I HAS CLUTCH!!!

I didn’t even need to pull the MC all the way out. Just undid the connecting rod, pulled the MC off tje firewall and I had enough angle to burp it.

first round went great until i popped that quick-connect loose. Apparently I didnt have it fully seated. BUT, it had worked for a minute, reseated the QC and repeated the process.

SUCCESS

Bloo even moved a few feet under own power. Can’t do much, she has no stoppers on her feet. SHE DID MOVE THOUGH!!! And all the gears are there.

UPDATE!!!!!!

Note the new shoes up front. I will be duplicating this move this weekend. ( I only has 2 jackstands and Don’t like a truck this size sitting on four, even if I had them) You can see the bare patches where she had been sitting. I drove her up the hill to a flatter spot so that I could pull those wheels off and not worry about her falling on Cozz or anyone else for that matter. I then backed her back to this spot. She did this under her own power (though stopping her in her current place was ‘exciting’!!! seeing how she has ZERO braking ability (other than shut her off and pray she doesn’t diesel and keep’a’goin) Not my first rodeo,,,, While I was getting her new shoes (to the tune of $520 for just those 2 OUCH!!!) I walked next-door to O’Reilys for the solid brake line I need to stop that leaky-leaky line on the frame. I broke off a section to take with and it flat out fell apart in my hand. Enough steel there to get a size, but it wasn’t much,,,,

My original estimate of “around Turkey day” is back on. All but one of my brake parts will be here tomorrow, the other is being walked here from NY by USPS, might be Satyrday,,, Thats the hardware pack for the drum brakes. Is whut’tiz,,,,

Still have a bunch of detail stuff to do, but having her running with good brakes and new rubber is FAR BETTER than where she was sitting three weeks ago.

Still to go are the exhaust repairs, upper and lower hoses on the cooling system and a flush of same, New Fuel filter because I know this’un is gonna get plugged up soon (though it is NOT OEM,,, unlike most of the rest of the truck.) I had planned on a tune up, but when I was getting her running, I pulled a plug and they were NGK Iridiums,,, most definitely NOT OEM, and way better IMO and looked rather new-ish: no real discoloration on them at all. Some one had been doing basic maintnence at some point, (it does show with how smooth that engine runs. Especially on that crappy gas that was in her at first.)

Gotta say it: I managed one hell of a find here, and its gonna pay off eventually. IT may be costing me out the nose right now,,,,

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Have ya ever had one of those nights, where ya wake up, and things feel ‘Different’?

Ya,,, that was last night. Maybe it was something I read, in the kindle, in someone else’s blog, some ‘news’ item,, Dunno, but those were my only inputs outside of my “drudge life”,,, I don’t lead a real exciting existence, at least in my opinion. It keeps me content though, and thats better than happiness, again, in my opinion.

It also keeps me broke as fuck,,, but thats a different point of order. I could move my ass to a location where my skills and drive paid better, but I has my reasons for stickin’ close to my current digs. Besides, I have never been one for the ladder of society: I went down that road back in the early Aughts with Ex, and we made a ton of money and were flat frickin’ miserable, even though we felt like we were doing everything right.

and we had NOTHING to show for it after the fact of separation. (not totally true: she still owns our house. House because it was never really my ‘home’.) I literally bailed with little but the shirt on my back and a handful of tools and books. I didn’t even own my own vehicle then, but was driving my daughters car because she had lost her license through the stoopidity of ‘not maintaining her insurance’ and getting caught. She violated the 11th commandment and it bit her. I kept her car running and repaired while she straightened her life back out, and used it to build me back up, then bought my own beater.

Not long after that, I made the move here and the story took a radical turn.

Where am I going with this,,,, (you ask, I know, just not sure how to get there,,,)

This morning, I started to reach out to some other writers of blogs to ask “How do we keep going when we have nothing to say?” and I am sure that many of you have felt the ‘lack of content’ lately. Hell, I know it because the numbers are WAAAYYYYYYY down the last 6 days. Not even breaking 50/day,,, THAT is blogger purgatory people,,, I can’t draw ’em in, the blog dies. And yet, here I am paying for the ‘privilege’ of a blog site to voice myself on. I don’t want to talk about the politics anymore since it’s quite obvious to me that the whole thing is mere window-dressing on the the world, pure distraction to keep people on edge. The real goings on are so behind the scenes and out of control of the little guy, that banging the drum of warning about it is pointless. I gets one ostracized or ‘canceled’ and when you do point it out,,, Labels of anti-semitism or racist or whatever, true or not, get bandied about until they mean NOTHING,,,, but the effects are still the same. You drive some away, you draw in others, and not exactly those you wish,,,

This is not a black pill moment, this is a “what the fuck now” moment. I have been back in the wrenching business for the last couple of weeks, and like much of my life, I dive in deep in anything I do. Be it kayaking, writing a novel, I go full bore; I say it’s the INTJ, but really it’s more ADHD or OCD or Aspergers,,, It certainly is not a drive for success or perfection,,, (both of which are unicorns in my reality). I have never pursued the acceptance or accolades of anyone; not even my Da. (and believe me, that caused many years worth of angst between us.). ‘take me as I am, or piss off’ has always been my unspoken motto. That sometimes causes others to see me as Arrogant. No,,, it’s CONFIDENCE in myself and my abilities, the ones that have been tested again and again, and proven or adapted to work. (re-read, this is a contradiction: I apparently DO seek some accolades, or this blog wouldn’t exist, right? LOL. the dichotomy of my fucked up mind.)

And that brings me back to that question I was going to propose to fellow writers. I have been pounding on these keys (or some set of keys since I have worn out a couple of laptops (5 actually) and several sets of keyboards) for the last Seventeen years(!). Three blog sites, Three states, umpteen chapters of my life as I transition into new areas. Do I pursue the Podcasting thing more intently or keep the writing thing going until writing is a no longer a thing? I feel that last is closer than many think. I see the Vidcasting thing (which I have ZERO interest in) making long strides in the world of opinion and running higher numbers than anything most blogs have ever done. That seems to be where the ‘market’ is (and partly why I chose to do a podcast at all. More of an experiment and one that isn’t over, but is creating cracks in my psyche.

Its very hard to look back at 17 years of writing, seeing the gems I passed along, and then come up with new,,, There comes a point, and I know I have said this god only knows how many times: I’ll be tapping out a post and the feeling of “Beating that dead horse” is pervasive and overwhelming.

Much like the weekends attempt at the podcast,,,, I re-listened and immediately shut it down because of that, and the fact that it came across as some mindless rambling RANT,,,, I don’t do lectures,,, I hate lectures, and that rant,,, That was a lecture along the lines of WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU FRELLIN’ MORONS!!! and I couldn’t post it. I just couldn’t. It was more inline with me dressing down a Employee who had fucked up,,,,

Maybe that’s what people want,,, I mean, look at some of the better comedians of the 70’s and 80’s,,,

That ain’t me though.

or is it?

I dunno,,,, That’s the point that I woke up to.

I’ve invested in the blog, podcast thing. I am investing in my physical future as “mobile McGuyver” because I know the current situation I am in, won’t hold past a point. (and its not exactly a career oriented workplace, if you know what I mean). I keep my world small for a reason: mostly because at some point, Its very likely I will need to pack up and move it. Don’t desire the need of a 40′ moving van in that instance. (that, and over the last 20 years, I have found compact is more comfortable and maintainable, at least in my opinion.). (like everyone, I has a lot of opinions,,,, they might stink to you, but they are mine and work in my world.)

and maybe it’s just the current vibe of “shifting tides” that is pervasive in the world. again, Dunno,,, Just something in me is off right now and its showing in my writing, web traffic, and general listlessness I am feeling towards the world at large.

Whatcha’all think?

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Short day at shop, Master cylinder came in about the same time I was let loose for the day.

SO, thats what I went to deal with. Now, I do NOT like the current set up that GM uses… I’d much rather both cylinders were external and these high tech ‘quick connects’ that save them (GM) production time were relegated to the dustbin of history. That said, this is what I have to deal with so deal with it I will…

Got it all together, thought I had done a good bench bleed. Apparently, not so much. I can feel it engage but its almost to the firewall by that point. Little improvement in other words. I say “little” improvement as the squealing noise when the engine is running is no longer. That throwout bearing is making contact with the clutch spider again and didn’t disintergrate.

Ok, Fall back and punt here. Get online, do some research and most everyone is saying the same thing: BURP the mastercylinder,,, ANd there is a specific way to do that and not my oldskool method. SO,,, THAT is on the block for tomorrow since I was told to take the day off. (really Don’t like this seasonal slow down dammit,,, And that is reinforcing why I want this truck up-n-running ASAP. I could get side work much easier and work outside of the usuall J.O.B.) (along with all the headaches associated with ‘self employment’)

Other thing I did was replace all the box locks with new. Those came in today as well, and my frustration with the clutch was vented in destroying the old locks as I removed them. NOW, Bloo-Twuck has a double lock system to keep my tools safe and sound. An actual lock on every door, and a sliding bar that runs the bed length that is secured with a padlock: that bar engages internally and keeps even an unlocked door from opening. I fully understand that these are mere deterents to a thief. As we say in the bizz, Fences are just a way to slow down a determined thief. Locks are similar. Or another axiom: Locks only keep honest people honest. But its peace of mind for my tools, and I have quite a fair number that I very much desire to keep in my possession: these measures help in that regard.

All of my brake parts have shipped, but guestimated arrivals are spread out over three days: wednesday, thursday and friday. Just for giggles, I called around three parts places today and priced out exactly what I had already ordered. Losing the convienence of local purchase by waiting on shipping. I saved myself three hundred dollars . My total cost was just over two bills, including shipping. Local would have ran me $500+, plus my time and fuel. Granted, I can’t do a danged thing till parts are in hand, but thats always the reality, ain’t it?

Gonna be cold start tomorrow. Gotta pull that MC back out, and the line, and do a proper burping, new style. fingers still crossed that the slave is good.(it did move, just not enough to relieve the pressure plate: Air compresses, fluids don’t) If I can get the MC dealt with, I will go ahead and start that solid line replacement on the brakes. This Seasonal Work thing is working to my benefit on that note at least, even though I am running debts up far faster than income,,,

Bills WILL get paid,,, At least this is more of an investment effort, not just frivolous blowing cash for silly stuff I won’t recall owning in a year. That can be fun, but doesn’t satisfy like it used to.

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I’m gonna jump on the stage and issue a formal apology: I teased you about the podcast, not intentionally. I came back home after doing the domestics thing, busting a knuckle or two on Bloo-Twuck, and as I was listening through for edit purposes,,,

No,,, You don’t want to hear that crap,,,

Discombobuluated, randomized garbage about Poly-tickians, bought and paid for media platforms, and yet another Anti-Tax rant.

Maybe it can be salvaged, possibly re-written or something: odd that as I don’t run scripts, but there were some solid valid points, buried within, just the whole was not on par to what I want to produce.

SO,,, Instead, I will tell you about my busted knuckles session.

Got that Beeatch drum off the hub. Doesn’t look too bad in the pic, but I did have to destroy some parts to do the deed. Shoes and hardware, replaceable stuff, so no real loss. The axle is definitely free to spin now. Ordered shoes and hardware and that passengers p-brake cable. ( the Drivers side looks newish and works flawlessly. I know it isn’t new, but no dings in the shroud anywhere and it moves freely) Those should be here this week before next weekend.

Yes, thats a demo hammer to the right. Closest thing I had to an airhammer,,,

Then I put things back together, sorta: enough that I could put the tires back on and lower that end back to terra firma. And get into the front axles.

Had to place a second order for parts. Calipers and pads.

It took quite a bit to get the caiper on the DS off. Three foot crowbar and a lot of swearin’. And when I tried to compress the piston back,,,,

that plate was flat,,, Those calipers are locked solid. At least the DS is. I couldn;’t get the tire off the Passengers side to verify, but I don’t replace calipers singly, nor bearings. The rotors are good, (what I can see of the passengers side, mirrors what I saw on the Drivers side.) and right now, I have that hub (ps) hosed down with Free-all (the same way I had done on the drivers side,,, Why didn’t I do both at the same time? I dunno,,,) By the time all the parts are here,, I should be able to fire up the engine and use the Power steering to rock that rim off the hub (same as I already did on the drivers side, hoping both would come free)

And I did something most techs/mekaniks don’t do. I used a die grinder to clean up all the rust on the hubs and inside the rims, then ran some silicon grease over the exposed metal. (keeps them from binding up later,,,) Thats the biggest problem I am running into on BLoo: things bound up with age and rust. I’m not fighting abused history, just serious neglect and TIME, in an area that is borderline RainForest level humidity/moistures. I will duplicate this on the passenger front tire when I get it broke loose. Its looking like this coming weekend is gonna be Me, hip deep in brakes and hydraulic line repair/replace. Other than that one tire, everything else is near ready to be replaced or pulled the rest of the way off and swapped out.

And if I get lucky with that mastercylinder, I should be able to move her up the hill to my house for all the other little piddlin things that are needed done. I am crossing fingers, but I know I may end up needing to do a clutch and other parts yet. Getting her up the hill will give me better access to her and less working out of the back of Buffalo.

I will get back to podcasting here on the regular,,, I just need to schedule my time to do so, AND, spend a bit of time coming up with my talking points, not that scatterbrained rabbit chase I spent too much time on last night.

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Podcast up later, turned into a rabbit-chase, not done yet

Domestics day must-do’s ‘fore I can focus on a wrap up.

stay tuned

LLLLL

Parts didn’t arrive today. Still showing in transit in NC,,, Monday,,, USPS, of course,,,,

One with drum, one without. the one without was the passenger side.

I knew I was in a fight when I pulled the wheel and saw factory retaining clips,,, on a 25 year old Truck,,,, But surprisingly, the Passenger side popped loose after about 5000 hits with the hammer. Ok, mehbe 500,,, And as you can see if you embiggen the pic, those shoes look GOOD,,, Fact, no seeming wear or much of anything on that side. I did note that I will need to replace the p-brake cable on that side, as its liner is degraded and showing rust, but amazingly, it still ‘moves’ inside the sheath.

THEN, Drivers side. Upgraded to a 3# ‘drilling’ hammer,,, The drum IS loose on the spindle. I accessed the adjuster sleeve, and even an inspection port. I can see that the shoes are locked tight to the drum, The drum is loose, I can put a prybar between it and the backing plate and see it wiggle. BUT,

It! Ain’t! Movin’!

Tried every trick (but one ) so far to get ‘stuck drums’ loose. Tried loosening that adjuster, but its wedged so tight, those little teeth just break right off without moving. I know the Pbrake cable is good, and using that is what adjusts the brake shoes,,, and apparently, someone was PUMPING that peddle at some point. Things are JAMMED UP tight. I have one more trick up my sleeve,,, Cut the retaining pins to the hold down springs. I can access them on the backing plate and Cut that little head off with a die-grinder. Use a prybar to pull them ‘proud’ and WHACK!!! with a pair of side cutters or die grinder, Things will move then, and maybe enough that I can get it clear without more death and destruction. Besides, A brake hardware kit is CHEAP compared to all the other stuff in there.

Looking in that inspection port, the shoes look to be about the same thickness as the passenger side. I would say the origninal owner is a former truck driver and did LOTS of compression braking using the engine, with a very light braking foot. I know when I was driving a stick, my brakes tended to last double or triple that, compared to when I drive a slushbox, because thats the way I was taught to drive a stick: use the engine, save the brakes for emergencies. Just blows my mind: A 25 year old truck with factory original brakes with 195K on the clock And they look GOOD!!! No corrosion on the hardware, shiney adjuster (after you hose off the brake dust) and can still see the color coding of the springs.

But I’m whooped: swinging that hammer, prying with crowbars, prybars. Wiggling under the truck to access the adjuster ports and inspection ports,,,

And breaking up a dog fight,,,,

Kinda let that one slip, did I?

Yeah,,, some pillhead came wandering through the hollar around lunchtime with his Pittie. Cozzie thought nothing of it, wanting to play, and it turned into a brawl pretty quickly. Cozz held his own, and only had one scratch on his chest and lots of slobber in his fur, The other dog ran off (after I put two rounds of .22 into the dirt. Didn’t want to chance hitting the Cozz)(yes, I carry even around home,,, don’t you?) and was trailing some blood. Nothing copious or lifethreatening, but he definitely was the worse for wear, even though he was twice Cozzies size. And he was worn out, or has been shot at frequently, as he didn’t put it into high gear, just ‘quickened the pace’ with gunshots following him.

In hindsight, it was just two alpha mutts sorting out dominance, but if you have ever been around a dawgfight, you know it looks way worse than that. Had it been a duel, there would have been a dead or dying dawg, not two mutts running off in seperate directions.

and for those telling me to chain the Cozz up or install him in a kennel or something to that effect,,, TOO LATE,,, He’s used to his freedom and if I started doing that, I would get ZERO peace about it. He likes to roam, doesn’t roam far, but THIS HOLLAR is his territory now. Deny him that and I may as well,,,, Well, It’d be like putting you in jail for living your life, without doing anything wrong. Think about it. I have, and thats why I can’t do it.

More tomorrow, Gotta bust out the recording gear and actually do something for a podcast this week. And not a clue what right now,,,, WING IT!!!

YET,

But Methinks I’ma gonna be doin’ a clutch,,,,

Extremely short day at the J.O.B. Master cylinder slotted to arrive tomorrow, headlights arrived today, so that was the area I was working in: Lighting. I pre-emptively said I had no tail lights,,, Today I did have them SO, either my eyesight was lying (mehbe, it was a sunny day) or like some other things I’ve noted on this truck, they ‘wake back up’ after some running/fiddlin’. That scares me only a little. Its not uncommon for contacts to get a little corroded sitting idle, then clean back up when the electrons start flowing again.

But I was doing the lighting things, fired up Twuck to run and charge the battery back up, and that daggum squealing noise grabbed my attentions,,,, Thought it was under the hood, around the drive belt area, but the more I listened (with a tube in my ear that I was pointing at suspect areas to isolate/rule out.) I was drawing a blank. Fine,, Climb under truck and get a different perspective: That squealing noise is from the bellhousing area. Likely the throw-out bearing. Tomorrow I will have the Mastercylinder in hand, bench bleed it, install it and attempt to bleed that slave cylinder,,,, AND may be then, KNOW. IF I can bleed that slave, I will hear a pitch change when that throwout engages the pressure plate arms; it may settle down, it may even disintegrate: But I will know one way or the other. As I mentioned to a guy thats following my adventure here locally, “IF I gotta, I go full bore and cry once”. No jimmy-jackin’ around But I won’t be ordering any parts until I know for certain.

Oh, but she looks good with headlights in her eyesockets. Not so ‘Junkyard dawg’ looking. I do have a couple of marker lights that need replaced, but turns, tails and brake lights work just fine. (and need to replace the plate lamp since it was corroded to the point it fell apart in my hands checking it.)

And I found another bonus: the spare tire “keeper” is fully functional!!! Usually those things are rust heaps after a few seasons on these salt encrusted roads. I ran it down (no spare, to be rectified) and the cable even had grease on it. I don’t think the thing has ever been used, after they took the first spare off. And it may never have had a spare to begin with since the bed didn’t have a ‘hole’ for the lowering tool.(does now! LOL)

All in all: I think my time-line of “by Turkey day or soon thereafter” might have been a leettle overzealous. If I do have to pull that transmission out, Me thinks sometime in January is more intune. IF I get lucky, mid December,,,

Really want the poor girl on the road soonest though. I has a feeling Buffalo is getting ready to pull some jealous BS on me,,, Paranoid? Who? Me? Nahhh!!!! LOL

I have my heavy tools down on site, tomorrow is clutch cylinders and attempting to figure out that mess. AND, putting the ass end on stands, pulling tires (to be taken for new shoes) and getting those rear brakes loosened up and inspected. I was thinking, if I gotta pull the transmission, then would be the absolute best time to do the solid brake lines to the rear as I would have oodles of space under there to work with. May even go ahead and pull the tank anyways, as it is in the way as well, and cleaning it out wouldn’t be a bad thing. (Note: shitty part about this is where she is. A grassy spot near my dads woodshed, Not exactly the most solid ground to be putting jackstands on,,, I use sections of 2×10 scrap wood as a base, but even they sink in time. And this is one HEAVY tWuck!)

Anywhoos,,, My apologies for no pictures,,, I’m horrible about that; getting in the groove, moving, doin’, and the whole “document document document” thing never even crosses my mind until I am mid-post sharing with you. I’m too cheap (read ‘Broke as F!’) to hire a camera person to follow me around (and would probably get them hurt in short order, I move unpredictably.) Besides, I don’t like being IN FRONT of the cameras, or under the lime-light,,, Always been the “behind the scenes” sort.

I’m back at it tomorrow while the weather is on my side. Little deals and big deals abound on Twuck, like getting the locks on the boxes replaced.(on thier way) cleaning out the boxes of gunk and grunge. fixing the drivers side interior door handle (have in hand, just need to do) OH,,, Forgot that part. The key that came with the ignition lock cylinder? AMAZINGLY works the door locks. Have to jiggle a little bit, but it DOES work the locks. How cool is THAT? Maybe I should play the lottery this month!

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