OMG!OMG! OH MY F!N!GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

You know back in 2001, September 11th, 12th and don’t remember how many days,,,,

There was that background noise that we had all lived with our entire lives, and then come 9-11, it was GONE!!!

Talkin’ about the Airliners overhead,,, when they were grounded, the sudden silence overhead, usually ignored except for the occasional loud one, or the one you are watching ‘right then’,,,

WElllzzzzzz

Been drivin’ Buff for a over a year with noizy backend gears, learned to ignore it for the most part, always keeping a muscians ear out for changes in timbre/tone/key,,

NOT TODAY!!!

No, I haven’t done the break in period YET: still need to get back under there and re-bleed my brakes.   They’z feelin a touch spongy: the gravity bleed wasn’t sufficient.

BUT,,, I did a test drive, about a mile,,, didn’t get crazy with it (wasn’t trying to do burnouts or anything,,, just cruzin) and the silence was DEAFENING  and OMGOMGOMG is that a GREAT thing,,,,  Took it up to 50 and zero noise, hum or anything OTHER than the tire noise that I hadn’t been able to hear over that old rear-end.   Coming back to my drive, went ahead and engaged the 4×4 to see if those issues are gone (would get all boggy and wyrd if the front couldn’t slip around)  GONE!   Even stopped and put in low4, just to see,,, same,,, grabbed and was willing to climb a wall without wyrd issues.

happydancehappydancehappydancehappydancehappydance

DOUBLE SHOT ON ME IF YOU CAN GET HERE  LOL  Helpin’ myself to one right NOW!!!!    Dio is patting his own back right now!!! (and then I am dogpiling into the shower and washing all this muck off me,,, )

Did my bank run, stop and got some stuff, including the LSA I didn’t get in my kit (coulda sworn it was on that list,,,) for obvious need I have not had before.

and thought about it.   Yeah, I could bust my hump and get that swap done by dark…

But what if I found I needed to make a run or things ‘didn’t go as planned’,,,,(things NEVER go as planned when you depend on something, like a car/truck and have no backup in place.)

I still have the J.O.B. I need to go to for one more day this week,

So my plan now is to wait until the morrow, and get started on it BUT TAKE MY TIME.  Clean up the gunk from all the little leaks the current psuedo-axle seals have dribbled out.   Clean the brakes up really good (oil soaked, stink to high heaven, need pads replaced)

basicly make things nice so the new Axle feels at home (and if things go wonky, I can see where, without trying to decipher ‘is that new or old?’) 

And if I boogered something in the new axle, I can do what needs done with it in the truck.  Don’t think I did, but wouldn’t be surprised at all; seeing how this one is the first top to bottom rebuild I have ever done.  No matter, fingers are crossed, busted knuckles have sent offerings to the small gods of greasy mechanical things, and prayers sent with the spilled blood. (and I know I will be adding to those when I go to move things around,,,)

So tonight is chill out, walk mutt, feed mama and zoomz, take care of Dio night,,,  tomorrow the carnage can begin and I have 2 1/2 days to ‘make it right’.   (and I WILL post update on the first outing in it.   Been dealing with a howler of a rear end for so long, IF this one is right, I will know in the first mile; even with my faulty ears.)

keep on livin’      It’s beer thirty,,,

Wasn’t insomnia,  just a long series of rilly shirt naps,  and the night seemingly went on forever,,   no idea why.   The night before, slept 7 straight,  no issues.  

Grkkk. 

Makes for a long day too.   Hit a slow down/sit down, body says ‘cool! Naptime!’ and the window shades to my mind start to fall into place.  Gotta keep the ol bod movin’ or it goes all sluggish.

Mehbe I need a dose of Chinese buffet,,,,  LOL. yeah, replace sleeplessness with FOOD COMA,  ROFLMAO

Luckily, it looks like a short day this workaday: if so,  I may head in home after my bankrun (payday) and jump into an axle swap,,,  that would open up me weekend for fun 😁.    Don’t wanna head back to bed no matter how much the bod is whining to do just that.  An early bedtime would throw everything off.  If I do that,  I can do the break in period as “going to work” runs. 

Sounds like a plan to me.

Keep on livin’

Right turn Clyde

INTEL stops construction of $25B chip plant in Israel.

My Take: seein’ how there is a lot of OMG!’s flyin’ round of Semtic/Ant-Semetic hyperbole,,,,   Sorry,  my take; Why wouldn’t I hesitate on finalizing construction: IE HUGE investment,  when the site might be sitting at Ground Zero of a nuclear strike?   Hmm,  let’s think of the implications, and how even Lloyd’s of London might hesitate to take that policy,,  (btw, I like Lloyd’s,  they are honest bookies, not some charlatans masquerading as ‘insurance’, even if they ARE Insurers of long standing.)  Anyone could spin this as ‘anti-semetic’ response, and there may even be a touch of that involved,  but I would say the accountants and lawyers are saying “bad bet, use caution ⚠️ “,,,

Dunno’bout y’all, but I would rather wait until the fires are out before I choose to invest in a place.  A little business savvy over FEELZ here.

Capital investments, LOLZ, seems that convo has risen at least twice today,   The first one was at the J.O.B.  talking about Bossman and his ‘capital’ vs what the other Emps invest.   Of course the Oldman wants people employed,  but that takes a certain amount of material, equipment, overhead, etc etc,    (most of) The emps can barely get themselves to the J.O.B. let alone provide tools (or even intellectual property, but I digress)  That in mind, the return on investment (ratio of investment/return) is heavily towards the Emps, not the owner.  

But you can never quite get that through their heads,,,  They just see the figures and note that “hey, they made XX grand on that job,,,,,”   (and why most employers keep that sort of information hush-hush.  )

C’est la Vie,,,,

home now, doin’ an odd for me: Bicardi and Reeds Xtra, just one shot of the rum and a full can of Reeds, won’t get me even a little tipsy,, just a mellow.    Taking a moment to unwind from the day, and not let things go to my head on the project out under the carport.   Takin’ your advice Mike, I know that pattern was flat LUCK, even with all of my edu-mah-catin’ myself I have been doing.  At least I have learned a thing or three on this, but I still won’t claim expert at it.   The absolute best point I picked up was from a vid made by a guy that has been doing this for 20 years:  Pinion Depth Pinion depth pinion depth.   Don’t worry so much about the coast side since the car is in drive 90% of the time: focus on that side of gears.  

Here in a few, I am going out there and start sealing things up.  No rush, I won’t be trying to put that monster in Buffalo until Satyrday.   May be that a few days cure time on the RTV will make it bullet proof against leaks (didn’t on the one currently in, but I also found that the cover was rotted through and it leaks from bare steel spots,,,  Like an old Indian motorcycle would leak right through the crankcase.  All that porous cast aluminum.)

So far, an excellent week, minus the mess of poison Ivy I managed to tangle with yesterday on the JoBsite,,,arms, back of neck and SCHNOZ are all rashed up and itchy,,,  The schnoz is driving me batty, feels ‘blowed up’ (isn’t, just feels that way): UGH!!!!   Keep it clean and DRY and  ‘Patience Grasshoppa!!!’,,,,

Keep on Livin’

Had a bit of a fight getting the main pinion bearing off, but get her off, I did.   dropped out 3 shims for total of .025″ but the proof is right here in my face.   Really nice contact patch on the drive side of the gear and a small football dead center of the coast side.

Axle bearings, seals and Axles are now installed and that was probably the EASIEST I time I have ever had putting those bloody C-clips back in.   Even with all the springs and gee-gaws in that carrier, full access to the inner shafts.

Tomorrow I seal the thing up and get her ready to go into Buffalo this weekend.    No rush, no rush no rush.   Still have to do the suggested (and highly recommended) break in.  MIld driving for 20 mile round trip, then let cool FULLY, repeat once more.   Supposed to wear that phosphate coating off the ring gear and there is a lot of friction/heat involved in that.  Supposedly enough to cook the heat treatment.  Dunno, but I’ll play that game because I have seen similar in other gear. (and to be frank, the break in almost sounds like a heat treatment process,,,  Heat and slow cool while bathed in oil,,, Sure sounds familiar from Blacksmithing classes.)

———————————————-

In other news,,, Hunter the crackhead was found guilty on all three counts in his trial.   Yeah,,, good deal, but does ANYONE think that he will serve even one day, or that it goes straight to parole process?   OR, that his Daddy does a presidential pardon on him on the way out?   The only good news in that whole mess was that LAPTOP shenanigan was finally released as NOT CONSPIRACY THEORY, and Lord only knows what directions THAT is going to go in,,,,

All I have to say is there are a lot of people in high places that need to be held accountable, because they completely LIED about that damned laptop, repeatedly, and even during Congressional Hearings,,,,   

Will even ONE be held accountable?  

snort,, giggle,,,

yeah,,,   IF they do, color me surprised and shocked,,,

And I don’t wanna go down any other rabbit holes along those lines at this time,,, Feeling damned good with my progress in the driveway and don’t wanna blow a good vibe over liars and PROFESSIONAL Thieves and CON-artists.   Actually, what I really want?   A SHOWER,  NOW!   

Y’all keep on livin’, ya-hear.

Actually moving RILLY RILLY smooth!!!

Guess all that prep work helped

But,

I need to pull that pinion back out.   It’s set to close to center as the indicator paint shows

Back lash was perfect at 0.015″,  pinion set up was smooth as butter with the crush sleeve set to 15in/lbs preload.

But that indicator tells me the pinion is hogging space,,,,

I ain’t fudging this,,,pull it back out and adjust (pull a 15 thou shim) Yup,  that means a new crush sleeve needed: down right CHEAP compared to a chewed up set of gears because I ignored this.  So I won’t ignore it!!!

That 20ton shop press I made 10 years back has paid for itself on this job.

Ah,  but lights failing me, and tomorrow is a new day.  

Sigh!!!  I feel HUGE relief right now, knowing this is gonna work.  And while it’s a PITA; nowhere as intimidating as I had originally made it out to be in my mind.

Keep on livin’

And now, Dio goes to work after work.

More laters

Keep on livin’!