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.
Everything torqued, lubed and final check b4 uphill climb
might be tighter than I’m used to, but she moves. Preload is around 55ftlbs now.
onward!
(note: I did need to continue some hand fitting today as the tolerances were TOO TIGHT. Saw a couple places on the bearing that were ‘dry’ of lube when I pulled it after torquing for the plastigauge.
thats whats taken so long this day. Besides taking a brief lunch.)
(Update) It’s late,, seven-ish,, I worked to Dusk (and caught one HELL OF A SUNSET,,, man!!!) Where Bloo sits: all the top front end is back together shy the secondary ignition system. no plugs or wires ran yet. rearmain seal, timing cover oil pump, pan, harmonic balancer, water pump, belt, fan, all back in place. I decided to take that route after getting the pan back on since I was feeling a little tuckerd out and the thought of wrasslin’ that transmission around did not tempt me. So, do something, as there’s lots still to be done,
Only now, there’s less of it LOL
Currenlty sitting with my writers hat on, finanglin’ a story for y’all. Sorta along the theme this past month has gone: I write what I know eh? SO, look forward to that
its not the faces in the news that keep the wheels on and turning. Nopes, they usually are part of the problems,,,
Its the little guy, the quiet ones, the un-thanked ones, the ones who get cursed at for all the orange traffic cones when you are in a rush,,,
its the sound man in the dark that gets it ‘just right’ at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show, the lighting guy who matches the lights to the mood seamlessly, the costume chick who nails down the image the character portrays.
its the operator at the sewer plant working Christmas day, the plowman on the streets at 3am, clearing the ways for morning traffic. The electrical engineer at the distro watching the gauges as Christmas morning pulls surges, and keeps the power flowing smoothly.
Kinda late in the day, but wanted to let y’all in on me plans.
I have Plastigauge now,,, red and green strips. $9 from local Napa,,, Can’t complain, enough to do all the mains and two types ‘just in case’ (and for laters as needed if needed.)
I have ZERO events lined up for tomorrow, though Christmas day, yah, more’n likely gonna be runnin’ round with the Da to see peeps. The group around here is all old enough, no gifting anymore (they did it for years but ended up everyone would just buy a cash card for their recipient, and that gets rather lame when you get back what you gave away,,,ROFL) Instead, we eat too much, tell tall tales, and hope to see everyone again at the next. Every year seems we lose at least one.
Its called life,,, Only one way out.
Or another thought on the coming and going of life. “I came in kicking and screaming, covered in someone elses blood,,, I intend to go out the same way.” That was the warrior mantra when we were headed to Kuwait.
ANywhoozzits,,,,I’ll be down at Da’s early-like. Gots lots of things to do before I go putting the polish on. Pulling those two caps off, plastigauging, torquing, pulling, measuring and HOPEFULLY, get the Greenlight, and begin the march back uphill to RUNNING TWUCK!!!
Fingers crossed. Blessing begged, Machine Prayer gun on full on boogie switch.
MOre laters, Christmas story in the works Hope to publish on Christmas day,,,, (even if it means I sleep not,,,)
I set up the scan tool as an observer,,, tracking various points across the spectrum of what the ECM uses to figure itself out.
Then drove for DedKow for Mama,,,
average 115ftlbs of torque to maintain highway speeds,,, Shift points all looked good (my problem is fuel/power, causing the trans to not quite figure out if it should stay in lockup.)
engine temps WELL below that 195 that my t-stat is supposedly set for Like 175 max. At least she went into closed loop pretty quick and stayed there.
I have 2 dead O2sensors. One is so dead, the heater element is burned out. Could be why she runs a little rich, even though both are the downside, not primaries. sensor 1 bank 2 is sluggish so thats part of it too.
but all of that is “Just Information”,,, ((had a good analogy of scan tools… They are not magic wands, at best they are decent crystal balls. )) Good information mind you, but just that. The real problems always boil down to mechanics and electronics. Her engine is wore the F! out!,,, She has over 330K on the clock, original engine. probably running a couple thou over limit on her crankshaft journals; oil pressure is ‘floppy’ at idle after warming up, and the computers best guess was 4psi,,,, EEK!! It does come up with RPM’s, but
Well, I know I have some issues to deal with, known it purt much since we partnered up. She still runs like a scolded cat, just idles as if she is tired (she IS).
And as soon as BLoo is road worthy again, Buff gets a vaca from the day to day grind I put her through. I already have the Solarpanel mounted on her stall to hook to her battery to keep it up between drivetimes. No need to let things go south if I have an option. And I do intend to drive her at least once a week, to keep things ‘properly lubricated’ and not gumming up the works. Like Bloos oil had done sitting for 12 years. (and if I had done the Oil change first, all of this would be 3 weeks further back, not RIGHT NOW,,, I’d have heard that knock in minutes of start up, not days later. Hindsight, 20/20,,, )(for those that question that statement,,, there is NO WAY, IMO, she wore that crank .050″ OVER in just a days worth of running, with NO NOISE,, it was like that when she got parked and was slowly washed clean with use.)
Looks like next year is gonna be a greasy one,,, And hopefully a profitable one,
if I play my cards right
J.O.B. in mornin’ then onto the Christmas side of the year. I’ll be posting off-n-on and SHOULD have a Christmas story up for y’uns.
Live
LOVE
Laugh
LEARN
LOAD!
(today wasn’t ALL playin’ with new toys. Some of it was playin’ with old toys too. I spent an hour tossing sticks downrange; enough that my fingers felt the burn of string release before I quit. Stone knives and axes, bows and arrows, Simple physics is how we got here and I intend to keep SOME of that alive and well in my little world.)(HT to Spud for the Stone tools thoughts.)
I could be down at Da’s workin’ on Bloo,,, Fact is, I don’t want to get started on that until I absolutely have several days to do my thing.
And my new ‘toy’ came in today. I say toy because right now I am playing with it: gotta learn how to use this new-fangled flabbernastywhutchamacallitz,,,
Its not top of the line, and the price tag shows that, but after MUCH research, its closer to the things I would need it for. And I am Using Buffalo as my test subject/learning agent. I know most of whats wrong with her (that a scan tool could figure out that is,,, theres more wrong with her than those things; like failing drivers door hinges,,, but a scan tool isn’t for that sort of stuff.)
And what has Dio figured out? This scan tool is levels over a ‘code reader’. It found the reasons my SRS light stays lit (unless its REALLY hot out,,, That trips me up some.) “system shorted to battery”
It showed me a code that a code reader CAN’T read,,, a P1380 code saying ‘Cranksensor/rough road/drivibility’,,, So either my crank sensor is failing, or, its that damned sensitive that a rough road could trip the computer,,,,
I’m gonna go with option B Sam,,,,
Ain’t none of you seen the road to my house,,,,
You’d figure that the designers might put an inline capacitor to ‘smooth out’ signals that are that far out of line. But hey, a $0.10 capacitor on 2 million cars and trucks,,, thats talking REAL money, ain’t it? Nah!, just program the computer to ignore things for a minute, but store the code, just in case,,,,
Interestingly, this unit DOES have the option of an o-scope add-on. The damned module costs just as much as the ‘tablet’ (cuz thats what this unit really is) but has 4 channels (Hi-Z for those that are in the know) and REMOTE operation via Bluetooth (as in, hook it up under the hood, and drive/have someone drive while you record the data/observe the incoming data.
Seriously, this was the sole reason I chose this over others. No others had that option I could find. That its lifetime updates/no charge helped some too.
I haven’t bought the module yet,,,, gotta make things start paying more before I dive into further investments. And an O-scope is one thing that might be a once a year tool (or could be a once a day thing if things really take off. I recall my old Scopemeter by Fluke was an “at least once a week” thing, back when I was rolling daily. Would’a been more, but there were three Drivibility guys under our roof of 7 techs. I had to ‘share the wealth’.)
NO, I won’t be that ‘scan tool first’ sorta tech. Yes, its good for looking at the codes and sorting out a direction when all you have is vague ‘it doesn’t work right’ descriptions from the owner. BUT, its not the know-all/be-all solution.
But after having used just a code reader trying to diag Son of Bossmans Dodge pickem’ups,,, (all newer than 2015),,, unuh,,, those code-readers don’t help much at all. I’m no dummy, but I can’t ‘read the mind’ of a computer that has code written in ancient Gealic (or so it seems)
Sadly, there is one more purchase I need to make, and its so that I CAN access those post 2015 Dodge/Chrysler products. its a $50/year subscription and you have to ‘get approval’ to access 95% of the programming in those products. Right to Repair? HA! They are steadily making it so that everyday Joe can’t work on jack shit!!! He can’t even replace the alternator without throwing a drivability issue into the works: because the computer refuses to see the new one so won’t send voltage to it to charge the damned battery!!! You need a scan tool that is “AUTHORIZED” by a third party source, to access the SGW type vehicles; which all Dodge/Chrysler/Ram products are. (SGW= Secure GateWay,,, And there is a list of vehicles in the scan tool that require that subscription to do more than turn off the MIL on the dash.)
THIS is why I will NEVER own a newer vehicle,,, I will make my own parts if I must, to keep my two alive!!! And won’t lie,,, If/when I go to replace the Block in BLOO, I am more than tempted to do away with all the computer bullshit, get a different intake and put a four barrel on old Gurl. Do away with all the O2 crap (already doesn’t have Cats,,,) eliminate a lot of the wiring under the hood that does nothing but create issues as connectors die in ‘aged plastic’ failure.
Just a thought for now,,, Likely too many states where modifying a vehicle like that is ‘Illegal’ (Kalifruitopia, coff, coff) or would bring on HUGE EXPENDITURES in fines permits and who only knows what else.
Regular Joe doesn’t understand who the REAL enemy is,,,, (STATE!!! GOVERNMENT!!! )
Gotta get off my rant here,,,, LOL
Full day tomorrow, or at least more hours than we had today (2 1/2 EEK!) and,,,,
More laters,,, more playin’ to do. Learnin curves y’know,,,
The sounds of removing metal in very small amounts,,,,
Fred asked for details, and I provided him some, but after doing so, Figured, ‘y’know self? Mehbe ya aughta post that,,,”
Using a mill file (the cut of the teeth determines the style)
Showing use of an actual scraper, and no, I ain’t doing it “Right” since I was also trying to hold the fone More trying to give someone an idea of what the process is.
NOW,,, I am gonna say this. It looks simple, IS in all actual physics, but it IS most definitely a SKILL and ART in more ways that I could explain. I mentioned to Fred in one of my emails to him “TRUST YOUR FINGERTIPS” Most people won’t believe you when you tell them you can feel the difference in a .001″ shelf. Seriously, with a little experiance, I can feel a difference of around .0005″ I use a surface indicator for that level of change, but I find I can feel it easier using a fingernail. (no setting up gauges and arm geegaws,,, just drag a finger nail across it.) No, thats not “Science” as in no I didn’t measure it: that makes it ART! Things get too wonky, then the gauges come out and the machinists blue and test surfaces, but a fingernail is the first go to.
And yes, you can feel when the surface is starting to take on curvature/dome shape. (that was why I switched to the files,,, easier to maintian level with that draw-knife action.)
Am I done yet? OH, hell no. Am I done with scraping that part? I think so. I did put 2 and 4 back in, and checked both times with a torque wrench (the digital so I can see preload) All the con-rods bolted in, Mains 1,3,5 in, Preload was 26ft#,,, Add in the real#2 and it went up to 27ft# Add in the new #4 (the busted cap replacement) and it raised all of 1ft# to 28.
Now this is NOT torqued in yet. This is just me using the air ratchet (electric actually, but it acts just like an air ratchet) which seats things roughly 15ft# Thats my first step in the torque sequence. But 27ft# of preload is completely acceptable. I am going to get some plastigauge and double check both caps/bearings. But I honestly feel both are well and good at this point.
Maybe not scientifically correct, or race car level Anal Retentive, but more than enough to get a couple more years out of this block and prepare for complete replacement later down the road.
Note the cap on the left of the pic, and there is a ledge on the far left edge,,, That was from the Mill and when I decided “Hand-fit it is!”. The Bearing doesn’t ride on that part so its not critical. My jig had ‘wiggled’ just enough that as I was going to make a second pass,,, that ledge was created. NOPE, not a gonna fubar a $35 part,,, May have two in back up, but thats no excuse,,, Do it by hand and BE SURE.
SO, I get some plastigauge this week (and only two because the local parts house that carries it charges $5 for ONE strip (from a pack of 10!!! Frellin $50 for a pack of the stuff is what they are getting and WILL NOT sell the package.) I’ll double check my work on Christmas eve or Christmas day, and then begin ‘fixing’ any issues I may find (not enough/too much clearance) OR begin final assembly towards RUNNING BLOO TWUCK,,,, Fingers are crossed, blessings begged, and prayers flying as if from a belt fed prayer gun.
And until then, I has a J.O.B. that needs attended to, a shortened week paycheck at the rough end, and some time to keep questioning myself and sanity.
More than a little tedious, but the emotion on the outside periphery is “Thats Good, but not good enough. Keep goin’ “
What’s the Dio blabberin’bout?
Hand fitting a Four bolt Main cap. (for the short attention span theater types, you can click off now,,, This is likely to be quite boring to some.)
Yup, they came in today. Yup, they require ‘final machining’ and yes, I REALLY SHOULDA pulled the motor and found a machine shop to line bore the crankshaft mains.
BUT, My intent was to replace the one I broke, not embark on a longevity build that would be even more months of angst and turmoil on my wallet
not to mention, Da would stroke out if I started pulling that motor in his basement.
Apologies,,, I Haven’t taken picture one at this point, but y’all know me: ADHD, OCD, Aspergers,,,
I did set it up in the mill, and took my loving’ time about it. I only needed to cut about 3 thou off the inner face and that got me close enough that I chose not to make another pass. I’ve been working with scraper, file and hone since. Literal HAND FITTING. Still have everything in the jig held tight, working one face, comparing, work a little more, hone, compare,,,, wash rinse repeat,, Only a couple of small areas where the difference can be felt by fingernail, and those areas are the ones I am working on. The Bearing does fit the new unit, but I can still see ‘daylight’ between the bearing and the face in places,,, those are what I am working on. engineers blue is showing me the hightlights. ( I cheat here. A blue sharpie does just as well, not as expensive, and easily applied without making a frellin’ mess.) Push bearing through, see where the blue is removed, work that area slowly.
This is the sort of stuff where I have no issues with patience, or a lack of patience. I am making an effort and that alleviates the “git-r-dun” pushiness inside. And hand scraping is no fast process. Tedious, though I don’t find it boring,,, Theres something about watching little peices of steel curl up like I were carving on wood (careful, those things splinter up and dig deeper than any wood splinter could.) I’m literally carving my Maincap out of a chunk of steel. Thats strikes me as “Cool as F!”,,, but I’m wyrd,,,
I did press the old busted cap ‘closed’ and drilled a couple holes in the cracks (to get some meat for the welder to bite into.) Then welded the cracks as closed as I could get them (small blindhole welds, not much bigger than a tack weld.) I can still see the larger crack on the outer arm, but the one on the inner face, can only be seen by machinist blue, not felt with finger or nail. That is the model I am carving my blank to match. If I truly mess up, I have two more lined up waiting, but so far, things are REALLY looking good.
And I have all day tomorrow while doing domestics to keep at it. I have ZERO intention of trying to put all this back together until I have that new part cut to my satisfaction. And I have all the Christmas break ahead of me. NO RUSH,,, DO NOT RUSH,,,
Two full days of J.O.B. ahead, possibly 2 1/2 if we pull a partial on Christmas eve,,, sometimes do, sometimes don’t. I don’t believe we have the work lined up this year: though I could be wrong. THEN, I have 4 full days to do my thing and get this DONE. And even there, If I am not satisfied that this cap and bearing are right, I don’t move forward. I think Da ‘gets it’,,, he was sorta shocked to see me patiently, painstakingly, scraping small splinters fo steel off this face. He even asked why I didn’t just use the mill. I explained I had, UP TO A POINT, but that I didn’t want to risk pushing past a limit. And he knows that machine is something of a Rube Goldberg device; jerry-rigged holding clamps, the main tool bearer is 5 inches above the ways and even locked tight can show ‘play’ when under load. (I don’t make heavy cuts because of this.) At least the Mill side of it is solid enough. Z axis is robust, X and Y are sketchy. (I really miss the Southbend right now,,,, and I do mean REALLY miss it,,, You can use a lathe as a mill and those beds and ways on the Bend were IMMACULATE.)
NOw, before y’all start ripping me that I should do this right, I agree with you. But the means just ain’t there, not with all the other stuff I threw at Bloo first. This isn’t money I had: this is debt I incurred.
and that tap is near maxed. NOT Maxxed, just near and I still need to leave some ’emergency’ room.
And of course I need to pay it all back,,,
SO, that being said, I am doing things as right as I can, in ways that I KNOW, and, maybe, this thing is a doomed motor, but I don’t think she is so doomed as you might think. I have hand fitted parts before, and one of those engines is still running strong. (I lost track of the others). Granted, its the 2cylinder in my Da’s riding mower, but I re-built that engine back 7 or 8 years agone. and it still fires up, runs like a scalded dawg, and every year he wears something else on it OUT, and, and
I will say this though,,, It’s not “financially feasible” to do this very often. I have several hours in already and MAYBE moved 0.0002″ of material off that face. Note: Tens of thousandths, not thousandths. Slow and steady at this point,,, Turtle racing with the turtles dosed on phenolbarbitol. (Thats since I milled off the original 3thou to get ‘close’. and it was QUITE close to begin with.)
And for those that don’t know, the younger crowd here (is there one?) hand fitting what how they built the old Steam Locomotives. Hand fitted valve bodies to the double acting cylinders, many parts, cast or forged, that needed final fitting to each machine for proper fit. That sort of production doesn’t fly well in this modern world, but believe me, IT STILL WORKS. And there are steam loco’s out there that CONTINUE to be used and there are some krazzeess like me that still remake and hand fit the parts for them: just to keep them alive and running, even if as museum peices.
And I give credit for learning that to my metal arts Shop teacher, whom insisted that our first month in shop was using a scraper and a file to fit two parts together PERFECTLY. No power tools, no lathes, no mills, Scraper, mill file and Machinists blue, and LOTS of elbow grease,,, The parts had to be dead flat, and a thin film of light oil would hold the two together by atmospheric pressure,, they had to be that close to perfect.
Never forgot that lesson. Just don’t always need it.
So, nothing really much to talk about. Same old fake and gay BS in the ‘real world’. Lots of tremors in the Matrix going on, but seems like its all intended distraction from the real issue boiling below the surface. At least my efforts will bear fruit on the front I am working, even if things go “strange” here shortly. Just another arrow in my quiver of
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 