well, its been a wet chilly day, lots of rain, that seems to have blown out now,,, (radar says its still rainin’ but I was out and didn’t feel a drop. well, other than the drips of trees and awnings,,,)

Shuffled things around a bit. Moved my torchset into the new not yet complete woodshed, tarped it over using the frame as support. No need for that set to be exposed to weather. (need new hoses and a tank refill, but use it so infrequently,,,) Did some cleanin’ up of Buffalos stall, and then the DANCE OF TWUCKS,,,

Pull Bloo out onto the drive, (leave running, why not, she takes a bit to warm up) Then pull Buffalo out, spin her about, and back in,,, Back THROUGH her stall so her bed is hangin’ out in the breezes. didn’t like the first spot so wiggled around a bit, gaining a foot extra on the drivers side, GOOD! Pull Bloo in so her bed is hanging out in the breezes on the other side. BOTH cabs under roof and room to move a little in both cases. No squeezing Dio to get around, but might be a bit tight if I need to pop a hood or two. Good thing about this; IF I need to jump one or the other, they are facing each other now, right where I would want them to be in that sort of emergency. AND now, that they are,,, won’t ever happen LOL.

I got seriously spoiled with having a carport, not needing to clean off windshields of snow or frost,,, Or like this AM: ICE! ( I knew what was coming last eve, and had tarped Bloo so all I had to do was pull the tarp, but there was a TON of ice on that tarp,,,) No thanks… I have no issues warming a truck up in the cold mornings, but HATE having to clean them of the cold stuff. Lazee? YUP,,, not proud.

And if things need turned or tuned or tweaked, its nice to have cover from the elements. May not be full covered, but better this than none.

No, Ain’t gotta thing to talk about. Already got the text from Son of Bossman, that we ain’ta workin’ tomorrow. 20F and all this wet today, there is going to be a serious coating of ice on everything. Even down in my shop, with its doors closed, there will be ice on any bare metal. It condenses out of the air and clings,,,, And that shop never warms up in the winter and never cools off in the summer. You freeze or bake; no in betweens. No, don’t really mind (other than lack of income) not being there tomorrow. I’ll make it through, somehows,someways,,,

Fires up in the stove, back up of propane OFF but available but see little need with the wood. Propane for waterheater and stove good to go, with a backup tank as needed, food on shelves, water aplenty, coffee,,,

I ain’t hurtin on those ends,,,

Live

LEARN

Laugh

LOVE

LOAD!!!!

Oh, we got some snow,,, maybe 3″ here where my stead is. thats not where the problem comes from.

Then next 5 days are supposed to be in the teens or lower,,, THERE is where we get the ice and crap that makes life a little less than ‘nice’.

If ya live on a hillside that is,,,

Is whut’tis, I chose my location and the inherent UGH that accompanies it.

So wish I had a 24/7 stream near’bouts,,,, Do the whole micro-hydro thing and not worry about cleaning solar panels. iswhut’tis,,,

I don’t have a single wire running between house and grid, nor any plumbing fixtures. Totally contained, and as was shown in text messages yester-eve

No, not freezing at all,,, Actually, had the front door open at that point as that is the only thing I have that approximates a T-stat.

Hot shower at 8pm, dinner cooked on a gas stove, though I could have done a slow cooker thing atop the woodburner,,,(will do that with my chili, been a coupl-a-year since I made chili) Lights all night as needed and no need to run a genny ( I do love these LiFepo batteries,,, they are rockin this system.)

About the only thing missin’ (and I don’t miss it) is the entertainment/programming of televised ‘stuff’. Bust open a book or the kindle and I travel to places beyond the boundaries of my little shack, just as well, if not better, than the televised stuff

The only thing I lack,,, companionship. Peeps to talk to. The Fur-babies are nice, but conversation sorely lacks, or is so one sided, may’swell be talkin to meself. At least Cozzie gives me a head-tilt in response. The Kittehs act like I don’t even exist unless there is food involved. (not totally true,,, Elbs do like a good snuggle and face stroppin.)

Not workin’ on that companionship thing though. Not yet. Figure ‘it’ll happen when Universe decides I’m ready’. (and when it does, will hit me sideways and I may try to run screaming for the exits. I know me.)

gonna be a weak week, I can already tell. One big bill out of the way this past week, another two smaller ones coming at end of month. Hope to have SOME work this week, to at least cover those. If I have to dip into the stores to eat, so be it. I knew what I was getting into, just hit faster and deeper than I expected. (and the weather ain’t helpin’.) NOT A BLEG,,,, just stating facts. (UPDATE: yeah,,, its gonna suck this week. went out to start Bloo and there is already a 1/4″ of ice on everything from the current ‘freezing rain’. May have issue getting back up hill later.)

gotz to git ta Da’s, check-in and Domestics. Then see about Fillin’ Bloo up for the upcoming week. Was holding off since she was running like shitte, (and the price is dropped since the Snow-magedon didn’t pan out so well. They bumped the price for panic buyers.)

more laters

Most all of my ‘wrenching’ is with power tools: impacts, ‘pnuematic’ ratchets, etc. I was spoiled by the speed in my younger days.

The recent additions of electric ratchets is a game changer, with one caveat: They don’t like COLD Those batteries take a union break when the temps drop below that ‘water goes solid’ number. Oh, they might tease you, even run the tool for a minute, but TORQUE, ROFL,,, Not happenin’!

That leads me to ‘problem, needs solution’ phase in my thinks since I am about to be snow bound with nothing much going on. Problem: batteries don’t do well when cold as ice. Solution: keep the batteries warm. Putting it in practice though,,,, Yeah, keep the batteries in the house when not in use; that leads to ‘oops, forgot to grab the batteries’ instances,,, Keep them in the cab while driving,,, similar problems, like distance (or lack of) and they have to warm up from cold,,,

I’ll do the ‘keep ’em in the house’ thing since the ‘portable solution’ is out of reach for now, but I’m thinkin,,, I much prefer having the power at hand: helps reduce the chance of repetitive motion injuries and cuts repair times in half or more.

on the Bloo thing,,, Yeah, its too damned cold out there to be messin’ with valves on a runnin’ engine,,, its 20F out right now,,,, Oh, sorry, its up a WHOLE DEGREE since I woke,,, 21F now. Wind is not horrid yet, but that front is moving in and then THE SNOW,,,, Looking at radar, its not far off and headed this way. No idea if this is gonna be white out conditions (not likely, but heavy enough)

and tomorrow, Freezing rain and exploding trees LOL Where the hell did that crap come from? Seems to me that some weather liar is making shit up out of whole cloth trying to drive the fear factor. I’m more concerned about the downed trees from ice build up.

And the funny,,,, yesterday at work, I heard all the guys grumpin’ about ‘what if the electric goes out’,,, “Why’d ya let them talk you into ONE solution to stay warm?” was my question,,, I recall being a kid, house heated with oil and we cooked on gas,,, Kold got so bad, the heating oil froze (gelled in reality) so we were using the oven to keep the kitchen warm until other solutions could be done (Da warming the oil with a space heater or something,,, Don’t recall specifics.) That next summer was the beginnings of “WOOD BURNER” adventures in our lives,

Rules of survival, Water, shelter, heat, food,,, THAT ORDER and the middle two are exchangeable/mix ready if you know how to build a proper shelter (debris hut style) And yet,

not gonna make any more societal critiques today,,, just gonna stay at home, where I have all I need to be comfortable and content and worry free. (as long as those trees stay vertical )

LLLLL! (, ‘)

Thats what lesson I learned this late afternoon, early eve.

Alright, FULL disclosure, but I am sure y’all already fingered it, even if ya didn’t have the details right. I DID IT TO MESELF,,,,

Went back to the “Book”,,, did things the way Chiltons and Haynes suggested, Double checked online with some of the GM forums,,, the 1-6IE thingy,,,, Park it on #1TDC, adjust #1, #2 #5 #7 intake valves, then #1 #3#4 #8 exhaust,,, ROTATE 180 degrees to #6 TDC, and adjust #6 #3 #4 #8 intakes, then #6 #2 #5 #7 exhaust ports.

HERE is where I figured what I did wrong both times prior.

I was on the #6 side of the adjustments and bumped #3 exhaust rocker,,,, It was loose as hell,,, Almost started to tighten it down,,,, CAUGHT MESELF,,, “I already had that right on the last round,,, Lifters bled off, LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!” and I realized that BOTH times before, I would monkey with the loose ones,,,,

She’s running smooth. has a couple of minor ticks from where I could/should/will pull the rocker covers and adjust WHILE RUNNING,,, But she is running smooth and glitch-free now. Started without the Camsensor or EGR plugged in, and fired right up SMOOTH,,,, shut her down, plugged those in,,, SMOOTH,,, GOOD TO GO,,, close up shop; getttin’ cold, test drive,,,

(And she has warned me of my next job,,, Starter motor,,, Fortunately, I HAVE ONE on hand,,,, Its just not wrenching friendly out there anymore; winds picking up, sunset is on hand, and a winter Alpaca-lipps is blowin’ in.)

Don’t try to out-monkey the monkey from Detroit,,,, that was my lesson this week.

Face, meet palm,,, SMACK!!!!!

time to get the fire built up for the upcoming festivities, make sure my shits in order,,, and move the truckums around so that Buffalo is back in her stall for the weather funs,,,, (that goofy hinge wont’ let the door seal proper, she leaks A LOT,,, want her undercover,,,,)

more laters,,, after my blushing face settles down some.

LLLLL!

(, ‘)

Well, been working,,, Did get the lash thing ran through yesterday eve, but as said, still ain’t right. And will admit, more than likely hooman error on my part. I did get sidelined mid point and may have ‘jumped time’ or skipped a step I shouldn’ve,,,

But today,,, Nada,,,

Just the J.O.B. thing,,, 7 ‘n a half in… Not much to the end goal, but better than if I hadn’t at all.

And we await the Alpaca-lips of Ol’man Winter for the weekend,,,

Calling for 4″ snow on Satyrday, and wintery mix of freezing rain/snow on Sunday and the precipitation percentile markers are through the roof for those 48 hours,,,

Wood stacked on porch, nummers on the shelf, Coffee aplenty and stack-o-books next to the desk waiting for me to ‘have a moment’. May have to deal with bored kittehs n pupper, but whats new on that front? So long as Elbs doesn’t have a teenager angst driven hissy fit while being in close quarters with Mama, we’ll be good. (the problem is, Elbs and Cozzie are BUDS and when Mama goes to put Elbs in line,,, well, buddy Cosmos has to come to his buddies aid, and things get out of hand then,,,)

Locally,,, you’d think there aren’t ANY people that have lived in this area for any length of time. The weather liars predictions are clearing out the stores,,, Madness of “The SKY is FALLING!!!” seems to have taken hold and people are loading mega carts worth of food,,,

Guys,,, come on,,, Its TWO DAYS,,, and most likely those loading up are on ELECTRIC ONLY and won’t be able to do jack shit but look at all that food they can’t cook,,,

Sigh,,,

Anywhooozzzawhutaburger,,,, I’ll get back on Bloo soonest, and may even break down and do the adjustments in Da’s basement,,, maybe,,, I’m of the mindset right now,,, “Its only been 3 months since she was a junkyard cast-off,,, Take the time,,,,” And as shitty as this winter is becoming,,, Not like I am going to be doing any outside work on OTHER PEEPS messes of mechanical leanings. Not yet anyways,,,

More laters,,, stay safe, stay warm, and stay vertical and breathing.

LLLLL (, ‘)

Thanks must go out to commentor Fred Lewers: That EGR thing was biting me,,, Got her running after I went through and adjusted the valve lash again,,, running like complete shit,,,

Unplugged the EGR and VRROOOOMMMM,,, Her Idle shot up, and she smoothed out quite a bit. Still have a miss, and could be in the timing gears still, BUT BETTER,,, Stayed that way after I plugged the EGR back in.

Fact is, I ran out of daylight,,, I DID get a chance to hook the OBDII up to her and get some live data points. Her timing at idle is hovering around 10 degrees advanced. I wanted to unplug the distro, but damned if I can get to it with all that stuff on top,,, Need to pull the cap off to get to the terminals.

She popped a code for “High Sensor Value” in the MAP,,, but was showing 25″ mercury on the live feed,,, I am going to install a vacuum port sometime soon, as I would prefer an analog reading as well,,, one that reads in REAL TIME, and that I can watch and see whats going on. (the computer will smooth out the signal for ITS benefit, so won’t show those little dips and spikes that tell when you have a sticky valve and the like.) (I used to use a vac gauge to tune my Fiats. Was FAR more accurate than a timing light in those “Fix it again Tony’s”_)(anudder fact,,, I don’t even OWN a timing light anymore. Haven’t used one in ages because most of what I work on, the point is nearly useless as the computers control it all.)

Gonna have to wait at this point.

And Da was sayin’ ‘just pull it in and work on it here’ UNhUh!!!! The stinks she is pumping out while not running right,,, She’d drop us in Carbon Monoxide with a quickness!!!! No, quite happy to be outside working in this case: safer on the health, and possibly property (if she decided to self-immolate or something.) I’ll deal with the limitations of daylight (actually, flashlight in tonights case, as it was getting QUITE dark by the time I hit the keyswitch to ‘Run’.)

I’ll get this yet. Dusting off long un-used knowledge again,,, Some of it has to be dug for at that. Been babied by my absence from the wrenchs,,,,

more tomorrow,,, after that, if she ain’t running well, she sits: we have a massive strom expected over the weekend. A real shitter of a storm from what the weather liars are saying. Willl see of course, but Even if the temps get to thier expectations, I won’t want to be out there under hood chasing gremlins and Tribbles.

LLLLL! (, ‘)

This truck is making me question my own skills/knowledge.

Full ignition system shy the coil. (HOT ass spark, see no need to replace a good coil.) Cap, Rotor, Wireset, New properly gapped plugs (.060″) A small amount of anti-seize on the threads of the plugs, and NONE on the electrodes, I was double checking this as I have had that bite me in the ass once before. (shorted the plug to ground, no sparky-sparky.)

She is running slightly better,,, at least the dead misses on #4 and #8 are relieved, but she is still rough and gutless below 1500rpm. That tells me timing is off or valve lash is off. or a combination of both, (I’m gonna go with ‘Both” Alex.)and if any of y’uns feel like chiming in with ideas, open forum in comments. Won’t be displeased if you point out where I’m an idiot.)

were she a standard ignition baby, with solid lifters, I would already be in the park,,, computer controlled timing and mushy hydraulic lifters,,,, grrrrr

So, either my timing gear is off a tooth, or my valve lash is not correct and I either have a valve hanging slightly open and compression can’t build up. That could be MULTIPLE cylinders at that,,, Like #4 and #8???? Maybe,,,, Or it could be that the valves aren’t opening far enough,,, From the way she is acting,, I am going to say its the former, hanging open.

But here’s the deal. I’m letting her sit until I can deal with her on my terms,,, She is home, in the stable (sorry Buffalo..) OUT OF DA’s HAIR. And I am about sick of looking under her hood for now. Its cold, and thats enough to be said about it.

My attitude about things in the world isn’t helping matters any. I’m in need of something good breaking my way for a minute. Like a series of FULL work weeks: those would help my outlook some. May not be enough to put a serious dent in these debts, but it would give me a positive uplift under these ragged wings I am flying with.

And I am sure y’all are sick to death of hearing about my mess of Tribbles,,, yes, Star Trek reference, and a fitting one I feel.(or you could reference the Gremlins movie but that wouldn’t ‘rhyme’ quite right. gremlins I have been fighting, and I think some part of my psyche is creating them, as all of this is rather self-inflicted. I blame none but meself..)

Time for a Rittenhouse,,,,

LLLLL! (, ‘)