What did YOU do today?

[racsan]

Did the front brakes on (her) escape, new rotors/calipers/pads/hoses. Put the winter tires on too. Wasnt too bad of a job. Pricey parts but shouldn’t have to do it again on this vehicle.

 

[racsan]

Started to go about bringing some softner salt in to the house, its in the garage in front of my escape, went to move it and battery was dead, dead enough that the “key-in” dinger was not, back hatch release wouldn’t work so I couldn’t get to my jump box easily, finally did get it out and its battery was low. Got enough of a charge in it to get it out of park & roll it backwards. I did happen to have a extra battery from the hhr that I got rid of a year ago, got lucky & terminal posts were on the correct sides. Checked the old battery later & load tested at only 8 volts, 2020 napa battery. Gave me no warning. Works one day, next it was dead.

 

[Rick W]

Started to go about bringing some softner salt in to the house, its in the garage in front of my escape, went to move it and battery was dead, dead enough that the “key-in” dinger was not, back hatch release wouldn’t work so I couldn’t get to my jump box easily, finally did get it out and its battery was low. Got enough of a charge in it to get it out of park & roll it backwards. I did happen to have a extra battery from the hhr that I got rid of a year ago, got lucky & terminal posts were on the correct sides. Checked the old battery later & load tested at only 8 volts, 2020 napa battery. Gave me no warning. Works one day, next it was dead.

I just had the same darn thing with my F250 7.3. I finally got to the point on the to do list to find out why I lost vacuum to the Hvac, and I went out and it wouldn’t open off the remote, no power locks, no dome light. I checked the batteries, and they read 0.0. They’re 4 years old. I’m pretty sure the batteries are OK and it’s the trickle charger that died. I’ve used them for years, and they quit out of the blue, and you can’t tell by looking at them.

I don’t think I’ve driven the truck in 30 or 40 days, maybe more. I’m pretty religious on all my vehicles about using one of the Chinese six amp float charger/maintainers, and I had one on it. I put the smart charger on it and it wouldn’t even read that it was connected to the battery, it kept saying connect the clamps.

So I took out the dinosaur battery charger, and I put that on, on a 12 V/12 amp setting. I believe the batteries will come back to life. I’ve used the dinosaur charger before to get some charge into the battery, and then I swap to the smart charger and it will bring it up safely and level it out. Unfortunately, it usually takes two or three days. Unlike a lot of you guys, I don’t have to rely on the truck for transportation, nor do we have the real cold weather, so starting is a little more forgiving, if the batteries halfway decent.

On a different note, I finally put the distributor in the 88 Town Car. Isn’t it a great feeling when you turn the key on whatever and it actually starts? I have a few other much more minor things to do to that car, but it will be on the road this week. Actually, it’s the first time that cars been out of service for more than a few days since I got it in 2014. And when was the last time you looked under the hood of a 1988 vehicle, and the spark resistance shower cap was still on top of the distributor?

And one thing I had completely forgotten was that these two town cars got a few performance upgrades at the dealership, kind of like a Yemk Camaro, but it’s still an old fart car. All you guys and the literature said steel gear on the distributor, but I got it with 12,000 miles and it had a bronze gear that had nowhere on it whatsoever. I didn’t wanna go the cost of a replacement, talk to the dealer and another guy who does nothing but these older forwards, and they said if I had bronze and I knew the history, to go with the cast iron. So that’s what I did. I’ll be amazed if I put another 5000 miles on it before they liquidate it from my estate…

I have trickle chargers on the other Town Car and on the 78 Mark V. I’m going to put the smart charger on both of them overnight to clean up the charge and crank them in the morning in preparation for moving them out of the hole so I can clean them up and use them. I’ve been cranking them every two or three months and letting them warm up, but I haven’t driven those two on the road in over a year. I know that one of the town cars is going to go pretty soon. Probably the Mark V also, but I hate to sell that one.

I’m sure you know the situation. I have three Lincoln and three Ford trucks. I have start, stop, lights, instruments, windows go up and down, wipers, etc. Sounds good, huh? Unfortunately, all those features are kind of evenly spread out across the six vehicles, but I’m getting closer….

 

[Rick W]

Oh, and not today, but last week, I had a session with the two (yes two) neurosurgeons who are trying to figure out what’s wrong with my hand (which is coming from pinched nerves in my spine). I’ve had problems that have been consistently progressing for the last two years. I think the hardest part for a guy like me was the uncertainty of what was the problem and where are we going with this?

The good news? Obviously these two guys know exactly what they’re doing, both experienced guys from Emory, and the senior guy actually teaches neurosurgery at Emory medical school. He does 400 of these surgeries a year.

The bad news? As this thing has progressed, it went from 10% you might need something like surgery, to 50% you might need something like surgery, etc. As of last week, these guys said that I’m in the 90% category at this point. Basically, they’re going to take a Dremel Moto tool and one of those long handle needle nose, and mess around with my C4 C5 and C6 vertebrae (neck, which is pretty common). But they’re also going to fool around with my C8 and C9, which is not nearly as common, more towards the middle of my back between my shoulders.

I have to do some physical therapy that is not targeted at improving my problem, it’s targeting at defining exactly what works right or wrong on me. I have to have another MRI, CAT scan, nerve continuity test, etc. That means I’m probably looking at going under the knife in the middle of January.

One of the stumbling blocks is I’m fat and old and out of shape, so I’m not the best candidate for surgery, and this is a doozy. Will know that as I go through these other tests.

The number two guy spent another 45 minutes with me explaining all of the “oh shit” possibilities with this kind of surgery, including a very strong suggestion that I have my affairs and my estate in order before I do it. I think it was supposed to be a pep talk.

Other than that, how did you like the play Mrs. Lincoln?

As bad as it seems, the indecision and not knowing was killing me, and I’m actually energized knowing now that we’ve got a specific plan to take care of this.

If you are the praying type, and you have a free minute,…

 

[Brain75]

I had a high blood pressure issue that left me partially blind in my right (dominant) eye... lots of opto/nero apts. & scans to all hell (and of course all of em are talking about digging around in my eyes or head)... that was a wake up call on blood pressure. One of the best things to do is fix the weight... I put on an extra 5 when I turned 30 and another extra 5 when I turned 40, somewhere between 30 and now I slowly added a few more in and around the years. I vowed before I hit 50 I was gonna turn that around. I'm actually doing pretty good at it and all it took was being more active (keyboard job so no real exercise there) and changing the eating - slowing down my wolf it down habit and putting down the fork right before I felt full. Amazing how sitting for 5 and letting it settle before you go back for 2nds a lot of times gives you enough of a full feeling you don't have to have that 2nd plate. I feel for ya, and as funny as this may sound, the best thing you could do is put off the surgery for say 6 months (provided doctors agree) and get the weight together, it makes your odds of "making it through" a ton better.

 

[Rick W]

I had a high blood pressure issue that left me partially blind in my right (dominant) eye... lots of opto/nero apts. & scans to all hell (and of course all of em are talking about digging around in my eyes or head)... that was a wake up call on blood pressure. One of the best things to do is fix the weight... I put on an extra 5 when I turned 30 and another extra 5 when I turned 40, somewhere between 30 and now I slowly added a few more in and around the years. I vowed before I hit 50 I was gonna turn that around. I'm actually doing pretty good at it and all it took was being more active (keyboard job so no real exercise there) and changing the eating - slowing down my wolf it down habit and putting down the fork right before I felt full. Amazing how sitting for 5 and letting it settle before you go back for 2nds a lot of times gives you enough of a full feeling you don't have to have that 2nd plate. I feel for ya, and as funny as this may sound, the best thing you could do is put off the surgery for say 6 months (provided doctors agree) and get the weight together, it makes your odds of "making it through" a ton better.

thanks, good advice. I actually know all that, but again, the “not knowing“ was best treated with a couple of extra hotdogs or a pizza.

When I was stressing out the last couple of years of my marriage, I got religion, and just by eating right I actually lost 70 pounds. Yes, seven oh. That was in nine months. Then when I actually went through the divorce, the hotdogs and pizza came back, and I gained most of it back. When I injured my leg and I got sick, I didn’t get any worse on weight, but I didn’t get any better. I’ve been working on it, and I’m down 20, but that means I’ve got like 50 to go.

And I know exactly where it came from. When I turned about 30, I gained 10 pounds every winter, and then lost 5 pounds every summer. Well, after 50 years, that adds up. And halfway through, I stopped running around chemical plants and construction sites, and I put on a suit and sat behind his desk with an expensive account for a client lunches. It’s history as they say.

I appreciate the good words and support, but finally knowing what’s going on, is a tremendous incentive to get things on track. That’s the focus and program now.

Hell, I even got the 88 Lincoln running!

 

[Bill]

I received the set of shocks I ordered from Amazon along with a shock absorber socket that was supposed to fit the 6mm stem at the top of the shocks. The socket was mislabeled. I grabbed my calipers and it measured as 5mm. I opened the box containing one of the shocks and it took all my weight to compress it and about three minutes for it to extend again. The second shock wasn't nearly as difficult to compress and extends in about 5-7 seconds. I tried the "priming" trick and nothing has changed. One shock remains difficult to compress, and sometimes extends about an inch slowly, then takes 2 to 5 minutes to finish extending. So, I don't know exactly what behavior is normal for these shocks. I'm assuming the one that extends in about 5 seconds is the good one. I suppose I'll have Amazon replace both of them unless I can find a good answer on the internet.

 

[JoshT]

one of the shocks and it took all my weight to compress it and about three minutes for it to extend again. The second shock wasn't nearly as difficult to compress and extends in about 5-7 seconds.

Difficult to compress isn't unexpected. I've had shocks where it was best to remove the with the shock in place and let it extend into the mounts, because it was so hard to compress and insert them. That slow extension definitely doesn't sound right though, probably something wrong with the valving on that one.

I think you'd make the right call sending that slow one back for replacement, I can't speak for the other.

 

[Rick W]

Four-point buck standing right in the middle of my yard when I went to walk Lincoln a few minutes ago. A big boy.

I was astounded to see one, all I’ve ever seen are does that are about half his size and a fawn, and those sightings are rare in my neighborhood because of the busy road and all the fences.

Maybe what was more amazing is that Lincoln, who barks at everything, didn’t say a word. When we went out, he actually ran straight to the back fence, giving the deer a wide birth, and then came back up to the top of the yard where I was sitting, to do his business. The big buck looked at us like a statue, and then bent down and continued to eat the grass.

If he hangs around, maybe I won’t need quite as many goats.

 

[Bill]

The wildlife here thinks nothing of wandering through urban and suburban environments. Raccoons fighting in the middle of the street and wandering through the hole in the screen door so they can the cat food, coyotes getting into the trash. Woodpeckers cracking open almonds and walnuts on the roof, squirrels planting the raw peanuts one of the neighbors are feeding them, hummingbirds following me in the front door (it was a real challenge to get him out of the dining room), turkeys chasing cars at the stop sign down the road, deer eating the shrubs, and huge owls with a 5 ft wingspan watching me replace the front rotors, yellowjackets/hornets that build nests behind the grill so they can take road trips with you when you go camping, and bobcats taking the neighbor's Chihuahua. And, if you drive down Folsom Blvd you might see a zombie or two hunched over along the roadside. They just stand there for hours.

 

[Bill]

It's the difference between the two that concerns me. The one that takes a long time to extend takes my full weight to start compressing it. As it goes down it takes less effort to compress. The other one compresses and extends at a smooth and consistent rate.

 

[racsan]

I went ahead & put the new front struts on my escape, wont be as warm next weekend & even though I will be taking the left side apart again to change that cv seal at least it wont be hard to get apart since some of it just was. Decided to not put in those leveling spacers, and because its a complete new assembly it’s sitting higher up front anyways. Measured it after a quick drive and both front & rear wheel well top openings are at 31.5 Before the front was almost 2” less.

 

[Rick W]

I just had the same darn thing with my F250 7.3. I finally got to the point on the to do list to find out why I lost vacuum to the Hvac, and I went out and it wouldn’t open off the remote, no power locks, no dome light. I checked the batteries, and they read 0.0. They’re 4 years old. I’m pretty sure the batteries are OK and it’s the trickle charger that died. I’ve used them for years, and they quit out of the blue, and you can’t tell by looking at them.

I don’t think I’ve driven the truck in 30 or 40 days, maybe more. I’m pretty religious on all my vehicles about using one of the Chinese six amp float charger/maintainers, and I had one on it. I put the smart charger on it and it wouldn’t even read that it was connected to the battery, it kept saying connect the clamps.

So I took out the dinosaur battery charger, and I put that on, on a 12 V/12 amp setting. I believe the batteries will come back to life. I’ve used the dinosaur charger before to get some charge into the battery, and then I swap to the smart charger and it will bring it up safely and level it out. Unfortunately, it usually takes two or three days. Unlike a lot of you guys, I don’t have to rely on the truck for transportation, nor do we have the real cold weather, so starting is a little more forgiving, if the batteries halfway decent.

On a different note, I finally put the distributor in the 88 Town Car. Isn’t it a great feeling when you turn the key on whatever and it actually starts? I have a few other much more minor things to do to that car, but it will be on the road this week. Actually, it’s the first time that cars been out of service for more than a few days since I got it in 2014. And when was the last time you looked under the hood of a 1988 vehicle, and the spark resistance shower cap was still on top of the distributor?

View attachment 120179

And one thing I had completely forgotten was that these two town cars got a few performance upgrades at the dealership, kind of like a Yemk Camaro, but it’s still an old fart car. All you guys and the literature said steel gear on the distributor, but I got it with 12,000 miles and it had a bronze gear that had nowhere on it whatsoever. I didn’t wanna go the cost of a replacement, talk to the dealer and another guy who does nothing but these older forwards, and they said if I had bronze and I knew the history, to go with the cast iron. So that’s what I did. I’ll be amazed if I put another 5000 miles on it before they liquidate it from my estate…

View attachment 120180

I have trickle chargers on the other Town Car and on the 78 Mark V. I’m going to put the smart charger on both of them overnight to clean up the charge and crank them in the morning in preparation for moving them out of the hole so I can clean them up and use them. I’ve been cranking them every two or three months and letting them warm up, but I haven’t driven those two on the road in over a year. I know that one of the town cars is going to go pretty soon. Probably the Mark V also, but I hate to sell that one.

I’m sure you know the situation. I have three Lincoln and three Ford trucks. I have start, stop, lights, instruments, windows go up and down, wipers, etc. Sounds good, huh? Unfortunately, all those features are kind of evenly spread out across the six vehicles, but I’m getting closer….

Update on the F250 7.3 batteries. After sleeping on it, I dug in the file this morning. The batteries aren’t four years old, I put them in in the beginning of 2018.

They had the Walmart Everstart Maxx batteries, group 65, 850 CCA. I have that exact same battery in both of the Rangers, and I think in one or two of the Lincoln’s. Never had an issue.

$139.75 each with a core. So it was $300 walk out the door. The hardest part was getting the bolts off the clamps without damaging anything. I used new green/red felt washers and new bolts. Started right up.

I moved it around back to do what I was going to do in the first place, which was chase down the vacuum that’s missing on my HVAC so it always stays on the windshield. Task for another day.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Update on the F250 7.3 batteries. After sleeping on it, I dug in the file this morning. The batteries aren’t four years old, I put them in in the beginning of 2018.

They had the Walmart Everstart Maxx batteries, group 65, 850 CCA. I have that exact same battery in both of the Rangers, and I think in one or two of the Lincoln’s. Never had an issue.

$139.75 each with a core. So it was $300 walk out the door. The hardest part was getting the bolts off the clamps without damaging anything. I used new green/red felt washers and new bolts. Started right up.

I moved it around back to do what I was going to do in the first place, which was chase down the vacuum that’s missing on my HVAC so it always stays on the windshield. Task for another day.

6 years is pretty good for batteries anymore, the dual batteries in that actually make it worse, once one starts going bad it will drag the other down with it... I've fought mine pretty hard over the years and having matched batteries helps the most... I ran two red top optimas for a while and one of the originals went bad pretty quick and got it warrantied then didn't have any other issues for like 4 years until another went... now I'm running two regular batteries...

Went to another auction today by my moms house, held back and didn't get too much... a .22 bolt action rifle (old JC Higgins/Savage 86), some NOS oil, some battery cables, post hole digger for the tractor (don't have an immediate use but $10...), spare 4kw generator for $25 identical to my other (probably give to my brother or one for the well and one for the house for an outage) then got an ATV/riding mower front wheel jack, one of those scissor transmission jacks ($10) and one of those scissor lift carts for $25...

Oh, it was raining pretty good today during the auction and I just took the '97 4x2 Ranger and they had us parking in a pasture... the road was a bit squishy on the way out but I was able to apply as much logic as possible and didn't get stuck! Conveniently I'd added like 500 pounds to the bed that I'm sure helped a lot... several people had to get pulled out or pushed but I'm sure they stopped for obstacles or used too much throttle instead of just using some momentum and keeping the wheels turning ground speed instead of faster... that and I was able to not follow the ruts, not sure why everyone was using the same ruts...

 

[Rick W]

I’m curious, I’d like to take a little informal survey on this.

The big Walmart near me now has Wi-Fi electric brakes on the back wheels of their shopping carts. The observer at the door to the parking lot has some kind of clicker/remote in his her pocket that deactivates the brakes as you walk through the sliding doors. The signal that locks them up is also present at the perimeter entrances and exits to the parking lot, so the cart can’t be taken off the property without carrying them. It’s the first time I noticed them at Walmart.

The Home Depot a mile down the road from me put them on their shopping cart about six or eight months ago.

I think they are a great idea for loss prevention, but it’s also a very sad indicator of the times we live in.

Do your shopping cards have the smart brakes wherever you live? Might be a good indication of where I want to ultimately retire to.