I'm happy to report I didn't have any issues with my ladder yesterday.
 Today I have a plumbing project but really whats the worst plumbing accident I could have? I touch something icky or have to deal with foul odors from a rogue turd? I'm replacing a garbage disposal so the turd thing is unlikely. If I do see a turd then an intervention with the cats is probably in order. The most likely problem that would land me in the ER is if my project leaks and I slip and fall in the puddle, cracking my head open.
 The other day I wired a new light in my garage. I've had the light here for so long that I have to guesstimate its been 5-8 years waiting to be installed. I don't like to rush into things I guess. Anyway, the install went fine but I just want to say make sure you shut the power off on the circuit you're working on. Yes the power was off and yes I tested it at the light. Turns out I didn't know what circuit I was on but again, the power was off at the light. It just shows that you can't be too careful. Getting a shock, falling off a ladder then slipping in a puddle of your own piss does not sound like a good time.
 And finally you just have screwballs putting their fingers where they don't belong.

 Despite all the efforts to stay out of the E-room, I did manage to get an owie. It was not while I was performing any type of task except walking. I ran my elbow across a sharp edge on my shop furnace and got a pretty good cut. Maybe only a half inch long but kinda deep. The good news is that it created another small project to keep busy with...fixing the sharp edge on the shop furnace. Can't blame the furnace. Its claimed a few shirts over the years but never flesh. It should have been fixed long ago.

 No visit to the E-room for a scratch like that but its what got me thinking that I need to be careful so I don't have to make a visit to the germ factory.
 So if you've found yourself with time on your hands for DIY projects then please be careful.

Later.

Playing Detective

 So this post was just gonna be some random pics from my phone of life at work. The more I scanned for shop pics, the more I found pics showing the results of detective work I've done to find running issues with chainsaws. Lets see what we've got.

 Here is a common one. Someone will come in with a saw that floods itself out. I'll rebuild the carb and when they get the bill they bitch because they claim they just rebuilt it. I state that I know it was just rebuilt because whoever did it screwed up and then I show them why. Sometimes its gaskets installed wrong but many times its because they didn't clean the protective coating from the rubber tip of the new needle valve. In the above pic, if the needle were clean it would be completely orange. "Well it was actually my brother-in law that did the work, I'll have words with him". Ok buddy, whatever.

 Two pics above, the intake manifold on the right and the cylinder on the left. I really wish the owner would have told me he put on an aftermarket cylinder before I had to figure it out on my own. He would have saved some money in labor costs. This case is something I see a lot. People pay for parts and spend time trying to fix it then bring it to a shop and pay to have someone else fix it the right way. This guy didn't save any money buying a chinese cylinder and ended up buying a new factory cylinder anyway. In the pic above you can see the port is too big and the lip of the seal hangs in the opening of the port. This creates and air leak and a lean condition that would eventually ruin the piston and cylinder if not caught early. Pro tip: if you have an unusual high idle condition and a saw that will rev really high but has no balls in the cut then shut it down and have it looked at. It most likely is running lean.

 Above is another example of an air leak/lean runner. This plastic intake manifold isn't something that a person would normally remove and look at. Because the bolts were tight and the plastic isn't warped along with this being a newer unit, there is a fair chance this came from the factory this way. While a company can have a good reputation, it is still made up of individuals that can make mistakes.

 In the above pic you can see a rubber intake boot on a concrete saw is not seated properly. It was replaced by a shop mechanic that usually works on large equipment. He was so close to getting it right. I don't think the owner liked paying his guys wages to fail and then pay us to figure it out because we get a lot of small engine work from them now.
 Most of the time these types of air leak problems are found by doing pressure and vacuum test of the crankcase and then searching for the leak. Sometimes even when you know where the leak is, it still takes some figuring out why. Factories want to know why for warranty claims and people want to know why so they can blame someone else.
 I enjoy playing detective and its a nice break in the action between the broken starter recoils, oil leakers and dirty air filter tune ups.

Later.

Grandpas Table Saw

 A long time ago when my Grandpa passed away, I received his old table saw. Its a Shopmaster brand made in Minnesota a very long time ago. Shopmaster was in business from the late 40's to 1970. I remember Grandpa saying he built his house using this saw but the more I think about it I probably remember that wrong. I think he bought the house and then about doubled its size with an addition. He would have used the saw for that addition and I guess that gives the saw a birthday in the early fifties, maybe a bit later. No matter, its old for a home owner power tool.

 The actual Shopmaster saw is a tabletop unit. All that framework and wooden top are an addition Grandpa made to more easily cut sheets of plywood. Its heavy. That huge motor is only 3/4 horse so you know its old school.
 Over the years I've used this saw and struggled with it. The fence guide rail is bent and the added deck no longer sits flush with the table top.

 I also had some belt slippage problems. I thought it would be nice to just buy a decent saw but how many table saw projects with I really have? Turns out more than I ever figured and I just kept fighting this saw. If I replaced it today it would cost about $160 for a benchtop unit with no extended table. Recently I decided if I can refurbish this one for under that amount I'd be happier than replacing it. The first step is to tear it down and see what I'm dealing with.

 This old Craftsman motor still runs fine but the wiring is all cracked. In fact I found a few spots where there was arcing. I knew the wiring was bad but didn't know I was that close to blowing a fuse. Ya, my garage still uses fuses.

 This is the Shopmaster removed from the framework that Grandpa made.

 Patina? If I don't run into any broken parts that can't be replaced then it will get cleaned and painted.

 Underneath everything looks like it held up well over the years. It really just needs cleaning and lube.

 I found my "belt slipping" problem. Turns out the driven pulley on the saw arbor was slipping and ruined that shaft. I'll take it to a local machinist and see if he can bring it back to spec. I saw an old ad for these saws and it claimed to have "sealed for life" bearings. They still feel great but I might replace them if closer inspection shows any seal degradation.

 This is where it sits for now. Once I'm sure the arbor can be saved I'll move forward with cleaning the rest of the pieces. Yes I could slap it together and run it but maybe if I do it right the saw will run another 60 or 70 years.

Later.

Workshop Wednesday-Pressure Testing

 One of the tools that not all two cycle engine mechanics have in their box is a pressure/vacuum tester. I don't know why because it is vital to diagnosing problems with these little machines. Because the incoming fuel and air charge passes through the crankcase of a two stroke, that crankcase must be sealed and not have any air leaks. These leaks are checked under pressure and vacuum with a tool like this one made by Mityvac.

 To test, we pump up 7 pounds of pressure and see if it holds without losing more than one pound in a minute. A well sealed engine will still be holding that pressure after returning from a lunch break. It will also hold 10 inHg or .33 bar of vacuum. You may think that if it passes one test it will automatically pass the other but that's not always the case. The design of crankshaft seals, with a lip on one side of them, means pressure from the inside of the case with just make them seal tighter and pulling vacuum from inside will allow the lip to give way and let air pass. This was the case the other day when I was working on a saw that was all jacked up with an engine failure in the form of a scored cylinder and piston.
 The first step is to seal all the external holes and ports. The muffler is removed and blocked off with a plate, or a piece of rubber sandwiched between the muffler and cylinder.

 The carb is removed and the intake is blocked off, in this case with special tools.

 The spark plug is removed and our adapter is screwed in place. The mityvac is then connected to the adapter.

 Yes its a lot of dickin around to do these tests but its the only way to do it right. If you're working for a dealer then it has to be done this way for filing warranty claims. It adds a lot of labor time to the repair so it usually only gets done when the repair can't be remedied by other means. This saw came in with a complaint that it wouldn't start. An engine needs fuel, compression and timed ignition so I always look at fuel quality first. Its easy to see if there is fresh mixed fuel without water in the tank. Next I pull the spark plug and take a looksee at the cylinder for signs of scoring. In this case the cylinder and piston were pretty bad.

  This engine wouldn't start because of low compression. The ring was stuck due to metal transfer between the piston and cylinder, causing that low compression. We determined the fuel supply was fresh and had oil in it and we knew the saw was still under warranty so the next step was a pressure test which it passed. When I tried the vacuum test it failed. As mentioned above that points to the crank seals. Pressure tests are checked with soapy water. If there is a leak then you'll see bubbles.

 To confirm a crank seal leak I like to use two cycle oil. I turn the saw on its side and coat the seal with oil before applying vacuum. You'll see the oil disappear as the vacuum gets stronger...

 The problem has been discovered and the repair can begin. Oh I know this is a big yawn fest to most of you but I enjoy it. Teams of engineers designed these engines to run decent and there's no reason an old one can't be repaired to run like new. It's like a puzzle and you just need to figure out which pieces are out of whack. I like puzzles.

Later.

Making More Room In The Shed

 Now that I have an automower taking care of my grass cutting chores I feel its time to get rid of my little rear engine rider. Sure I could keep it around for doing Forrest Gump impersonations while grinding up leaves but I have a bagger push mower that will work better for that chore. A big sale at work next week will be a good opportunity to try to peddle it because I need to raise some cash to pay up a bet my wife insists she won. She says our garbage can is one color and I say its another. She thinks she is right just because everyone she asks about the color agrees with her. I feel a need to pay up and just get this over with, even though in my mind I know its green, not grey...or at least the old can was green. Anyway, the problem with selling it is that it leaks engine oil worse than an old harley. I can't just pressure wash it and hope for the best because the leak reveals itself as soon as you start the engine. For the longest time I just assumed the leak was the sump gasket but today when I pulled it from the shed there was a huge puddle under it and no oil at all in the crankcase. The problem must be the lower crank seal.
 I pushed the machine from the shed to the garage where I could better work on it.

 Nothing has been fixed in this garage in a long time. I was looking forward to some quiet wrenching.

 Initially I was prepared to yank the engine and all of the associated bull that went along with that. After taking a closer look I discovered this was gonna be an easier job than I thought. I pulled the mower deck, one rear wheel and the crank pulley.

 What I found was a huge mess except where the seal was leaking, That area was washed clean from all the oil flow.

 Of all the gaskets, seals and o-rings I bought for this repair, I only used this crank seal. The old one came out too easily and the new one pressed in just about right. In a couple days I'll know if the repair was a success.

 It really was a simple job and this is all the tools I needed. Now I feel the need to get into another project. I suppose I should get back into learning how to use that airbrush and get the sporty painted. I'll keep you posted.

Later.

Winter Projects

 One of the worst parts of my job is having to tell someone their equipment is shot. I know its not like I'm a doctor telling you that your days are numbered but it just kinda sucks having to tell good people that they need to spend more money especially when its not their fault. The exception would be dick heads that won't listen, argue or worse yet they lie and try to blame someone else for the mistake that ruined the equipment. I have no problem telling those fools where they went wrong.
 We have a minimum labor charge for diagnosing equipment and the customer has the option of paying that charge or abandoning the piece in exchange for that bill. We try to recover our expenses by parting out the unit. Once in a while a decent piece comes along and I save those for winter projects. As a dealer we can use parts at our cost and obviously supply our own labor. Usually the best we can expect is to come out even and hope to rent the equipment out after its fixed and make a small profit.
 One such piece is this hedge trimmer. It was one of our rental units that wouldn't start. I remember pressure testing it and it failed. I must have been busy at the time because I just marked the tag "crankcase leak". If I would have spent more time on it I would have discovered the leak wasn't a hard one to repair.
 I removed the flywheel in preparation of pressure testing the unit again and immediately noticed something out of the ordinary.

Do you see it? At first glance this looks like a normal crank seal but look closer.

 Its actually a damaged seal due to grass and debris getting wound up around the crankshaft. Enough of it got wedged under the flywheel that it started working its way against the lip of the crank seal.

 That shiny spring below the seal and around the shaft should actually be hidden under the lip of the seal which is worn away. Thats a huge air leak and a two stroke engine won't run with a leak that big. A simple seal replacement fixed this trimmer and its back in service, or at least its sitting around waiting for spring just like the rest of us.
 So, was it lack of proper maintenance, sloppy operating practices or poor engine design? Blowing debris out of the cooling fins is regular maintenance but removing the flywheel isn't so we can't blame it on lack of care. This trimmer sucks cooling air from the bottom so the design may be poor but I think this was used to cut flowers back in the fall. The unit was probably sucking in dead grass and debris from a bed and that debris got wrapped around the crankshaft. Maybe it was just set down in a messy area and idled for a while, all the time sucking crap into the cooling system.
 I don't think anyone is to blame. Sometimes things just happen. Yes this could have been avoided by using a stick hedger rather than a hand held and a lot can be said about using the right tool for the job but sometimes you just run what ya brung to git er done. As a rental unit theres nothing that can be done to prevent this. For an individual owner there is a lesson to be learned here that can be best summed up with the old Chinese proverb, He who work in messy bed end up with dirty crank!

Later.

On The Road Again

 Sorry if you thought I was referring to getting back on a motorcycle because I'm not. In fact we just got a few inches of snow the other day. I'm talking about the Subaru Outback that blew a timing belt back in November. Let me get you up to speed. After the belt broke the car sat in the garage for a while before a couple day stretch that was warm enough for me to tear the engine down and remove the heads. Turns out all sixteen valves were bent but everything else looked ok. A local machine shop went through the heads while I bought a complete gasket set, head bolts, timing belt, idle pulleys and water pump. Last week I had in my possession all the pieces and mother nature provided a few days above freezing.
 Bolting the heads on was easier than taking them off because I unbolted the motor mounts and slid the engine to one side and installed the opposite head. It was tight getting a torque wrench in there but it was doable. Actually, the worse part was that the torque sequence had me doing one bolt from the top then the next bolt from underneath, then back on top and so on. That sucked because its a seven step process per bolt.
 I think it was a Sunday afternoon and two nights after work for a few hours to get it all buttoned back up. I was working in the dark with the front of the car pointing out of the garage and just used a pen light to light my way. After making one last lap around the engine compartment I decided it was time to fire it up. Crank, crank, crank...nothing. Not a single pop. I had a check engine light flashing at me and the "cruise" light flashing too. Last time that light flashed it cost the dealer a new $800 catalytic converter. The car was still under warranty then. Anyway, I cranked a bit more hoping to hear something that sounded like an attempt to start but still nothing. It seemed to crank normal, meaning compression sounded good and no interference between valves and pistons. I whipped out my handy dandy pen light and made one more sweep of the engine compartment. Sure enough, hidden under the intake runner on the passenger side is the ignition module and I could see it wasn't plugged in. The wire harness for it got bunched up under the manifold and kinda hid there. I plugged it in, jumped in the car and tried starting it again. Vroom! It started right up!
 I was standing just outside the garage lookin in and the garage was filling with smoke. My Ultra is a big bike yet I couldn't even see it back there through the cloud. I quickly pulled the car outside. The car ran for maybe fifteen minutes and began overheating. Remember its dark outside and from the glow of the tail lights it looked like the car was still smoking. I thought it was blowing antifreeze out the exhaust like maybe I screwed up the head gasket install or maybe I had a cracked head. All those negative thoughts clouded my rational thinking so I backed the car in the garage and gave up for the night. I spent all night going through the repair and couldn't come up with a good reason for the problem. I'm not saying I'm too good to screw up cuz I make mistakes all the time but I didn't rush this job and it should have gone right.
 A few days later I borrowed a cooling system pressure tester from Al. Thanks Al. That test told me there were no leaks in the system. I fired the car up and to my surprise it didn't blow smoke but it did overheat. I started thinking logically and realized I just had an air pocket in the system. Once I got that bled out the car stopped overheating and the heater worked fine. I'm thinking all that smoke was raw fuel in the exhaust from when I initially cranked the piss out of it. I suppose anything left in there evaporated after sitting a few days. Oh, and to my surprise, all the flashing lights and check engine light just went away. Schwiiiiing!

 So this will be my ride until we're ready to upgrade the truck. I'll need the old Dodge for towing and hauling but thats about it. The only other thing the Dodge can do better is deep snow and off roading. I don't do much off roading and the chances for deep snow yet this year are slim.

Later.

Front Wheel Bearing

  The wifes BMW had a noise coming from the front end and I suspected it may be a front wheel bearing. Last week I decided it was time to address this issue so I stopped at the parts store and picked up the highest quality bearing they had. Nothing but the best for honeys car. Being a 2011 car most of the bolts came apart quite easily, but when it came time to push the CV axle back out of the hub I ran into some stubbornness. I didn't have the puller I needed and kinda cobbled one together. It was a weak effort at making a puller and after moving the hub about 1/16" out of the bearing, the puller started to bend. This whole time there was some serious noise coming from the other side of the shop. A team of four were trying to remove the fifth wheel plate from a semi tractor and they were having more problems than I was. Pounding, grinding, torching, pounding, cussing, pounding, air hammers...the whole works. I was getting a headache from their noise and my frustration with the wheel bearing and decided to give up for the night. The problem was I needed to put all this crap back together to drive the car home. When I torqued the axle nut back down it wouldn't pull the bearing halves back together. There was now a considerable amount of play in that front wheel. Not dangerous play, but enough that I'd see tire wear if I kept driving it like that. Two days later on Friday I decided to revisit that stubborn bearing.

 The initial disassembly went fast. After all, I already knew which tools to grab and the sequence for disassembly. This time around I had Greg helping me and he came up with some improvements to my home made puller. Crank the puller tight, pound. Crank the puller tight, pound. It came out slow and half the bearing inner race was still on the hub but that would easily be removed with a grinder and a swift blow of a chisel. The remaining bearing would get pushed out in the press, then the new bearing pressed back in. There was a little dinking around but everything went together pretty good.
 Here's the real story. That wheel bearing was never bad. I (and a respected mechanic) heard the noise coming from the left front of the car. Turns out the differential is bolted to the left side of the engine so when its oil level dropped below the differentials output bearing and started making noise, I was fooled into thinking it could be a wheel bearing. Now it clearly also has gear whine that changes as you switch from power to coasting. That noisy session in the shop the first time around eventually revealed the truth. I was turning the wheel hub and could hear that it was noisy but couldn't pin point it. By the time the other half of the shop quieted down enough for me to find the real source of the noise, I had already pulled that hub a bit and started separating the bearing. I would have never done that if I had known there was almost no oil in the front differential. That'll make a noise every time. Kinda odd for a car that was just serviced at the dealership. Yes, I suppose I should have gone through the car better myself.
 I've been in contact with the dealer and although the short term warranty that came with the car is expired, they are willing to take a look at it. I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I'm not sure how this is gonna end but I'll keep you posted.

Later.

Project Subaru

 Hey Lady, I thinks I found yer problem. Its right 'ere.

 That's what I told my wife when she came out to the garage to see how project Subaru was coming along. You may recall last November that the timing belt broke and I needed to investigate how much damage occurred on this interference engine. It took the better part of an afternoon to remove the battery, drain the coolant and then remove the intake and front of the engine to get one of the heads off. The process was pretty straight forward and actually only involved a few tools. Ten, 12 and 14 mm sockets, a screw driver and a pliers were all that was needed.

 I threw all the removed parts in the back of the car not knowing if I would need them later or if I was just making it easier on the scrap man to haul it all away.

 So basically if you've ever removed a cylinder head from an Outback while the motor was still bolted in, well then you deserve a medal or something. I was able to unbolt and remove the heads without loosening the motor mounts and jacking the engine although I will have that extra step during reassembly because a torque wrench just won't fit between the frame and head. When I inspected the pistons I expected to see a few dings where the valves hit them and thats exactly what I found. Both pistons on that side appear to hit TDC at the same height, meaning I think that the rods weren't bent during the collision of the valves and pistons when the timing belt broke. What I didn't expect to see was a cross hatching pattern still present in the cylinder wall. At over 220,000 miles that doesn't seem right. This triggered some memories from when we bought the car and I seem to recall some discussion of a motor overhaul. Not really sure, my memory is all over the place on this one but I'm happy for now to think I can salvage the short block without that extra expense.
 The heads have all the exhaust valves visually bent. Not sure about the intakes but they did have what looked like signs of contact with the pistons. Not sure about any cracked valve guides but the heads are at the machine shop now. I'll report again when I know more.

Later.