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What did YOU do today?


Today was a bunch of little stuff.

The pipe paste worked. No more leaks, I also incorporated a flow regulator at the shower head so water can be turned on and off there instead of depending on someone outside of the shower to manage the water. So, the solar shower has been figured out. I do plan on painting the brass pipe black later on so that it fits in better with the rest of the shower, but functional is better than style at the moment.

The garage has been cleaned up so I can have room to work on the bed box. All the stuff I have been accumulating to go in the bed, as well as stuff that was being stored back there already, has been moved to the steel shed to get them out of the way.

That enabled me to find the roll of screen I need to fix the screen panel in the front screen door. That will get done after I'm done on here.

And, now that the garage has been cleared out, I can get at the fan to get some air moving. And I moved the trailer and the truck currently not in use, deeper into the driveway so all vehicles can be parked in the driveway, if needed, for summer parties that happen in the neighborhood.
 
Got the remaining window hole cut out and got all 4 of my inner door panels secured the way I want them. Tomorrow I'll pick up supplies to do one of the remaining projects if I don't die of heat stroke at work beforehand.

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Today we celebrated dad’s birthday, so the chainsaw I’ve been hiding in my shop and working on was given to him. McCulloch Mac 3516. I think he will be pretty happy with it, he definitely liked it but hasn’t run it yet. He always liked that brand and his first saw was a Mac 10-10, which he reminded us all of again, lol. I have a saw or two buried in my one gang box, one of those might be a 10-10, but I stopped looking for a saw to fix up in my collection when I found the Mac 3516 in a case. I’m dang glad to have the saw out of my workshop finally, lol.
 
Yesterday wasn't as successful but I did get some stuff done... putting stainless sheet metal screws into aluminum is a pain, broke I think 4 drill bits (3 were HFT which I reluctantly used after my one good one in that size broke) and I think 5 screws, all of the bits broke on the first 4 screws, the other around 35 went just fine but I also started using some bar soap on the threads which I'm sure helped... Got one of the 4 pieces of foam cut for the floor, might get it stuck down tonight.

Internet at the house went out yesterday morning around 10AM... apparently it should work now says the lady from Ziply... I'm so looking forward to the fiber being finished...
 
I started work on the drawer box for the 2019, after I cleaned up and cut up most of the extra pieces of wood I have had laying around for years, "just in case". I did save a few pieces that looked like good candidates for being dividers to hold some of the larger camping equipment vertical. A five foot bed doesn't have a lot of real estate. So anyway I can way I can take advantage of ways to maximize what I have needs to be done.
 
Getting to know all about Mopar junk...again. What a 727 tranny looks like leaking away in my driveway, rear main seal of a Magnum 360, transfer case front output shaft (this one is out of fluid, so no problem at this particular moment).

The Yellow Sub is doing fine, still getting smiles! Rebuilding a Magnum block using a carb & mechanical fuel pump. Got the new heads, no computer or fuel injection. It's all analog. Ordered some stainless steel headers for $240. A 4 barrel holley, $$ don't ask. There is hardly anything made for these Ramchargers. So with lots of elbow grease, it will happen. No rust, it's all there. GM square bodies enjoy tons of replacement goodies, but not these. I'll be rebuilding window motors & door lock hardware, lucky for me there is sort of a forum Ramcharger Central, but it's nothing like this place. Need to clean out the garage some more & make more room. Yall take care & stay cool!
 
Difficult day for me, and I’m just starting, it’s not even 11 o’clock

It’s trash day. Over the weekend, as I put away the last of my Christmas decorations, I made the decision (with some gentle urging from the cute brunette) to throw out the last two of my tube TVs, a couple VCR’s, an out of date Dish receiver box, and some other electronic stuff. It goes against every nerve in my body, and it’s a violation of my doctorate in development of sheds of miracles. Not to worry, I kept a couple VCR’s to copy some family tapes over to computer files, and I’m keeping my play/record 8-track in case I want to make a couple extra tapes for the Mark V.

I did quickly pop open the two VCR’s and Dish box to steal a handful of capacitors, tiny springs, and other little electronic gems. Especially on the capacitors, I learned a long time ago that you can use one that isn’t an exact replacement for the problem one, and usually a little bit bigger will solve the problem that caused the first one to fail anyway. For those who don’t know, you don’t have to un-solder everything. You can just gently grab them with a pair of pliers and twist them back and forth a little bit, and the pins will pull loose of the solder joint. And if you ruin one or two, so what?

I’ll put them in my trashcan, tucked inside a black trash bag, so the sanitation workers don’t pull them out. It’ll take a couple weeks to get rid of all of them.

Sad day at the Homestead…
 
Not asking for anything here, but if you are the praying type, they are appreciated.

To talk about today I've got to back up and hit on a couple of things from the last month and how it all really went to shit this week. It's best that I go cronologically, but the bad parts is towards the end.

A little over a month ago I got a crack in the windshield of my dailydriver 2010 Kia Forte. Scheduled for replacement Monday of the following week wasn't a problem. That Wednesday was the injection for one of my eyes and on the way to the appointment the car starts to overheat. I make it to the appointment, but due to the procedure it's the next day before I can retrieve the car and the weekend before I can start diagnosing. Ultimately I wasted the weekend chasing a hose when it was a hairline crack in the "temperature control assembly" where the hose attached. Took a week to get the first replacement. Opened it saturday to install and it didn't include required seals (picture and description said that it did) and no one had them locally. We're into week three when I find out that the replacement housing is manufactured wrong and will not seal around the pipe coming from the water pump. Order another replacement housing, this time a new OEM Kia part, but just the housing instead of the full assembly like the first. It took two weeks to arrive after USPS sent it on a tour of the Northeast US (AZ to TN, to CT, to NH, to NJ, and finally to GA). Got that buttoned up last week and was going to drive it for several days to ensure no more leaking before adding coolant, I did manage to get atleast a few in with no signs of leakage.

Was going to drain and fill with coolant at my parent't house this past weekend, I'd left the coolant burping funnel and antifreeze there when doing the work. Dad felt like he had a sinus infection, so I stayed away to let him relax thinking I'd so it one afternoong this week. It wasn't a sinus infection. I'm not going into a detailed play by play, but dad is in the hospital again, he had a brain bleed start sometime over the weekend. Important information first is that he had surgery late this evening (Wednesday), it was successful and he should be starting to get relief.

Sunday they went to the medstop to get medicine for the sinus infection, which they did get. Monday the pain was a lot worse so they went to the ER in Warner Robins, GA. CT scan showed the brain bleed and he was air medicaved to the Memorial Hospital Neuro ICU in Savanna on that afternoon. Couldn't make it from here to the hospital there in time for visitation Monday, so hit the road about 5am Tuesday morning. The doctor's initial plan from the time he arrived in Savannah was to wait and monitor for 5 days while his prescription blood thinners flushed out of his system, so was looking like Saturday earliest for surgery. Nurses taked about the possibility of advancing the operation early this morning (Wednesday), but couldn't get answers from the neurosurgeon. Saturday was still their standing plan when we (dad kinda included) decided I would go home tonight and come back for the weekend, save the work leave days in case it was needed next week (probably will be). I'm on the way home and stop for gas when mom calls and says that they are doing the surgery today. My sister had gone home with her family Tuesday night since her husband had to be at work today, and she is returning Thursday. So mom was there alone with no support, and I was close enough that I was seriously considering turning around even though she said no. As I was thinking about that, my vehicle broke and I had to continue home.

Not sure what my sig shows, but the current drivers are the F-100, the '99 Ranger, the F-250, and the 2010 Kia Forte. When you need to make a mad dash to the hospital 3 hours away, you are going to take the quickest ride you have that seems like it will make the trip safely. That definitely isn't the F-100, though I have no doubt it would reliably make the trip stopping at every gas station both ways (and probably want a gas can to be safe). The Ranger isn't up for it yet, need various things and transmission isn't right. The F-250 isn't the quickest, the tires should have been replaced a couple of years ago, and I canceled the tire appointment to head to Savannah. The Kia it is.

Boy did I torture test it with the drive out and the bumper to bumper rush hour traffic in Savannah. That cooling system is for sure working properly. Car still broke on the way home this afternoon, and forced me to continue the trip to the house instead of turning around. Was maybe about a third of the way home by distance (more like half way by time due to rush hour) and stopped for gas as I mentioned. Popped the car into drive and it went backwards when I hit the gas. It went backwards when I put it in neutral, park, and reverse too. Fortunately I'd encountered this before and recognized the symptoms of a broken shifter cable bushing, but for this car it isn't something that a local parts store carries. I have tools to remove the center console and get it into gear, but I can't fix it in Savannah or really drive it around the area like that. Continuing home was the only option.

I got home about 8:15pm and mom called about 8:45 to say that he was out of surgery with no complication.

As I said the important thing is that they got dad into surgery this evening (Wednesday) so he can start getting some relief. Tomorrow I'll be taking one of those days I was trying to save to get tires on the F-250 just in case I've got to take it back out this weekend. Repair bushing should be arriving Friday, but that was a repair bushing that broke, so don't trust it. Once tires are on the truck I'm going to go to the hardware store and junkyard to see if I can cobble together a more permanent fix. At the very least a way to prevent the cable from popping off if the bushing breaks again, it would work if I could keep the cable attached. Then change the oil and put proper coolant in it while I'm waiting for parts to arrive.
 
Not asking for anything here, but if you are the praying type, they are appreciated.

To talk about today I've got to back up and hit on a couple of things from the last month and how it all really went to shit this week. It's best that I go cronologically, but the bad parts is towards the end.

A little over a month ago I got a crack in the windshield of my dailydriver 2010 Kia Forte. Scheduled for replacement Monday of the following week wasn't a problem. That Wednesday was the injection for one of my eyes and on the way to the appointment the car starts to overheat. I make it to the appointment, but due to the procedure it's the next day before I can retrieve the car and the weekend before I can start diagnosing. Ultimately I wasted the weekend chasing a hose when it was a hairline crack in the "temperature control assembly" where the hose attached. Took a week to get the first replacement. Opened it saturday to install and it didn't include required seals (picture and description said that it did) and no one had them locally. We're into week three when I find out that the replacement housing is manufactured wrong and will not seal around the pipe coming from the water pump. Order another replacement housing, this time a new OEM Kia part, but just the housing instead of the full assembly like the first. It took two weeks to arrive after USPS sent it on a tour of the Northeast US (AZ to TN, to CT, to NH, to NJ, and finally to GA). Got that buttoned up last week and was going to drive it for several days to ensure no more leaking before adding coolant, I did manage to get atleast a few in with no signs of leakage.

Was going to drain and fill with coolant at my parent't house this past weekend, I'd left the coolant burping funnel and antifreeze there when doing the work. Dad felt like he had a sinus infection, so I stayed away to let him relax thinking I'd so it one afternoong this week. It wasn't a sinus infection. I'm not going into a detailed play by play, but dad is in the hospital again, he had a brain bleed start sometime over the weekend. Important information first is that he had surgery late this evening (Wednesday), it was successful and he should be starting to get relief.

Sunday they went to the medstop to get medicine for the sinus infection, which they did get. Monday the pain was a lot worse so they went to the ER in Warner Robins, GA. CT scan showed the brain bleed and he was air medicaved to the Memorial Hospital Neuro ICU in Savanna on that afternoon. Couldn't make it from here to the hospital there in time for visitation Monday, so hit the road about 5am Tuesday morning. The doctor's initial plan from the time he arrived in Savannah was to wait and monitor for 5 days while his prescription blood thinners flushed out of his system, so was looking like Saturday earliest for surgery. Nurses taked about the possibility of advancing the operation early this morning (Wednesday), but couldn't get answers from the neurosurgeon. Saturday was still their standing plan when we (dad kinda included) decided I would go home tonight and come back for the weekend, save the work leave days in case it was needed next week (probably will be). I'm on the way home and stop for gas when mom calls and says that they are doing the surgery today. My sister had gone home with her family Tuesday night since her husband had to be at work today, and she is returning Thursday. So mom was there alone with no support, and I was close enough that I was seriously considering turning around even though she said no. As I was thinking about that, my vehicle broke and I had to continue home.

Not sure what my sig shows, but the current drivers are the F-100, the '99 Ranger, the F-250, and the 2010 Kia Forte. When you need to make a mad dash to the hospital 3 hours away, you are going to take the quickest ride you have that seems like it will make the trip safely. That definitely isn't the F-100, though I have no doubt it would reliably make the trip stopping at every gas station both ways (and probably want a gas can to be safe). The Ranger isn't up for it yet, need various things and transmission isn't right. The F-250 isn't the quickest, the tires should have been replaced a couple of years ago, and I canceled the tire appointment to head to Savannah. The Kia it is.

Boy did I torture test it with the drive out and the bumper to bumper rush hour traffic in Savannah. That cooling system is for sure working properly. Car still broke on the way home this afternoon, and forced me to continue the trip to the house instead of turning around. Was maybe about a third of the way home by distance (more like half way by time due to rush hour) and stopped for gas as I mentioned. Popped the car into drive and it went backwards when I hit the gas. It went backwards when I put it in neutral, park, and reverse too. Fortunately I'd encountered this before and recognized the symptoms of a broken shifter cable bushing, but for this car it isn't something that a local parts store carries. I have tools to remove the center console and get it into gear, but I can't fix it in Savannah or really drive it around the area like that. Continuing home was the only option.

I got home about 8:15pm and mom called about 8:45 to say that he was out of surgery with no complication.

As I said the important thing is that they got dad into surgery this evening (Wednesday) so he can start getting some relief. Tomorrow I'll be taking one of those days I was trying to save to get tires on the F-250 just in case I've got to take it back out this weekend. Repair bushing should be arriving Friday, but that was a repair bushing that broke, so don't trust it. Once tires are on the truck I'm going to go to the hardware store and junkyard to see if I can cobble together a more permanent fix. At the very least a way to prevent the cable from popping off if the bushing breaks again, it would work if I could keep the cable attached. Then change the oil and put proper coolant in it while I'm waiting for parts to arrive.
Man, when it rains, it pours…

Glad your dad is ok though. The rest is a nuisance but arguably more frustrating than anything. I feel your pain on vehicles, all three of mine that are on the road currently have problems because it keeps frickin raining and things are breaking faster than I can fix them. Keep your head up.
 
Not asking for anything here, but if you are the praying type, they are appreciated.

To talk about today I've got to back up and hit on a couple of things from the last month and how it all really went to shit this week. It's best that I go cronologically, but the bad parts is towards the end.

A little over a month ago I got a crack in the windshield of my dailydriver 2010 Kia Forte. Scheduled for replacement Monday of the following week wasn't a problem. That Wednesday was the injection for one of my eyes and on the way to the appointment the car starts to overheat. I make it to the appointment, but due to the procedure it's the next day before I can retrieve the car and the weekend before I can start diagnosing. Ultimately I wasted the weekend chasing a hose when it was a hairline crack in the "temperature control assembly" where the hose attached. Took a week to get the first replacement. Opened it saturday to install and it didn't include required seals (picture and description said that it did) and no one had them locally. We're into week three when I find out that the replacement housing is manufactured wrong and will not seal around the pipe coming from the water pump. Order another replacement housing, this time a new OEM Kia part, but just the housing instead of the full assembly like the first. It took two weeks to arrive after USPS sent it on a tour of the Northeast US (AZ to TN, to CT, to NH, to NJ, and finally to GA). Got that buttoned up last week and was going to drive it for several days to ensure no more leaking before adding coolant, I did manage to get atleast a few in with no signs of leakage.

Was going to drain and fill with coolant at my parent't house this past weekend, I'd left the coolant burping funnel and antifreeze there when doing the work. Dad felt like he had a sinus infection, so I stayed away to let him relax thinking I'd so it one afternoong this week. It wasn't a sinus infection. I'm not going into a detailed play by play, but dad is in the hospital again, he had a brain bleed start sometime over the weekend. Important information first is that he had surgery late this evening (Wednesday), it was successful and he should be starting to get relief.

Sunday they went to the medstop to get medicine for the sinus infection, which they did get. Monday the pain was a lot worse so they went to the ER in Warner Robins, GA. CT scan showed the brain bleed and he was air medicaved to the Memorial Hospital Neuro ICU in Savanna on that afternoon. Couldn't make it from here to the hospital there in time for visitation Monday, so hit the road about 5am Tuesday morning. The doctor's initial plan from the time he arrived in Savannah was to wait and monitor for 5 days while his prescription blood thinners flushed out of his system, so was looking like Saturday earliest for surgery. Nurses taked about the possibility of advancing the operation early this morning (Wednesday), but couldn't get answers from the neurosurgeon. Saturday was still their standing plan when we (dad kinda included) decided I would go home tonight and come back for the weekend, save the work leave days in case it was needed next week (probably will be). I'm on the way home and stop for gas when mom calls and says that they are doing the surgery today. My sister had gone home with her family Tuesday night since her husband had to be at work today, and she is returning Thursday. So mom was there alone with no support, and I was close enough that I was seriously considering turning around even though she said no. As I was thinking about that, my vehicle broke and I had to continue home.

Not sure what my sig shows, but the current drivers are the F-100, the '99 Ranger, the F-250, and the 2010 Kia Forte. When you need to make a mad dash to the hospital 3 hours away, you are going to take the quickest ride you have that seems like it will make the trip safely. That definitely isn't the F-100, though I have no doubt it would reliably make the trip stopping at every gas station both ways (and probably want a gas can to be safe). The Ranger isn't up for it yet, need various things and transmission isn't right. The F-250 isn't the quickest, the tires should have been replaced a couple of years ago, and I canceled the tire appointment to head to Savannah. The Kia it is.

Boy did I torture test it with the drive out and the bumper to bumper rush hour traffic in Savannah. That cooling system is for sure working properly. Car still broke on the way home this afternoon, and forced me to continue the trip to the house instead of turning around. Was maybe about a third of the way home by distance (more like half way by time due to rush hour) and stopped for gas as I mentioned. Popped the car into drive and it went backwards when I hit the gas. It went backwards when I put it in neutral, park, and reverse too. Fortunately I'd encountered this before and recognized the symptoms of a broken shifter cable bushing, but for this car it isn't something that a local parts store carries. I have tools to remove the center console and get it into gear, but I can't fix it in Savannah or really drive it around the area like that. Continuing home was the only option.

I got home about 8:15pm and mom called about 8:45 to say that he was out of surgery with no complication.

As I said the important thing is that they got dad into surgery this evening (Wednesday) so he can start getting some relief. Tomorrow I'll be taking one of those days I was trying to save to get tires on the F-250 just in case I've got to take it back out this weekend. Repair bushing should be arriving Friday, but that was a repair bushing that broke, so don't trust it. Once tires are on the truck I'm going to go to the hardware store and junkyard to see if I can cobble together a more permanent fix. At the very least a way to prevent the cable from popping off if the bushing breaks again, it would work if I could keep the cable attached. Then change the oil and put proper coolant in it while I'm waiting for parts to arrive.

I have cranked up the prayer machine, and I’m not just saying that. I do seriously believe in the power of prayer, He is always watching, always listening.

i’m a feeble (FEEBLE!!! Not female!!!!) old man with my own wrecks in my own junk pile in my own junkyard, but I’m about an hour and a half away. If there is something I can do to help, please let me know. When I went through the tornado, a dozen folks, “from the church,“showed up on Saturday and helped with anything and everything. I was so freaked out, I didn’t get their names, and I don’t know which church, but I am forever in their debt. I like to think I tried to pay it forward before that, but I certainly do now. Absolutely let me know if there’s anything I can do, I could even draft a few more folks to help.

Good luck with all of it, and God’s blessings on all of you.
 
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Thanks guys.

Spoke to mom a couple of hours ago and he's feeling a lot better. I called during quiet time, so mom was away, but apparently he felt good enough to call his mother and sister this morning. That is a MAJOR improvement from yesterday. Now it's a waiting game to see when they want to remove the drains. Once that is done and stabilized, he'll move out of ICU to a regular room. Sounded like the nurses were thinking he might come home middle of next week. I'm going back out either late tomorrow night or early Saturday for the weekend, then probably again when it's time to bring him home.

Got tires done on the F-250 this morning, so I can clean it out and hit the road if necessary.

Figured out a work around on the car's shifter. The bushing is intact enough to take out theslack in the connection just not good enough to keep it attached to the shifter. Adding a fender washer and retention screw to the stud on the assembly to keep the cable from falling off. At least that is the theory, it hasn't been tested yet. If the replacement bushing shows up tomorrow that would be great and the washer should help it survive since it isn't doing double duty of positioning and retaining the cable end.

Just got done with changing the oil and drained the coolant. Had to step in to cool off and check on coolant capacities. Be back at it shortly. Not sure if radio is going to happen like I'd like. Sure would be nice to have Android Auto working for navigation around Savannah.
 
Finally got the seat cushions for the Ferguson done yesterday with some help from mom. Think I’m gonna try to get a small canvas tarp for that tractor before I put the seat together for good.

Today I finally got my property mowed, then took the F-150 over and used the winch to drag a log section in a bit of chain link fence into the burn pit. Tumbled a stump into the pit, then unloaded all the wood and branches from Paul’s into the burn pile. Got the F-150 out of there just before it rained. Something, however, is not happy with the 4x4. Getting crunchy metal sounds. Just what I wanted, something else on the project list…

BTW, if I mind right, doesn’t the F-250 or F-350 in the OBS have a D-50 TTB? Anyone know if it’s better/stronger than the D-44? I’ve been thinking of swapping to the heavier axles when I rebuild the F-150…
 
There isn't much to report here. A lot of sanding or wood going on after the plywood was cut to size. The deck piece is sanded enough for assembly but I still need to do the bottom and the support base that is needed to lift the box high enough to clear the panel on the tailgate (I found a plastic panel that is made for the 2019+ Rangers that makes a flat, smooth work space that also makes climing in the bed easier on the knees and has cup holders).

Once the sanding is done, I can work on cutting the sides, back, and center support to length. Then sand and dry fit those to make sure I didn't mess anything up.
 
I vaguely remember hearing about a D50 TTB. Aren't they all setup for leaf springs?
 

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