Dio's WorkshopWelcome to my brain. It’s messy. It’s interesting. And it’s all connected if you stick around long enough. "Believe Nothing: no matter who said, even if I have said it, except it agree with your own reason and common sense. Siddhartha Guatamo, the Buddha.
Going ahead and ordering timing chain and gears, timing cover, and main bearings, and rear main seal.
In fact, as soon as I hit publish here, thats a what I am doing,,,,
I’ll keep the language I wanna use to meself.
UPDATE: It’s 5:50 pm. Just finished putting up tools by headlamp because the light was failing on me. Interestingly enough, Bloo is carrying her own tool cart. I had already moved all the tools over to her. This is actually a good thing, but its going to cause some headaches come tomorrow as I do need to put together a basic “Doc Dio” bag and put it all back in Buffalo. My day J.O.B. doesn’t wait for me to run and get my tools, and tools are what make me a value there. Fortunately, my ‘Mekanik Hat’ I wear is a rarity: I can leave the wrenchin’ tools right where they are, under triple lock and key (because I have a Bad Cuz and do not trust that fucker for a moment.) Just need to load the basics; an impact, set of sockets for it (typical 3/4″, 9/16″, and 1/2″) a couple of other power tools, and knowing the jobs we are on, I can guess which ones.
This SUCKS,,, This truly sucks big green greasy donkey d!cks.
Parts are now ordered. That was the reason I was back at turning bolts and moving parts. I needed to know the tooth size of the timing gears as I had two options.
More later, I’m gonna pour a triple finger full of strong stuff and relax for a moment and let the “SUCK” settle in.
Yes kids, there is a reason your old man told you to lube that gasket on the oil filter,,,
Obviously not O.E. which it’d better not be,,, BUT, you can see that I musta pulled every trick in the book (and created a couple new ones) to get that thing off Twuck. You can even see where I ended up using the demo-hammer to drive it off at the last. (Totally last resort as the chance of FUBARing something is HIGH!)
And once I was done getting that bastach off, I had to go back in with a die grinder and surfacing pad to clean off the old rubber seal that had bonded to the oil cooler diverter. Rubber and metal LOVE each other, and like a couple of horny puppers, can get “stuck”,,,
Lube the gaskets; make EVERYONES lives down the chain, much easier (and more than likely, YOURS) Don’t use the used oil, use the fresh stuff in the bottle; just a little does wonders.
And thats my PSA for the day.
Harmonic balancer enroute, Bloo sits for a few days until that arrives and I can get underhood again. A little saddened by this as I have been truly enjoying driving her. She isn’t the comfort queen that Buffalo is (bench seat vs captains chairs, manual everything, where Buff is powered) But she RUNS and she RUNS smooth with gob-lots of power just waiting to be employed. I really don’t wanna F! something up by running with a noisy HB: could spin that first main bearing or something, like goobering the timing gears and chain,,, then we’re talking REAL WORK for repairs. No thanks! I’m lazy like that: why add to the work load?
My days with a real work truck in use are delayed just a wee bit longer,,, Is what T’is,,, My expectations got ahead of reality again.
Since then, did the coolant flush and Oil change. Was hoping that the oil change might ‘change’ the parameters a little and that this would ‘go away’,,, Yeah,, been down that road, rare, but does occasionally happen.
I am of the opinion she has a rod knocking,,, but there’s some grey areas in my knowledge of that. So I am asking others opinions, knowing full well, you aren’t getting ‘real time information’ and that video doesn’t really deliver the sounds I am hearing on this end. I’m not ruling out a stuck lifter, but its sounds “too solid” for a lifter noise. And it does disappear when I let off the throttle, to return again at idle. Not sure if that helps or means anything to anyone.
Second question: I once, many many moon ago, replaced the connecting rod bearings on a slant6 while it was still in the truck: is that possible with a 350? I’m looking at it, and I think it might be possible, but I have never heard of anyone doing that before.
Fact is, I am WAY TOO INVESTED in Twuck to let this get in the way. And it burns me that it wasn’t there yesterday, but is today, and first thing this morning. I did NOT hear it at all yesterday, and there was one point where I had Twuck running and stopped and did a walk around, looking at the lights. I would have heard it then, but did not.
Thanks in advance for any advice/opinion on this. Chime in please, even if you have never commented before,
Yesterday, Thanksgiving day, was the first day I drove Bloo around town, legal and legit. Took her to the gas station for her first fill up in untold years (midgrade, to help clean out the junks) 25 gallons (on top of the 5 gallons high test I put in a couple of days prior) OUCH! but, I knew what I was getting into with Bloo,,, She’s a big twuck compared to Buffalo: Big Twuck, big fuel tank.
What I wasn’t prepared for, but shoulda been, was the SMELLS,,, It was kold, so crank on the heat and the Mousey Pissy Smells coming out of the heater core were almost TOO much,,, cracked the windows to let it out, and sent out a plea to Brudda B, “you have any idea how to get this smell out? Other than just time?”
Of course he came back with the very ideas I was already tossing around me head: We are brudders by anudder mudder after all. Good thing we weren’t raised together or we might have killed each other early on: we think very much alike, and that can cause issues in siblings at young ages.
YEah, she had some rather funky smells taking place. Things that have been sitting as long as she had been, will have things resting in places were they shouldn’t be; things that will burn off when exposed to high heat like exhaust manifolds and pipes. Some of the smells I expected, like the smell of oil burning off the new pipe sections. Some were quite pungent and short lived, but worrisome while in the air. By the time we were back home again after the running around to Get togethers, her odors had settled down to normal ‘warmed up ‘Hicle’ smells, and the smells out of the heatercore were noticibly reduced, though still present. I still sprayed some odo-ban ™ in the vents and air intake. More to knock it down than eliminate it.(read: cover it up.)
I’M VERY HAPPY,,,
Now. Its time to “move in”. Still need to finish the maintenance details of hoses and oil change and coolant flush, but I can be doing those while I move tools from Buff to Bloo,,, Organizing, setting up a bracket to keep the floor jack from rolling around in that great big center box, etc etc,,,, Its work, its what I do: for some reason, this lazy bastach enjoys having his hands bizzy,,, Some people talk(to much) to keep thier minds distracted, I have to ‘play’ at work,,, ((Still need to run that backup cam and finish putting the dash back together too,,, Small details))
On a left turn of thoughts,,, I was going over the creditcard accounts last night, and looking at future payment plans. Really, this hasn’t hurt me as bad as I made it out, at least in me own little world. I usually pay no less than a $100/billing period,(usually $200) and my minimums are still under that number. SO, No real change to my methods, no extra pain, just longer to pay off. Debt seems to be the norm in this assbackwards world, so what new, eh?
No, I’m not burned out,,, I am feeling a bit of the seasonal blahs though. Seasonal work has the downside of “In winter, we work when its nice” and that means I have to tolerate the craptastic weather to get my personal shit done. Slows a body down some when you look out and the porch thermometer is wrapped in blankets with a thermos of coffee, faking a good attitude. Stuff to do, but I have a long weekend of KOLDKOLDKOLD, so I can spread things out a bit into the warmer parts of the day and still get everything done. Not optimal, but what is? I’ll just squeeze some reading in the in-between times.
ramblin’ again,,,, Y’all take care, keep the digits warm and toasty, raise a glass to the fact that Seasons come and seasons go, and this is just another one. Talk atcha’ll later
Stopped at the courthouse today, got a new plate and paid her registration for the year. (til September, but close enough)
And there is still some nigglin’ little stuff that needs a-cared for before I go making her my “main squeeze”. Need to repair the hose between the tank and the fill neck (not the fill hose, but the breather tube side.) That made putting fuel in her challenging the other day, and I knew immediately what the issue was.
New Tail lights came in today, 5 days early, WOOT!
and its a long weekend, even though I won’t get to her tomorrow. Fams in town, get togethers all over the place, DIET BE DAMNED, I’m gonna enjoy Southern Hospitality at its finest. I can work on any gains to be had later,,,
But I will soon be dropping Bloo as a subject matter and she will be reduced to mere mention as a bit player, much like Buffalo does now. (at least in the blog, in my little world, she will be a fixture.)
And its KOLD again. nights in the 20’s for the next few days. Fire going in the stove since the days will be closer to 40s,,, better than burning mad copious amounts of propane. Let the propane be for the lulls when I am not home. Keep the house warm enough until I can get the fire built back up.
Anywhozamajiggiwitz,,, Y’all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, look around, I am sure there is something to be thankful for in your life. (and if not, FIX THAT DANGIT!) I could list my Thanks/gratitudes; its a rather long list these days and for that I am thankful as well.
Get out there, eat too much, feel fat and happy and miserable in the same moment.
Took Bloo to work after the fact and used the Plasma torch to cut a space for a top box in one of her side boxes. Sadly, I had to take the top box apart some to get it to fit still. it was NOT going in any other way. It still works for my needs, its just not as nice as it was when I bought it. 😦
Son of Bossman finally got to see and hear her today. He seemed rather impressed, and I think now, he sees exactly what I saw in her when she was sitting in that feild. And yes, I am sure he has addressed the fact that this is ‘ultimately’ my escape route, but knows that I will use BlooTWuck just as much as I use the rest of my tools to accomplish the current mission at the J.O.B. I don’t ask for compensation for my tools: I may ask for gas money when/if,,, That can be worked out then though. (for the record, there have been jobs where I took Buffalo for the simple fact, “thats where ALL of my tools are”.)(note this though, not ALL of my tools are will be on TWuck: I won’t have my machining tools or shop press etc. But I HAVE proven, that there isn’t much I can’t handle with what I do carry on the regular)
Found a nice surprise though. When I was cutting out the shelving in that side box, I found someone had already cut a hole to access the fuel pump without needing to drop the tank. And its a BIG cutout. I used part of the cut shelving to make a coverplate and four tek-screws to hold it in place. No need to have stuff falling out onto the road. Yes, the hole was that big.
I did take her to the gas station as well. She’s gonna be thirsty pig, I can already tell. I only put in $20 of high-test and it broke off the “E” but only ‘just’. 5 gallons of fuel doesn’t even get you to 1/8th tank. She’s a one-ton: I should’uv expected that.
AND, She is FULLY insured now. Not liability, FULL coverage. ($500 deductible but,,,) Unfortunately, while I was at the insurance agents place, that 4pm rolled around so I wasn’t able to make it to the Clerks office and get her registered and plated. Thats tomorrow when I do my bank run (the clerks office is right across from my ATM access point. My bank is actually in Sinsin-nasty still. Been with them since 2001, don’t wanna fuck up a good relationship by changing to local, not yet anyhoos.)(it a credit union, so I get better rates than some corporate bank ”institution”)
And with the long weekend forthcoming, I will get all the little piddlin’ details addressed. Gotta deal with the fams on Turkeyday, but that leaves me Freeday on, and I can start loading all the tools from Buffalo and get organized after all the greasy-grimey stuff is done.
She’ll be rolling legal and legit REAL SOON!!! (not like my sneaking up the road to the gas station this afternoon. LOL)
And Buffalo gets a vakay/semi-retirement. Gonna be after all the holidays before I go ordering the parts I need to fix her, and I am in no rush so long as ONE of the trucks is road worthy. TWuck is “IT!” for the time being. After her sitting for the last 12 years, I can almost hear her saying ‘thankyouthankyouthankyou’ for being back into living mode.
And that brings me around to my “pat myself on the back” point. I picked up TWuck on HallowsEve. Today is the 25th. She was lock-wheeled when she came home, and now she is running around on her own power. 25 days from junkyard lump to working WORK truck. Not too shabby if I do say so meself. (and to be frank about it, I KNEW when I saw her, that she was salvagible, with lots of potential. I’ve seen far worse, and some better, but,,,she was ‘in-reach’: I had to jump.)
Yes, its depressing the state of the Educrata (they are no longer intellectuals in my book)
BUT,
Its mighty fine to see that one of those being indoctrinated under them has seen the facade and looked past the theater curtains and scenery; seeing the real world they try so hard to deny. This shows to me “You can deny the Truth, but the Truth will always find a way through.”
I love the fact that this person, mentions so many of the “Giants”, like Mises, Hayak, Shakespeare, etc, while at the same time pointing to the Current ‘idols’ and showing thier faults and issues.
It was the early part of the Tweens when the political divisions of the United States reached irreconcilable differences. Ted, a burnt out computer programmer, and Jim, a double amputee combat vet, reverse engineer the pentagons drone program and create a rebel air force. While traveling the country helping others defend what is left of the country, they run afoul a most evil woman intent on creating a serfdom within the country.
A beginner’s guide to going off grid. how to evaluate if you even want to make the attempt. written by the curmudgeonly author of this blog and his dog
Dio's Workshop 