My generator cranks once a week, runs 20 minutes for exercise. I thought it has been quiet for a few weeks, I checked the battery and it was completely dead. I checked the voltage on the charging circuit, 0V. The charging circuit is just part of the main board; $400 for a new board. […]
’07 S40 – Fuel Pump Install
The fuel pressure on the S40 was fluctuating like crazy, after much Googling I determined it was a one way check valve located on the pump that was bad. A pump replacement was in order. But wait, I bet I can fix this without replacing the pump. I rigged up a one way check valve […]
Condensation leak – Lower AC unit
The drip pan was flooding on one of my AC units, it was dripping through the emergency overflow in front of an upstairs window. I thought it was a clogged drain pipe, but the pipe was clear. I was stumped, so exhausted from hanging out in the hot attic I sat on the unit to […]
’99 F150 – 7″ Table install
I wanted something other than AM, FM and CD in the old Ford. So I purchased a cheap Chinese 7″ Android tablet and a small two channel 20w amp on eBay. I also purchased a wiring harness to match the truck, so I can undo this mess in a hurry; if I have too. […]
Vizio 60″ – E600i-B3 – Turning itself off
Our 60″ Vizio was randomly turning itself off and would not turn back on for several minutes. It only happened once a day or so, then it got to the point where we could not watch TV. Then it just finally died. This TV is pretty simple, it has a power supply board, a logic […]
’66 Volvo – B20B valve adjustment
I have never adjusted the valves on my ’66 Volvo, so I thought I should take a look under the valve cover, they were starting to tick a little. I discovered I have a B20B, not a B18, because the valve adjustment is different. A B18 it is .016″ – .018″ on my B20B it […]
’66 Volvo – New shocks and limiting straps
The ’66 was really bouncy when I first purchased the car, the shocks were completely shot. Also, this car has limiting straps on the rear attached from the axle housing to the body. These are strips of rubberized cloth that actual limit how far the body can move away from the rear axle. Mine looked […]
’66 Volvo – Transmission fluid change
My ’66 Volvo has a 4 speed manual transmission, a M40. The manual recommends 80w gear oil. All “modern” gear oil is GL5, I had read somewhere not to use GL5 in this transmission. So I emailed ExxonMobil and ask about Mobil 1 75w90 in this old transmission. I actually received an email back from one […]
’66 Volvo – Bent axle, bad bearings, and other posterior issues
When I first purchased the Volvo I looked around the car to see if there is anything obviously wrong. I noticed the pinion seal was leaking like crazy. So, I thought I would “simply” change the pinion seal. I placed the rear axle on jack stands and I was going to turn one wheel to […]
’66 Volvo – Things that go bump in the night
I noticed the car had a bumping noise going down the road. It sounded like someone was hitting the bottom of the car with a rubber mallet. I placed the rear axle on stands, pulled the choke and let it go in 4th gear. Looking under the car the issue was very apparent, one or […]