Friday, January 22, 2021

Cars back on the road...till tomorrow :D

Not a big update...

Had insomonia on Sunday night, not a great sleep on Monday, woken up by work on Tuesday, couldn't get to NAPA on time to get my lug nuts, up till midnight with issues on Tuesday, had 10pm changes on Wednesay. Felt to tired Thursday to deal with heavy stuff.

Finally got out for an hour early Friday morning to get the wheels back on, take it off jack stands, check fluids, put in a new air filter. Went to start...forgot that Tuesday was like 9 days since I last started it, battery was dead.

Lunch time did get to the quick lube in Putnam for an oil change. It was beyond waht they wanted to handle for a coolant change.

Still one the list is spark plugs, probably fuel pressure sensors (for a stalling-when-warm-start issue that doesn't bother my much, just takes a second start) for me to do then to Sorels for tires, alignment, and coolant change...then I should be good except oil changes for another 50,000.
Old eyes needed the magnifier to set the torque wrench :D



I know the Boy Scout have had to crack down after a fatal accident after midnight New Year's Weekend on their property by a Jeep that rolled over. I know the police have posted about an arrest for some "willful trespass" (along with drunk and carrying without a permit), and Facebook reports that rangers were out posting signs...

Figured while I was of the way there I'd check out the main entrance and it is at least a little optimistic to me they haven't gated it or put up no vehicle signs. Perhaps they're just signing the utility right-of-ways and the old town roads will remain open? I'll have to explore some time it's quiet like 7am on a Tuesday.


Sunday, January 17, 2021

Brakes...2 of 2....

It's all done by the getting the new lug nuts in on Tuesday.

Ok, so this worked well -- Harbor Fright tool box, and another tool box tray kept my shit organized.



Took a half hour, but was able to chisel that mother fucking nut off.







Ok, I am really liking this flex head 1/2". I understand now why mechanics like them, it really sped things up.





Interesting, the front rotors are totally different design from rear. They do take most of the force so make the most heat I guess.



Took me about 45 minutes for the first front (had to beat the rotor off with a metal 5# hammer, dead blow wasn't enough), 30 minutes for the other which is about how fast this *should* go. Fucking lug nuts.





Saturday, January 16, 2021

Fusion Brakes...1 of...3?

But first...oatmeal with frozen fruit nuked :)



...and it was probably a good idea to Fireball the hot cocoa given how the day quickly devolved...





Fucking two piece lug nuts. Fuck them with extreme prejudice. So the 19mm nuts had swollen so a 19mm and 3/4 didn't fit, and a 21mm and 13/32nds were too big. Had to drive by three other auto parts stores to get a 20mm from O'Reillys.

Which then couldn't take off one lug on the Left Front, got them all on Left Rear, and got stuck on the Right Rear.

So off to NAPA for a bolt so I could put it in the vice and use a punch and hammer to knock it off...



And I punched off the fucking two piece cap. !@#$!#% #$%#^#$.



Out comes the air hammer that I can't remember last time I need to use it.




LOL...the grinding noise that worried me into parking until I could do the brakes...was a stone that got stuck between the rotor and shield.




So lots of conflicting info online...some folks say just push in the caliper, some screw. Definitely needed to be screwed...for now...



Guess I could've gotten away without the rotors...still have ~103,000 on the old rotors so I just ordered some while I was at it. :/




The brakes on my '09 Fusion were total shit. Complete shit. They were stuck the day I drove it home with 25,000-ish miles from the dealer. I did brake pads every 20,000 or so miles.

These brakes? 103,000 miles on the car, 80,000 since I owned it, first time I've touched them. And this design...dayum, the easiest to work on brakes I've ever had the pleasure to work on.



Oh the whole "turn" v. "compress" conflicting info? The one kid who got it right was the one who used vice grips on the side (instead of the notches) to turn them. Once turned in, the didn't fit but compressed easily to finish.



Anyway, 1 down. By butt was getting cold despite sitting on a towel.

I'll bring out a patio chair cushion tomorrow to sit. This damn car is so low I can't get it high enough to sit on a bench, hell I'd need a two post lift to do an oil change o_O

So I'll finish two more wheels tomorrow...but I'm afraid the LF will likely need a trip to Sorels to have the bad lug nut removed.

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Beef Stew & Garage Organizing X









Did a little bit on Wednesday...the slots in the bench meant it could support the board while cutting in the middle. But...my batteries for the driver died just after I started...





But I got out on Thursday at lunch after a hectic morning and got to relax finishing getting them up :)



Sunday, January 10, 2021

Garage Part Nine

But first, last night's dinner!



Slept late, made Lowes and Big Y run this morning.

Finally got out the garage for a bit. It was in the high 30s/low 40s and I couldn't see my breath. Worked comfortably for a while but my nose sure started running!

Got the hub puller, differential seal tool, and some gear pullers into a plastic container to keep the surface rust from continuing to grow.





Hub pullers box, hydraulic crimper for electric cables, stud wire brush kit, cheap piece of crap Harbor Fright tap and die set, ball joint kit, spring compressor kit



Too bad I hadn't had a sealed box before to keep the drill bits from looking like crap :/



Drill drawer afterwards



Saturday, January 9, 2021

Garage Organizing Part #8 of a continuing mission

Garage bar improvements. Fireball in hot cocoa was my preferred poison of the day, though Eric made a dent in the Crown and schnapps.



How am I the oddball who loses an 11mm socket instead of 10mm?



Craftsmen, Air Tools



Craftsmen, Electric Tools



Craftsmen, Hammer and pry bar drawer



Craftsmen, Metric Wrenches. Gear wrenches in roll bag.



Craftsmen, SAE Wrenches. One roll bag with gear wrenches, others traditional.



Craftsmen, Pliers



Craftsmen, Adjustable



Craftsmen, Automotive Diagnostic, Fuel Line tools



Craftsmen, Screw Drivers



Craftsmen, Marking and miscellany



Craftsmen, Measuring



Craftsmen, Tap/Die/Extractors



Craftsmen, Staples/Rivets/Split Rings/Leather Punch



Husky 3/4", 1/2", 3/8" Drive socket drawer

The "bags" have silica beads in them. Seeing if this helps control condensation when we have big temperature swings.





Husky, 3/4" Drive breaker bar, 1/2" drive wrenches and extensions, electronic torque meter



Husky, 1/2" Beam torque wrench, 3/8 and 1/4" click torque wrenches, 3/8 drive wrenches and tools



Husky, Filter wrenches, brake tools, more automotive tools, chain tool



Husky, 1/4" drive wrenches and sockets, 1/2" 3/8" 1/4" Wobble extensions, very small wrenches (in tin), allen wrenches



Husky, One ugly drawer...we'll hopefully be working on this tomorrow. Fustrating the occassional condensation issues have drills bits looking like this.



Husky, Another ugly drawer for to continue working on.



Husky, Photo didn't come out, but one of bottom deep drawers is empty.



Husky, so plan for tomorrow is to get some plastic boxes to fit the hub puller and axle seal tool in to protect them from future condensation issues. I think that will fit in the bottom of the drawer with enough space to still have the trim kit above it.



These will move to the bottom of the Craftsmen, but I want to label them better and the label maker batteries were dead from being in a cold garage :/



Progess!