Shade tree mechanic! Whatcha workin on.

[doc henderson]

still stuck on the carb issue, but really not had much time to work on it.  plan to soak and clean it, and go back on assuming something got clogged in the process of fixing the accel pump.

[TimW]

Yes, I did!  thanks Tim.  I am taking Benadryl and med for a cold.  musta conflated my day job and my hobby projects.     

Doc,
     I so understand.  Sometimes I call sawmill parts............aircraft parts.  Oh yeah, that thing in your coffee cup is not a spoon, it's a propeller!

[doc henderson]

If you go back a few, you will see I painted the wheels machine grey.   looks almost like a new truck.

[Wlmedley]

Got my old Kabota put back together.Even though input shaft had some wear clutch disc fit fairly snug and seems to work okay.Yesterday was the hottest day all summer 99F so a shade tree would have been nice.Another plus is while I had fuel tank off I got fuel gauge fixed which hadn't worked since I got it and was aggravating wondering how much fuel I had.Don't know why I was in a hurry to get tractor back together as we are in a drought and grass and weeds are dying.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Trucks been having trouble starting and rough idle (fine once she warms up), so I thought I'd throw a few parts at it... First 7 spark plugs and wires took about an hour. Number 8 here was 3 hours worth of sweat running into my glasses, and 1 trip to the store.



I will now be taking her to the gas station for a selection of cold carbonated rewards beverages... Hope I make it bacK! 

[thecfarm]

Well if you get to the store and you don't make it back, you will have something cold to drink. 

[gspren]

That plug looks fine, why did you change it? 

[maple flats]

Well, certainly not a mechanic, but I'm about to try.
My Excavator decided not to run this year, in fact mid way thru last year. My BIL, a retired mechanic worked on it , put in about 6-8 hrs aand said he is dont working on it.
He was trying to work thru a 10x12" opening once a cover was removed. From there he could reach the starter with one hand but could not see what he was doing. This year I deceded to get into the starter. I had to remove all the wires on the back of the instrument panel, label each, then remove the panel. Then I had to remove the ROPS with the roof. A few other things like a safety rail, the seat, some hydraulic valves and the air filter mounted under the engine cover. Then I removed the bolts holding the engine cover (I'll call it the hood from here on, it likely weighs 150 lbs) and finally I could lift the hood off using the forks on the tractor and 3 ratchet straps. I watched close to make sure nothing was not proceeding as desired and finally I'm now able to see the starter.
My next step is to try to find the issue. I can use help here, as I said, I'm not a mechanic. I have the battery fully charged. I'm thinking I need to wire the ignition switch back to the 6 terminals on the switch. Then I'll removed the hot from the battery, and unhook the hot wire from the battery to the starter, clean the contact and reassemble. Then I'll test the wire that activates the solenoid, use a multi meter and test for power. If good power I think trying the starter might be next. If anyone can suggest anything, i'm open to ideas.

[rusticretreater]

Ensure all fuses are in place and not blown.  Is it completely dead or do you hear a click when turning the key?  If you have a clicking sound, the first paragraph below can probably be skipped.

Check if there is power to your solenoid energizer wires when you turn the key to start.  If you have no power to the solenoid, trace the wiring.  You likely will find a relay in the circuit.  Run a wire from the ignition switch to the solenoid terminal and crank it.  If the starter works, check continuity from the solenoid to the relay terminal and from the relay to the ignition switch.  If both good, then replace the relay otherwise fix the shorted wire.

If you have power to the energizer wiring of the solenoid, battery power on the cable to the solenoid/starter and hear a click when you turn the key to crank, test the energizer wire voltage.  You may find it less than 12v battery power.  12v needs to be restored to this terminal.  There is a bypass kit available that will restore 12v to the solenoid if replacing the wiring will be too difficult.  The relay might also be the problem here.

If the starter does not crank, make sure there is voltage on the jumper wire.  You can test the jumper wire or the ignition switch terminal to ground.  If there is no voltage, it may be a bad ignition switch.

Check for power on the battery cable to the starter/solenoid.  The solenoid may be on the starter or be separate from the starter motor.  If the solenoid is mounted separately, check for battery power going to the solenoid and then battery power on the cable after the solenoid when the ignition switch is turned to crank.  If there is no battery power between the solenoid and starter, replace the solenoid.

[maple flats]

Thank you rusticretreater, I printed your suggestions, heading down to test it. I'll let you know if it helped or if I figure what the issue is. that will take a few days, I need to do it between a bunch of other things going on.

[doc henderson]

Well, I still need to bleed the brakes on the old state dump truck.  i went to split a few slabs on the log splitter and it did not run right.  bogged and spit out a bunch (like mosquito fogger) of white gray smoke.  pulled a plug to see if fouled or full of oil.  Original differential diagnosis, broken ring vs needle and seat, float issue.  both plugs were damp.  turned the key and out shot a stream of gas that impacted the cylinder 2 feet away.  had a lot of shrouds and stuff to loosen and or remove to get to this carburetor.  It had an integrated air cleaner and fuel tank on top. 





the hardest part was finding the engine number it is very faintly inscribed on the valve cover.  there is a family and eu number on a sticker on the shroud and lots of numbers on the Nikki carb.  after I found the number, I had already cleaned and tested and reassembled.  My local Stihl dealer had the needle with a rubber tip.  would have to order a float, but it is fine, and a whole carb kit is 130 bucks, a new carb is over 300.  It is back and running now and I will get the parts for the next time it sticks and floods by cylinders on this 18 hp overhead valve engine.

[maple flats]

On my excavator hopful fix, I only had time to get the ignition switch ready, to reconnect, get the multi meter ready and get the wrenches ready, then I got a honey do call. Tomorrow I'll need to do some spraying but then I can try to get more done on the project.
Looking at all of the other posts in this thread, I better get some pictures and re learn how to enter them in of mygallery so they can appear in my posts. I'll try, all my life I've not been good at remembering to snap pictures, I need to work on it for sure.

[maple flats]

Still no progress on the excavator, most days it was raining so I worked in the sugarhouse running power from my off grid solar, taking it off my grid tied solar. When finished I'll have 2 sources, 2 recepticles side by side. One labeled grid the other labeled solar. This is for my water jacketed bottler. It's 240V but only 20A, I can run it with either. I'll also set up my vacuum pump with 2 sources. My choice is to run using the solar when the battery charge is good enough and use the grid only when needed. At issue is what the utility charges me to send them power over the wires I had to buy. Back in 2012 they charged a wire fee of $22 each month, now it's slightly more than doubled. As such, since my excess goes toward my home electric bill I'm trying to use more of the off grid part so I get more of my grid power running my meter backwards. 
I'm also running the lights using the off grid system. That system only has 4 AGM 12V batteries 200AH wired in series but most of the time the charge on the bank is full. If I need to I'll double the battery bank to 48V 400 AH. Thus I'm working to use the off grid more. 
That system has in addition to the 48V battery bank has a 1480 watt of solar and a 60A charge controller with a 4860 inverter (48V 6000 watts continuous or 12,000 watts surge) For the period from 2012 until earlier this year both my 4840 watt array which is grid tied only and my 1480 watt array  which was set to charge the battery bank then send all excess to the grid. Because of the current world situation I seperated the 2 systems and removed the grid tie on the 1480 watt portion. If the grid goes down, I'll still have the off grid portion because unlike the grid it's hardened.
Now I'm pulling a few loads off the grid and moving them to the off grid.
Then today we had a dry day so I worked on getting my Woodland Mills HM130MAX running. It had not been run since November. The electric start clicks but the starter doesn't spin, I'll work on that later. For now, I just added fresh fuel and checked the oil. It didn't start. Then I opened the carb bowl drain and caught what drained out, no water. Then with fresh fuel in the carb it started first pull. I then tensioned the blade to specs , started it again and made just one 1/8" thick cut to make sure it was good, that did well. In the next few days 
i'll be sawing hemloch for my needs and a friend has a few logs i'll saw for him. 
one is a sycamore, which I've never sawed. I'll see how is goes. He just bought a building he's converting back to a restaurant (it was one back about 12-15 yrs ago). He wants to make his own tables for the restaurant using logs he cut.
After that I'll get back to the excavator and try to figure out what the issue is. I have a whole list of things to check.
Lastly, I'll try to get some pictures, all my life I've been very poor at getting pictures, I need to work a lot harder on it so you don't say "no pictures, it didn't happen"

[mudfarmer]

Custom wrench for adjusting JD 440 skidder winch is the same custom wrench needed to disconnect pressure line from f350 power steering pump (pulley too close to fitting). Get lucky once in a blue moon

[Al_Smith]

I'm still at war with a pair of Husqvarna chainsaws of which,at the moment are winning a 281 and a 2100 CD .It could be the carbs or the fact on these high compression saws ,because of my age I can't spin them over fast enough to generate a good spark .As a general rule it takes the same relative speed as 600 rpm's to get a good spark .

[caveman]

Today I got to a couple of items on the to-do list that I have been putting off for quite some time.  I burned up the starter on the '74 Bronco several months ago while trying to start it with a weak battery.  It is front of other vehicles in our shop/garage, and I wanted to verify that it would run since it had been so long since I started it-probably four months.  John came by this morning, and he pulled it out with the tractor.  I filled the carburetor bowl with gas, and he pulled me about 15-20 feet down the driveway.  Third gear was just right to start it easily.  I drove it up and down our road a time or two and confirmed that the starter was toast.  I ordered another and installed it.  Sometimes I procrastinate instead of just fixing stuff.  It took longer to run to town to get the starter than it did to replace it, and the parts store is only four or five miles away.  My oldest daughter and son in law brought a bull over to visit our heifer.  Morgan (daughter) likes to drive the Bronco, so I had her try out the new starter and drive it around a bit while I was putting away tools.


While on a roll, I decided to fix the flat on my skiff's trailer.  I have not used that boat in at least a year and a half.  The tire was easier than it could have been so onto the 90 hp Evinrude that has not been started in a long time.  The last couple of times that I ran it, it ran but I kept having to hit the enrichment to keep gas in the carbs occasionally.  I noticed a fuel leak at the filter while priming the fuel line.  I unscrewed the filter to ensure I bought the right one on my next trip to town.  As I unscrewed the filter, I noticed one of my trolling motor battery wires was pinched between the filter and the housing (Doh!).  Some of the fuel line was replaced with alcohol resistant marine fuel line just a couple of years ago.  It was separating, so I temporarily replaced it with another section I had from the electric fuel pump we installed years ago after removing the VRO pump (pumped gas and oil).  

To my surprise, the battery I had on the bench turned the engine over and it fired up and ran pretty well.  I just ran it on the ears in the driveway, but I was pleased with the outcome.  I'll try to get it out on the water sometime soon to determine what else it needs.

More stuff to add to the list now:  clean the dirty boat, figure out why the bow light did not come on, repack the trailer hubs, change the water pump impeller, redo the fuel line to the engine and on the engine that I just did a couple of years ago.  The Bronco needs tires and mufflers and a good scrubbing.  The boat is dirtier than it's ever been due to blown in dust.    

Afterwards, my five-year-old grandson wanted to use the "cane" pole we cut a few months ago to try to catch some fish in the pond.  He hooked three before he landed one.

[thecfarm]

I bet fishing was the most fun!!

[caveman]

He and I both enjoyed fishing.  The funny thing to me is that he can cast a spinning reel relatively well but is still figuring out the "cane" pole.  

[Big_eddy]

Tomorrow it's going to be coils on my F150. Took it out on the highway pulling the dump trailer yesterday and it got the shakes. Misfires on 1 and 3. I had to change 4 last year. 

[Resonator]

My customer with the all electric pickup wanted to mount the body of his newly painted Model T onto the chassis. Took 5 guys and 2 forklifts (maybe overkill ), but we got the pieces "married" together.

Met up with my customer over Labor day weekend, got corrected it's actually a 1930 model "A" (not a "T"). He's made a lot of progress, and watched a short phone video they took of the first start. Hearing the original numbers matching engine run for first time in decades, he was laughing and smiling ear to ear.

[doc henderson]

I got the dump truck moveable.  still have to pump the brakes at first.  needs a re-bleeding.  no leaks so far.  Despite the Jimmy Carter era governor, it should run a little faster with the newly painted "machine grey" wheels!

[rusticretreater]

Worth 10HP at least.  Did you rebuild the carburetor?

[TimW]

Now what Doc?  You planning a big project?

[doc henderson]

It was more of a linkage issue.  it is old.  set the "curb idle up and it works.  it must of been camming over and would not open the butterfly.  It is yard drivable, but not ready to go to the dump.  light at the end of the tunnel.  Have a nice start on an outdoor post and beam (cheat with lags and metal) for a kitchen at the end of the pool.  got lots of help from @Jim_Rogers and will start a thread of its own.  I work 2 night this week, and 4 shifts next and then will some time off.  Of course, still hiring docs for a transition in October.  tons of stuff going on.  good to have the wife's BD and family reunion behind me.

[RetiredTech]

 I've had the parts for the tractor 4wd for about a week or so and finally got a chance to work on it. Tear down was much quicker this time since I had to tear it down recently to make temporary repairs. They had to ship me a differential cage from Korea to make the repairs. It all went back together perfectly. So I'm back in business again. When I finished I decided to take the hood off and try to remove some of the huge dent from the pine tree that tap danced on it. The photo actually looks better than the real thing. It's no where near perfect, but it looks much better now.
 Before:


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