Back when I shared a home with another, we had some odd ways of calling the week, Sleep-in Satyrday, Nekid Sondays (the Dogs got to take their collars off and run ‘nekid’ , don’t get your brain in a tizzy over it)

Well, Sleep-in Satyrday here: I didnt, was up well before daybreak, but the kids,,, yah,,, the kids are all a-sprawl and lookin at me through half lidded eyes, waiting to see what chaos I bring to the table today.

Not much,,, just coffee and piddlin’. I did re-fletch a half dozen arrows,,, Letting them cure fully before deployment,,, I like to let the fletch set for 24 hours before I put them into use: lets the glue fully cure up and eliminates them from driving feathers into the backside of your hand. Had it happen, not fun, hurts like a mother and high risk of infection since I use REAL feathers, not that plastic vane BS.

Good news though,,,, Looks like Bloo’s parts are ‘in reach’. Morning report shows them in larger town down the highway, May be in a delivery box at the Post office by the end of the day. I won’t be going hog wild on that repair right out of the gate though. I have a long break coming up in a few days and I plan on spending that time doing things RIGHT! Not trying to bum-rush through it in 48 hours or less. Since things have played out to this stage, may as well keep that steady state momentum going and not try to accelerate.

Something that came to mind while I have been trying to figure out the machining side of things. Its tedious, but more than worth the thought. HAND FITTING,,, See, when the automotive world was in its infancy, many parts were hand fitted, and thats why we still use the types of bearings we do: its sort of a legacy to the Steam Era. Granted, with modern VOLUME production, those bearings make just as much sense now as they did then, but back then, parts would be hand scraped and surface finished. (if you ever get a chance to see a really old Engine lathe, look at the beds and ways: You will see the physical marks of where they were hand scraped to dead flat.)

that in mind, yes, I will use power tools to ‘get close’, but the final fitment will likely be with mill files and hand scraper. I can attest my mill is ‘not’ the tightest when it comes to ‘fine work’. Maybe .003″ tolerance. Not anything close to the accuracy I need here. Heck, its Old Harbor Freight Chineseum crap. Large roller bearing mains that continually need pre-load adjustments before an operation. Is what it is, and is great for “Q&D” machining of jigs. (Q&D= quick and dirty) but accuracy,,, about as accurate as a handgrenade down a 4′ diameter sewer pipe.

(I picked it up for a song back in 2008, it has taught me TONS for machining, especially how to finesse tolerances. It more than paid for itself over the years in making jigs for things, and in a couple of cases, TOOLS for other jobs. Like a Pin-puller that I can attach to my slide hammer. Its biggest downfall? No threading ability: have to use taps and dies for threading.)

BUT, waiting on parts still, so,,,

SLEEP-IN SATYRDAZE,,, The sky is starting to get light out, the coffee is about three cuppas in,,, and Elbee is on a tear right now; bored and wanting one of the other kids to play with him,,, None of whom are inclined to join in (It’s Kold out there you silly Twink!)

More laters as the day progresses,,, Gotta hit the bank today and make a deposit,,, (situation last night made that not possible, and why I didn’t put up a post last eve. Had to go back out after hours and repair a powered gate.)

more laters

L.L.L.L.L!

(, ‘)

Shout out to Paul N: Thank you brother! every little bit helps this codgey wrench pulling metal burnin’ wanna-be writer.

Like, I’m up and gettin’ ready for the J.O.B. and the brain doesn’t focus on muscle memory actions,,, SO, it Thinks!

One aspect I dislike about having a J.O.B. is the SCHEDULED interuptions,,, As in, get up, get ready, be on time, MAYBE have a work day online,,, But ya gotta interupt your life to make time for it.

Some of my best writing is done as I come up out of the lucid states,,, Maybe not the best in spelling and grammer, but the ideas,,, THE IDEAS,,,, OMD! (oh my Dawg!)

And that interuption of ‘Gotta be on time’,,,, like a complete carwreck of spilled coffee on a keyboard by Mamakat situation,,, Ideas go POOF! never to return,,,, (I do try to keep a notepad and pen on hand for those truly delicious ideas,,,,)(added: there have been times where I woke at some ungodly hour and the typing commenced with a fury,,, and those days, I was usually late for work. Most places dont accept ‘I was writing’ as an excuse, much like the “dog ate my homework” thing.)

When things start to take off with this “Mobile Automotive Diagnostic and Repair ” thing (MAD-R as in “Don’t get mad, get MAD-R”) I’m not scheduling ANYTHING before 9 am,,, EVER,,,, I want that slower pace in the Aye-em to let my mind get its work out. Even on ‘days off’ I am usually up by 6, at the latest and let the fingers dance on the keyboard,,, like right now,,,BUT,,, There is a stopwatch hanging over me like Damocles Sword, and that really fubars the whole process,,,

Much as when I was writing Wings of Change,,, MOST all of my creative process was early AM,,, It was the Allnight editing and revising stuff that ate me alive AFTERHOURS,,, Those morning fingersflyingdancingacrossthekeyboard,,, Those made the rest just a task to handle.

And here I am,,, cutting this short because the clock is ticking,,,

more laters

Large Thank YOU to Mike in FLA,,, Thanks for the Tip jar donation,,, I wouldn’t throw a shoe at any of the rest of y’uns if you did likewise,,,,

Between Bloo, waiting for parts, short frellin’ days at the J.O.B. feeling the winds of change in direction

My center is feelin’ a might wobbly, in need of a pre-load adjustment so to speak.

I never worked at a dealership. Corporate shops (the ProCare line) independents in several places, including a wife beater shop that didn’t last long (I was close to using a Breaker bar on the owner when I caught him beating on his wife, the secretary. Figured it was safer to just load my tools and leave, which is what SHE should have done, though I doubt she ever did.) Managed a corporate Line shop (fast change place,,,) Did my own independent thing off and on,

BAILED on it all when the SoundDOOD things became more than a weekender hobby, and made more in a couple years than I did in ten of turnin’ a wrench. I won’t spill the beans on my final contract rates in touring, but man, If I could turn those rates now,,,,

anywhoos,,, I digress. I know I am seeing shifts in my info feeds (the algorithm will adapt,,,) and one of the general vibes I keep picking up is that The AUtomotive repair world is in BAD TROUBLE. Techs leaving at increasing rates,,, Parts suppliers getting sub-par inventory,,, One that carries across several skilled trade areas: no new coming techs/tradesman. Not just auto, but plumbing, machinists, even carpentry.

I know this was Mike Rowe’s big schtick; to push the “don’t go to college, go to tradeschool” thing. Little too late in some ways, there is gonna be a HUGE generational gap between those taking that advice now and the outgoing NOW. Lots of lost knowledge, some of which will never be recoverable.

I can garan-danged-tee you, Mike in Fla has some knowledge buried behind those three brain-cells of his about ‘buildin’ an enJinn’ that will leave this world with him. Lord knows there are things I useta know, and may recall if I really get into this, or may not, but when I’m gone, If I don’t start passing that stuff along to someone esle, like the Franks and Clay did for me,

GONE! POOF!

I can say, CORPORATE POLICY has done a lot of damage to how things were to how things are. Like the current packaging of cars, with their “Propietary programming” and 45 omtergrated computer systems that requires annual updates (that independents pay HIGH DOLLAR FOR if they want to stay competitive, typical starts around $300/year, the better more direct dealer types are on the order of $3000/year PER MODEL,,,)

and it is never about the customer or even the technicians doing the work. The customer gets jacked over, the tech gets the short end of the pay stick, and the MAKER/OEM gets a cut on everything, everytime,,, Its about dollars and numbers, Cars designed for first owner, second owner and THAT’S IT,,, They are designed to shit out and parts will be replaced by the next design and not produced after the inititial decades long run,,, Aftermarkets will have to pay a royalty fee to the original designer (OEM) if they want to keep the cars running, IF the new owners don’t just roll the thing to the riverbank and burn it to turn into insurance claims as stolen.

I’ve even noted some ‘shady’ parts from sources in my efforts. Like buying a 195 degree t-stat, but the engine never gets over 185*,,, One make, just ship it all in whatever box it fits in,,,, And the parts places are all getting in on the “no warranty if installed” Of course they are because they would lose thier asses and be buried in dead parts waiting for the wholesalers to make good.

Apologies all, it’s been a downer day, short day, no sun, cool drizzly weather that brings on bad moods and of course I had time enough to soak up some negative vibes in UtooBie feeds,,,,

I’m gonna drop the ball there for the night, and go read a book,

Live

Learn

LOVE

Laugh

LOAD!

*this causes some drivability issues in certain vehciles: the engine never goes into closed loop mode and uses MORE Fuel,,,

in the impatiently waiting war,,,

Parts are now showing they will arrive Monday the 22nd. Thats fine, I have an extra long weekend forthcoming with the Christmas break, and maybe that was how all of this was intended to be: My Christmas present to myself to be a running Twuck,,,

There are other things I can take care of over the weekend to further my end goal; things that won’t hinder or blunder me in the efforts needed elsewhere.

did a little dive into that UtooB channel I linked in the last post. Good stuff, scary stuff in some ways, but not “TinFoil Hat” shit,,, things that are really going on in the world in real time,

Prospiracy stuff so to speak. In some ways, it’s the ultimate evolution of Capitalism too. Except not “REAL” Capitalism, since the Government is involved here, making restrictions that choke up and coming contenders in the market place. IN THIS CASE, all the safety features and emissions controls, power to weight ratio restrictions etc. (Not a lot of noise about it that I have seen in the great big world, but in “Truck owners”, the downsizing of the motors for high revving turbocharged fourbangers is making some stinks. THIS is totally thanks to Biden/Oblammy mindthinks, finally rearing its ugly head. For those that don’t know,,, 2024 was the last year the Big3 were allowed to put v8’s in Civvy Trucks. If ya got one, HANG ON TO IT,,, ITs gonna be worth a MINT.)(This had nothing to do with my desire for Bloo, she’s a small block, though still Oldskool enough that I have an edge in the future.)

Some of the things he was talking about, like the newer vehicles being so intertwined with computer systems that if one things goes south, the whole shebang goes immobile,,, Like a backup camera getting shorted so the car won’t even START,,, Look, I like some tech. Heck, I put a backup camera in Bloo (big boxed back end, wanna be able to see if there is anything DIRECTLY behind me.) BUT, I ain’t gonna let it control the rest of the trucks operation,,, It goes bad, I deal with it later and carry on in the meantime.

The Manufacturers have gone overboard on that “you will have no control and be happy” bullshit.

And I think; and this is a personal opinion mind you, that all of these bells and whistles are destroying how Americans (the world actually) DRIVE. I see it everyday: Distracted drivers,,, Not paying attention to oncoming traffic, half the time, you can see they don’t even LOOK,,, Seems like they think the car is going to protect them from the laws of the Universe or something. All the Airbags and collision sensors and large screen dashboards and entertainment systems, to include VIDEO!!!! yeah,,,

Gary Called it in the 80’s

The guy in the UtooB vids even says he saw this coming around that time,,,

Love the cars,,, Its very much an “Amuhrican thing”,,, Big powered lead sleds were the time I grew up in (and my contrarian ways, I leaned to Euro trash like VW Scirracco, or Fiat X/1-9) But we always had some CONTROL of them: whether that being tweaking them with JEGS catalog for street racing, or,,, hell so many different things we could do to them.

Now, you can’t even install an aftermarket stereo system without causing some MIL code to pop. the best you can do is add power amps and speakers, MAYBE,,,

I dunno where I am going with my thoughts here. I can’t change the directions the world is headed, and not even sure how well I can hold on to the parts that keep the old wheels turning. Gonna try, at least in my little world,,, Maybe even make a living of it in some small way. Hopefully pass on some knowledge to some young buck that could keep the ball rolling further when I am gone. Dunno.

Early mornin’ thoughts,

y’all take care today,

more laters

Parts shipped today

California (coulda sworn this company was in Ohio,,,)

USPS

If I see them before Christmas weekend, I will be happy.

If I see them by Satyrday, I’ll be JOYOUS,

But

is

what

it

is

sigh,,,

impatiently being patient

And mentally assessing my memory banks for the USEFUL stuff left over from years back, that I haven’t flexed in ages.

Like the fact that I can recall the imagery from one of my techbooks (teaching o-scope diag) VIVIDLY,,, Hadn’t thought about that stuff in YEARS,,,, But there they are: as if I had just pulled the classes and passed the exams. (that was one class that ProCare paid for myself and another to attend, and I have no idea what that cost was, but I can tell you, it was not cheap as it wasn’t the usual “Vendor” type class that techs attend. NO BRANDS pushed,, Just information.)

Funny that, My o-scope knowledge came in handy a few times while in the Entertainment world,,,,

But more than that side of it. Other things creeping out of the darker recesses, things where Diag was more of a, “Hey, look for the brake lights,,,” intuition sparks. Just something said or heard in such a way that the solution just jumped to the forebrain, making me seem more talented than I was.

And my mentors,,, Recalling my mentors, FrankD and FrankF,,,, Yeah, two Franks,,, or my later mentor Clay, who was also a machinist. I wouldn’t have the confidence to tackle the parts ahead if it weren’t for some of the “Outside the box” stuff he taught me.

And wiggle tests,,,, How many times did you get a TSB called ‘wiggle test’? I recall the Ford Escort was NOTORIOUS for one. A wire breaking right at the firewall: Start and run great, so long as you DID NOT put it gear,,,, Wiggle test isolated WHERE, and the fix was about 5 minutes and a headache.

Many miles later, here I am again,,, And I DO have a learning curve ahead of me. I haven’t touched anything newer than early aught models, and yet, I know I will be when I start down this path. (actually, I have touched much newer, but only at the J.O.B. and only stuff like wheel bearings or brake pads. Simple shit in otherwords.)

Thats the ONLY reason I am researching the scan tool thing. I can do 90% of Diag with ‘simple’ tools, but the cars these days,,, You can’t “just” fix the problem, you have to convince the computer the problem is fixed. Like that “I/M” button on the newer OBDII readers,,, its there to initiate Monitor Reset after a repair, You are telling the computer “hey, new parts you have to learn” and then you have to drive the vehicle until the computer signals it figured it out. Scan tools can assist in that ‘learning curve’ by telling the computer the parameters of the parts upfront, (I’m paraphrasing the actual process here) and reset that monitor without needing the drive time.

More headaches, but stuff many DIY’ers don’t have access to, and DO NOT want to pay the $115/hr Dealer charge,,,

(and admittedly MANY DIY’ers wouldn’t want to be caught dead in most of the newer vehicles, but their wives???? YEah,,, those are my target audience here,,, the guys with the wife with the new car that can’t access the stuff he needs, and doesn’t want to deal with the dealer,,,)(Hi B! 😀 )

---

its gettin’ dark, and I am making thoughts on what I can do this weekend towards getting BLoo a little closer to road ready, ASSUMING my parts do not arrive. There are things that need done (like how I wired in that BU camera,,,)

One of those ‘things’ is covering the holes in the boxes where the previous owner (may he Rest in Peace) had mounted stuff up top. Leaks!!! I may end up mounting something up there at some point (welder?!?!) but for now, I want to keep the wet OUT. Several options and I’ll investigate those further assuming no parts. (rubber roofing material glued down on top seems most doable. Other option is FIBERGLASS,,, LOL I have it, but I don’t think Da would tolerate the stink in his basement,,,,)

I’m bored,,, Too early to go to bed, to late in the day to throw sticks, not much going on in the house as the kids are all sprawled in the ‘good spots’ doing what I can’t do because its too damned early yet,,,,,

More laters

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOVE

LOAD!

addendum: thinks for the week, kinda doomy-gloomy

O-scopes and vacuum gauges,

noid lights and Mulitmeters

Fuel pressure and Compression gauges

these are just a few of my favorite things,,,,,

---

It was one of those nights as the depths of memory started scrolling through my shop days, when I had a rolling cart that was for the day to day (which is purt much in one box of BLoo right now) and the large box with all the Diag stuff like noid lights, and a collection of connectors that I could tap into without disturbing the circuits I was ‘eyeballing’ with my o-scope. I’m from the time where I had a bumper sticker: “If it works, Its a Fluke!” (silly advertisement of brand, but I loved that sticker.)

Lot of stuff lost in time forever,,, it would take years to re-accumulate that stuff, and some of it has probably been relegated to the dustbins by new tech,,

but maybe not,,,

I gotta get to the J.O.B. here, so can’t talk long,,, Remote location today,,,

More laters.

Wanna say I ‘eliminated’ a problem child of mine, but have to say “aleviated” is the more apropo term. There have been too many instances where a PICNIC (Problem in chair, not in computer) would be my diagnostics on site. SO, even though I replaced the drive unit on a powered gate with an updated more modern controller: The Customer remains the same.

Y’all understand what I just said? If not, no worries,,, I’m just spillin’ me brain out right now.

Not a frigidly cold day, but it weren’t exactly warm either,,, Was quite happy to call it when we did as the temps started dropping again with some cloud cover rolling in, threats of snow, though the weather liars aren’t calling for any. Will see,,,

Parts have not shipped out yet,,, Seeing how these are CNC parts, they are probably making them before ‘fulfillment’. I”m ok with that. I figured out the easiest way to machine the roots to the bore. a pair of 3-2-1 blocks to hold the parts together with a 2 1/2″ pipe lining up the boreholes. Machine the roots to match. Give myself an extra thousandth or so of clearance on the roots and things should be ‘right enough’. Those bores matching are the key here. If I’m mistaken, please chime in BEFORE I go cutting on steel that I can’t easily ‘put back’. (note, I will ‘slot’ the pipe so that it wedges into the bores tight, not just line up the edges.) (side note/after thought: the pipe I am using is powder coated, so SHOULDN’T mess up the bore face. Powder coat being tough, but not as tough as steel.)

Talked to Da tonight, while checking in, had a dinner with him as well. Told him what my plans are with Bloo Twuck, and while he didn’t exactly jump up and down in glee; I did hear some ‘relief’ in his voice: He now knows that this isn’t some whimisical pursuit of mine, like kayaking, or camping,,, There IS a point to all the headaches I have been getting here.

And that leads me to a question, that may or may not be answered here. I’m looking at the scan tools. This one, is nice, reachable by my finances, but lacking in Toyota coverage,,, So its ‘on the shelf’ for this question.

That leaves me in a toss up between these two: The X-tool, and Launch X431Pro I would really prefer the Autel series, but the ones available through the Zon are Euro-centric, almost ZERO US Domestic coverage: When would I work on a Ferrari or Maseratti (there are both in the area, but seriously, d’ya think I could BASE a business on one or two cars?) or worse; SKODA? LOL So, no, the Autel being good, ain’t gonna work for me. (note, the above units DO service the above models as well, but are not focused on Euro trash.)

Back to the question: has anyone used either of the two above and have PERSONAL opinion on them? If so, please chime in. I haven’t settled on this and am in ZERO rush at this stage (though I DO want the ability to do more than clear OBDII codes,,, I have a good OBDII reader, but thats about its limits: read and clear.)

You might have also noted that almost none of the above handle the newer electric models. Thats FINE by me,,,, I have zero interest in dealing with Zappy Big orange cables!!!! (and anyone that dealt with a Prius back in the late nineties KNOWS which cable I am talking about.) Besides, we have a few Tesla’s running around local, but not enough to base a business model on. And from all I can tell, they were all bought used, not from a dealer: likely Auction ‘hicles, so probably be ran into the ground before anyone decided to fix anything. Not my stick, thank you very much.

Ya might notice, I am steering more towards diagnostics over repair,,, and you would be right. Diag was always my strong point, especially in the electrical fubars,,, Tracing down a broken wire may seem tedious, (and is) but it was my bread and butter back in the day. CNS were the other side I was especially good at (look at Bloo,,, she was a CNS for a half day after 12 years of sitting on her rims doing jack shit. ) (for those that are scratching thier heads CNS=Crank, No start.)

Anywhazmajigitz,,, It looks like I have Da’s blessing now. I’m gonna run with it. Lord knows the current situation ain’t pullin’ its load, despite my loyalty to it.

More laters,,,

L,L,L,L,L!

(, ‘)