Kicked In Door Repair

My house was a definite fixer upper when I got it.  Really it still is, but its a little more functional.  The back door is something I didn't get to till now.  I actually purchased a new back door, as close as I could get to the same size, but I'd have to cut it down.  Then your still looking at a weak ass door that anyone could kick in if they wanted.  So I fortified the original splintered door with the welder and good old steel plate.  Nobody is going to be kicking in my door again.  Click the link below to see the video.

Quick Wheel Alignment

This all happened just before the VW Jetta experienced some, hopefully electrical, catastrophic failure.  High mileage, and lots more mileage to go.

Astro Van Gets New Springs

The Astro Van has taken some serious abuse this year, hauling around a ton of copper, and towing the big trailer full of more copper and tools.  Until today I have put air bag suspension on everything I drive.  I got a few air leaks in a couple of air bags, and decided to go with a more permanent trailer hauling solution for the Chevy Astro Van.  I stopped in at the local Alberta Spring and Trailer, got myself a set of steal leaf springs, to replace the cracking fiberglass springs, and 4 extra 1/4" thick steel leafs.  I also picked up some coil over shock helper springs.  The over all result is very heavy rear suspension which can haul anything now.  The next area to address would be the tires.  Now I can get so much weight in the van the tires look low because they can't hold enough psi.

Wireless Volt meter

For Christmas I got this wifi wireless volt meter.  Its great for remote metering, monitoring, graphing, all this fun stuff.  This is a quick video to show how it measures voltage, and transmits the reading through wifi to my iphone app.  Of course it doesn't just measure voltage, but it measures ohms, amps, all that fun stuff.

Tire Machine Improvements

Nobody really thinks to mount their own tires, what a hassle.  When you do as much driving as me, have as many trucks, trailers, and ATVs as me, having your own tire machine is brilliant.  But also living out in the sticks as we did for 5 years, its not practical at all to take a tire for the 2 hour return trip to town for mounting.  The going rate for tire installation is about $20, at the reasonable shops, for one tire.  Most charge more than that, then they add $4 tire recycling fee,  plus valve stem, and wheel weight costs.

There was a point there, when my trailer suspension was bottomed out, I would go through a tire a week, on pot holes and curbs.  The suspension has been beefed up so it doesn't bottom out any more.  But back then, last summer, it was no big deal.  I have my own tire machine, auto wrecker sells me 15" tires for $15 each, I fix it.  Total cost $15 and a trip to the wrecker.

I just love this tire machine, it was well under $100 to buy, and I will easily mount 1000 tires with it in my life time, saving me a lot of driving around, and at minimum $20,000 in tire mounting fees.  The design is pretty good, but I recommend two improvements.  One improvement I had to do 5 years ago, the other I did today in this video.

Trailer Security

As contractors I know keep getting their trailers stolen around me, I search for new ways to step up trailer security.  This is one fairly inexpensive way I found to add another level of security.  This motion light only works at night, in the dark.  Because the trailer is parked in front of my house, I found my excessively bright LED house security light, lights up the same area enough to shut down Mr Beams.  But this trailer is parked at dark job sites enough to warrent the small cost of installing the battery security light.  A quick video of the install

LED Tail Lights

Had a burnt tail light in my van which inspired some new LED lights.  Sexy, bright and stylish.

BC Medical Refund

I guess there was really no cost involved in waiting to transfer my medical insurance to AB.  In fact I think I made money on the deal, unless it was Nov of 2008 that AB medical became free.  I think it was much later than that.  They want to give me back all my premiums, woo hoo, not like I even got any medical services out of them, just rapping my thumb up once when I severed the end off.  That would have been a $60 charge, $100 tops.  So if I had not paid for insurance and paid my own medical expenses I'd be $1400 ahead for those 4 years. No I am $1549 ahead, and they paid for my thumb bandage.

10,000 Amps, Vs Wood Screw

My blog is falling behind.
Well, been busy at work lately even though its cold.  This is the place I have spent most of my time lately.  I am starting to feel sorry for this contractor.  I pulled new service wires into this conduit, then the inspector came and failed all the conduit work, despite the fact that its existing, we have to change all of it.

They presumably put a screw through another wire effecting one plug, that we found so far, which I pulled a new wire to.  Then the add on, a naked loomex wire run on the outside of the house, and into the wall for a pool table light.  We switched this light with expensive remote switching, located in the basement near the panel.  The remote then sits on the interior wall at the entrance to the pool table, as any switch would.

They get a big glorious pool table light, doesn't work.  Sure enough switch doesn't work.  I replace it, second one doesn't work.  Short circuit, two switches toast, $300.  By now most of the siding is done, so running a new wire outside the house is tricky, I assumed they got a screw through this wire too.  I pull a new wire, and decide to wire this big expensive light always on so the boys can check periodicly that its still working, and know apx where, and when they put a nail through that wire.

Blam, breaker pops.  Wouldn't you know it the light fixture has a short circuit.  This was no cheap light fixture either.  Anyway the video is just of the service work, should have made one of the other drama, maybe tomorrow.

Chevy 700R4 Rebuild

My second Chevy automatic 700R4 transmission, bought strictly for one part, the rear sun gear.  The rear sun gear in my first rebuildable core has a broken tooth, and potentially ready to break off the rest of the teeth.  The rear sun gear is obsolete in the pre 86 Chevy transmissions.  That means I have to buy a whole new sprag and gear assembly, for only $200.  I knew I could buy another "core" transmission for $50.  Life threw me a curve ball, and sold me a Chevy diesel motor, torque converter, and good 700R4, for $300.  Best deal I have found in forever.

A quick vid today is a look at the inside of the automatic transmission.  I will do a video of the pump modifications I do, and some random portions of Assembly.

VW Strut Failure

Good news, I think old stinky might just have an electrical problem to the motor.   At the very least the diesel injector pump fuel solenoid, didn't have power.  I powered that up and got injection pumpage.  Still not running, but there are a few other electric wires on the motor I intend to check, the harness appears to be damaged.

Among the long list of things that need to be fixed on the 96 jetta, is a rear strut.  It looks to me like the shock absorber portion of the strut, has pushed through the top of the back seat.  It cracks me up to see, I should have gone over some serious bumps for this video but this is just along a city road, looking at the back seat of the VW.

Cheap Chev Truck

This is a "running chev diesel" truck I went to look at the other day.  Just needs a rad, and two batteries, drive it away.  It obviously hasn't been "running" for some time, but was parked where it sits, under its own power.

Sexy VW Bush Bar

I had almost retired the VW, for the winter, as a summer only vehicle in the fall.  Largely because its so lite.  It gets stuck a lot in the snow.  Its always easy to push out because its so lite.  I tried adding a large bumper with full size spare tire, on the front of the Vdub, to give me more front end weight.  Didn't help much, but did make it look really sexy.  The bumper started life as a full size Dodge truck bumper, which I cut into pieces and welded back together to make the beautiful VW bumper.

Old Stinky Died

Its a tragic day, 15 days short of a full year, and old stinky, the vegetable oil hybrid died.  At 11:06 this morning, rite down town Edmonton, on Jasper ave.  She still gets lots of fuel, but won't run.  That's the extent of my winter trouble shooting.  Fortunately she died in an intersection, one block from a metered parking spot.  Once pushed into legal parking, I was just two blocks from the LRT stop, which took me strait home, where I have a running van, a tow bar, and even the borrowed car dolly

Ironically I had just come up with the second vegetable oil hybrid plan.  #2 was inspired by the collection of waste motor oil I have.  A youtuber friend has found that when he mixes "black oil" with waste vegetable oil, his injectors get stuck closed.  He does run both all the time, but almost always has to change his injectors (6 times now).  So I thought I would make a "black oil hybrid".  Here is the vid.

Awesome Free Trailer

I don't think the free trailer vid made it on the blog.  We had a lot of fun this summer towing this trailer, a big dodge truck bush bar, and a large 60" three point hitch rototiller, from Randi Leigh's yard clean up.  Ironically someone stole the John Deer rototiller attachment from me, that we were going to use with the bobcat.  Easy come easy go.  The bumper I chopped into pieces and reassembled to fit the VW, vid to come. And the trailer I managed to build into a chicken coop (small city style), before it got below 0 this winter.  So first the "awesome free trailer vid", then the "free trailer chicken coop" vid.  One post, two videos.

Ghetto Electrical

Lots of interest in my Ghetto Garage Electrical Panel, so here is a more detailed video about it.  It just has a 40 amp feed from my house, but has everything I could possibly want for power, I run lights, welder, plasma cutter, compressor, grinders, heaters, and the deep fryer