REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!!!

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Tuesday, July 10, 2018 10:51 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Fixing the oil leak (day 1):

Hoo boy. Let's just say that things did not go according to plan.

Not that I really had a plan, per say. And I did go into this imagining the worst, so it's not as bad as it could have been at least......


So yesterday I bought a cheap ratchet set at at the car place. Don't ever buy a cheap ratchet set (details below). I also bought a harmonic balancer puller. Don't buy a cheap one of those either (details below).


Pulled off my driver side tire. Unplugged the battery. Pulled the alternator belt, then the alternator and a few mounting brackets and the top plastic housing (over the timing belt). So far, so good.

The goddamned harmonic balancer is the bane of my existance.

Used a backwoods trick to pull off the bolt using a ratchet wedged up against the body and bumped the ignition. Broke cheap ratchet. Tried again with my Craftsman ratchet, no problem.

Tried pulling off some smaller bolts with an extender bit attached from cheap ratchet set. This time it broke clean off with the torque from my bare hands. Apparently they make tools out of aluminum in China.

Managed to scrape together the remaining necessary tools I'd need from all the misc crap I've collected over the years in my garage. Should be good...

Harmonic Balancer will not budge. Video made it look easy to pull by hand. Opened up my Harmonic Balancer kit and instantly regreted doing so. This "Universal" kit doesn't have bolts small enough. Manage to find some bolts that fit in my garage, but they're super long and I have to put a ton of nuts and washers on each of them to pull it. Pulling becomes extraordinarily hard and that's when I realize because the bolts were so damn long they pressed up against the body and were bending as the balancer was being pulled. Needed to take a hacksaw to them to remove them in the 95 degree sun. Good times. (Also, I won't be able to remove Balancer with this method again if necessary because I don't have any more matching bolts).

yada yada yada...

Get to the oil pump finally. Sure enough, seal was brittle and cracked just like I thought it would be. That's a good sign. Remove it, clean everything, put some sealant on and place the new seal, and remove the seal in the shaft and replace it.

Put everything back together except for a few mounting brackets and the alternator.

Bad news 1: Timing belt assembly lines I painted on gears don't match up where they should and I have no idea why or how to fix this. Shit. Not exactly sure why this is important, but I'm sure it must be since both videos mention it. Neither video mentions what to do if you have this problem because theirs (of course) worked just perfectly.

Bad news 2: Smaller belt from the rear of the Harmonic Balancer to (I believe) the Power Steering just slightly makes contact with the plastic housing over the oil pump. Shit.

Bad news 3: When tightening the 7 bolts on the oil pump cover, I must have given far too much torque to one of them and the head snapped off. I'm hoping that I'm right in thinking that it was designed the way it was to not fail if only 6 of them were put back. It's a pretty small surface area and the 6 that are in place look as though they should hold.

Car fires up just fine, but it's obvious the belts are not operating as designed and if I left the car in this state I'd probably wreck it just driving a few miles.



The good news: I fixed the oil leak. Had the car on and off for about 4 minutes for troubleshooting purposes and not a single drop of oil. Before I did this work I'd have a pool of oil on the ground just from firing it up.


The bad news: I'm going to have to remove that Harmonic Balancer again to get anything done tomorrow. I really don't have any idea what I'm doing at this point since the videos on youtube worked under the assumption that everything should run smoothly when putting everything back together, which totally is not the case here.

Going to watch them again before bed to see if maybe I missed a step.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, July 10, 2018 11:12 PM

BRENDA


Weather site says it is suppose to dry out for the next week. Hoping I won't need a jacket tomorrow. Yipee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if it happens. It's only almost the middle of flamin' July.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018 12:41 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Your BIL knows cars? Ask for help!


"Pulled off my driver side tire."
With car on jackstand rather than tire jack for safety? (by experience)

"Tried pulling off some smaller bolts with an extender bit attached from cheap ratchet set."
Next time, spray all nuts, screws or bolts you're trying to undo with WD40, or drip any kind of oil on them (from your oil dipstick, or canola oil from home or even olive oil) about a day ahead of time. Anything that would otherwise be frozen and lead to broken tools and knuckle-busting will come off like a dream. (by experience)

"Manage to find some bolts that fit in my garage, but they're super long" "(Also, I won't be able to remove Balancer with this method again if necessary because I don't have any more matching bolts.)"
Auto Zone or other place should be able to match the originals. I think these are structural parts that need appropriate strength. (by experience)

"Timing belt assembly lines I painted on gears don't match up where they should and I have no idea why or how to fix this."
I THINK you *SHOULD* be able to turn the gears by hand with some leverage with no belts on and the car in neutral, to make the marks line up. (iirc, I've seen it done a long, long time ago.)

"Smaller belt from the rear of the Harmonic Balancer to (I believe) the Power Steering just slightly makes contact with the plastic housing over the oil pump."
Plastic housing - cosmetic or structural? If cosmetic, perhaps some filing will temporarily fix it.

"When tightening the 7 bolts on the oil pump cover, I must have given far too much torque to one of them and the head snapped off."
This I believe is an important sealing surface. You could probably get away with it for a while, but it might leak over time. Get an easy-out tool to extract the broken-off bolt and replace the bolt. Next time - insert each bolt by hand till finger tight (good for all bolts, screws, and nuts; you will never cross-thread them or put a metric on a standard or the other way around, if you do them up to finger-tight by hand). Snug up the bolts (or nuts or screws) a bit at a time, going by more or less opposites (that way you won't warp the piece by putting too much pressure on one spot). Only go good and tight, not as far as you can possibly manage (except for head gaskets). (by experience)

GREAT JOB so far and I hope the finishing details go smoothly!


SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018 7:52 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
Your BIL knows cars? Ask for help!


It's my brother's BIL, and he works 2 jobs and has 4 kids. I think getting him to come over here now that my car won't move would be harder than pulling teeth. Plus, he lives about 1 1/2 hours from me. :(

Quote:
"Pulled off my driver side tire."
With car on jackstand rather than tire jack for safety? (by experience)


All I have is the scissor lift from my trunk. Not looking to spend much here. I put a block under it, the parking break is on and I'm on a flat surface. It didn't budge an inch on me yesterday.

Quote:
"Tried pulling off some smaller bolts with an extender bit attached from cheap ratchet set."
Next time, spray all nuts, screws or bolts you're trying to undo with WD40, or drip any kind of oil on them (from your oil dipstick, or canola oil from home or even olive oil) about a day ahead of time. Anything that would otherwise be frozen and lead to broken tools and knuckle-busting will come off like a dream. (by experience)


Noted. No new bolts to remove at this point. Just going to have to take a lot apart again that I already took apart yesterday.

It really was a piece of shit set from China though. I'll admit that breaking the wrench was my fault using the ratchet in a non-approved by anyone manner. I thought I probably wouldn't take the set in for my money back when that happened, but when I broke the extender bit turning a 10mm bolt holding the top plastic housing with my bare hands, I knew it was just a crap set. That's what you get when you buy a 56 pc. ratchet set for 20% off $12.99. I didn't get it at Harbor Freight, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had the same kit.

Quote:
"Manage to find some bolts that fit in my garage, but they're super long" "(Also, I won't be able to remove Balancer with this method again if necessary because I don't have any more matching bolts.)"
Auto Zone or other place should be able to match the originals. I think these are structural parts that need appropriate strength. (by experience)


Hopefully Advance Auto Parts does. That's where I got the kit and it's about a mile and 1/2 away from me. I'm going to be walking there today if I can't get it off by hand.

Quote:
"Timing belt assembly lines I painted on gears don't match up where they should and I have no idea why or how to fix this."
I THINK you *SHOULD* be able to turn the gears by hand with some leverage with no belts on and the car in neutral, to make the marks line up. (iirc, I've seen it done a long, long time ago.)


Well.... that makes sense. Now that I think about it, I probably put them out of alignment when I tightened the bolt on the Harmonic Balancer that I had so much problems taking off in the first place. Didn't even occur to me until I read your reply here that any turning that was done on that pulley was without the timing belt on so there is no way they would have maintained alignment if I moved it.

Quote:
"Smaller belt from the rear of the Harmonic Balancer to (I believe) the Power Steering just slightly makes contact with the plastic housing over the oil pump."
Plastic housing - cosmetic or structural? If cosmetic, perhaps some filing will temporarily fix it.


Neither? It's not structural, but protection from the elements, I'm sure. It's part of a 2 part plasting housing over the entire timing belt and power steering assembly on the "passenger side" of the engine where all the sprockets, pulleys and tensioners are. Tons of oil in there because of the leak over time, but nary a speck of dust otherwise.

I've got to remove it again to get to the timing belt, so I'm just going to have to make sure I do a better job of making sure it's on right. I'm positive this wasn't happening before or that belt would have frayed and broke a long time ago.

Quote:
"When tightening the 7 bolts on the oil pump cover, I must have given far too much torque to one of them and the head snapped off."
This I believe is an important sealing surface. You could probably get away with it for a while, but it might leak over time. Get an easy-out tool to extract the broken-off bolt and replace the bolt. Next time - insert each bolt by hand till finger tight (good for all bolts, screws, and nuts; you will never cross-thread them or put a metric on a standard or the other way around, if you do them up to finger-tight by hand). Snug up the bolts (or nuts or screws) a bit at a time, going by more or less opposites (that way you won't warp the piece by putting too much pressure on one spot). Only go good and tight, not as far as you can possibly manage (except for head gaskets). (by experience)


It's definately an important sealing surface. It's the cap that covers the 2 seals that I just replaced that fixed the leak.

Unfortunately, it was one of the 3 bolts on the top end of the cover, which means that I don't see any possible way of getting it out with an easy out tool... even with my 90 degree drill. There's only about enough clearance there to get a ratchet in just barely. If it were one of the lower bolts, I would be able to get to it from the tire well.

Here's an image of what I'm talking about:



It's everything surrounding the sprocket on the left. The bolts have been removed on this image, but the one I'm talking about is just above the sprocket in the middle of the top end. There are 7 in total.

Here's an image of the inside of the top plate removed:



When put back in, it's the middle bolt on the left side of that 2nd image that is missing now.

Hopefully I can get by without it and the two outside bolts will maintain enough pressure. If not, I'd imagine at this point I'm going to need somebody to pull the engine out of the car completely to get it fixed. :(

Quote:
GREAT JOB so far and I hope the finishing details go smoothly!


Thanks. I'd feel a lot better if I didn't break that bolt. I think everything else can be fixed at this point except for that.

It's actually been kind of fun in a way and it's bringing back a lot of what I learned in that mechatronics class I took a few years back. I just wish It was on a second car and not my only mode of transportation.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018 7:35 PM

BRENDA


It hit around 80F today. So nice.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018 9:23 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


"It's my brother's BIL, and he works 2 jobs and has 4 kids. I think getting him to come over here now that my car won't move would be harder than pulling teeth. Plus, he lives about 1 1/2 hours from me. :( "

DRAT!

"I put a block under it, the parking break is on and I'm on a flat surface. It didn't budge an inch on me yesterday."

Oh, a block works well, too. I've seen a tire jack tip and a car roll away off it. Not fun. Plus I like to feel safe under a car. Out of curiosity, do you know where the support points are on your car?

"Hopefully Advance Auto Parts does. That's where I got the kit and it's about a mile and 1/2 away from me. I'm going to be walking there today if I can't get it off by hand."

I feel for you. Do I know THAT drill! Maybe call first with make, model, year, part description. If they don't have it, perhaps they can order it, or tell you who has it. (I presume they come as a set.)

"Well.... that makes sense."

Gosh I hope so! My recollection is, generally, if you're turning a gear, you're turning what it's attached to. Some gears will literally turn the engine (which is why it could help to put it in neutral, so turning engine isn't also trying to turn the wheels).

"I've got to remove it again to get to the timing belt, so I'm just going to have to make sure I do a better job of making sure it's on right. I'm positive this wasn't happening before or that belt would have frayed and broke a long time ago."

It's not ideal to start 'modifying' parts - but I've had a lot of emergency roadside repairs that did just that. If you have to to get it moving ...

"Hopefully I can get by without it and the two outside bolts will maintain enough pressure."

Fingers crossed! FWIW I ran around on 3 lug nuts out of 4 because when I got new tires, the (bozos) just threw the nut into the pneumatic wrench and powered it on - they never noticed they cross-threaded it. So when I had a flat, not only was it a b!#@h to get the nut off (I had help from a very kind person), but the lug bolt was ruined, and I didn't have time to get a new one right away. It was OK.


GOOD LUCK Jack!!


SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).

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Thursday, July 12, 2018 6:12 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Day 2:

Not so kind... Although in the end the car does run.

I managed to find two more bolts that fit the Harmonic Balancer and managed to position it in a way that I didn't break them and they would be reusable with the kit if I need them again.

Spent about 3 hours messing with the timing with no luck. Cam sprocket seems to be "fighting" with me and will be really hard to turn, until it isn't and it kind of "flies" about 25 degrees and stops. Extremely tricky to try to get it lined up because of this, and I don't think it's supposed to do that. I can't find any videos online about it though. It may be a serious engine problem.

At one point the car wouldn't start and I thought I toasted it. Made some adjustments and it fired up again. All the while, the check engine light is on which was really worrisome.

Second day in the full brutal hot sun and I was starting to feel a little sick. I'd had enough and decided that this is as good as it was going to get so put it all back together.

2nd belt that was rubbing doesn't rub anymore, so there's that.

Absolutely everything fought me at every step. Even the mounting brackets I had to take off before and just after taking off the alternator did not want to line up and took forever to set. Speaking of the alternator, it took me about an hour to position everything right so the alternator belt wasn't screeching wildly.

Once everything was back in place the check engine light came off. I'm guessing not having the alternator attached tripped it maybe?

Drove the car about a mile and although it's louder than it used to be it seems to run fine. Noise dies down as gas pedal is down. I'm going to have to drive it more today to see if it's at all reliable now. Not looking forward to being on the expressway with no cell phone.

There still seems to be a minor oil leak, but I have no idea where it's coming from. It looks to be about 1/100th of what it was before, so maybe all of this will be worth it if the car doesn't blow up on me now.

I might have to bite the bullet and take it to a pro. :(

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, July 12, 2018 6:14 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
"It's my brother's BIL, and he works 2 jobs and has 4 kids. I think getting him to come over here now that my car won't move would be harder than pulling teeth. Plus, he lives about 1 1/2 hours from me. :( "

DRAT!


Yeah... That's why I went ahead and just did it on my own. Just seeing my bro and my niece has been a hassle recently since he got a part time job, and trying to co-ordinate something with his BIL seemed to be an effort in futility. One way or another I want to know by the end of August if I have to buy a new car or I can invest money in this one to get it safe for winter driving and I ran out of time to wait for him. Hopefully now though I can get him to look at the current issues and tell me if he thinks I'm okay or not.

Quote:
"I put a block under it, the parking break is on and I'm on a flat surface. It didn't budge an inch on me yesterday."

Oh, a block works well, too. I've seen a tire jack tip and a car roll away off it. Not fun. Plus I like to feel safe under a car. Out of curiosity, do you know where the support points are on your car?


I don't. The work is done now though, and I made sure to shake the car around a bunch before I got underneath it. Earthquakes are pretty out of the ordinary around these parts, so I think I was being reasonably safe here.

Quote:
"Hopefully Advance Auto Parts does. That's where I got the kit and it's about a mile and 1/2 away from me. I'm going to be walking there today if I can't get it off by hand."

I feel for you. Do I know THAT drill! Maybe call first with make, model, year, part description. If they don't have it, perhaps they can order it, or tell you who has it. (I presume they come as a set.)


I was able to rig it up to work again with new bolts and managed to do it smart this time so I could reuse them if I needed to. The only question at this point is do I try to press my luck and return the thing along with the ratchet set that broke since I was actually able to use it.

Quote:
"Well.... that makes sense."

Gosh I hope so! My recollection is, generally, if you're turning a gear, you're turning what it's attached to. Some gears will literally turn the engine (which is why it could help to put it in neutral, so turning engine isn't also trying to turn the wheels).


See the above post. Not sure if I did this right and it might be the "problem".

Quote:
"I've got to remove it again to get to the timing belt, so I'm just going to have to make sure I do a better job of making sure it's on right. I'm positive this wasn't happening before or that belt would have frayed and broke a long time ago."

It's not ideal to start 'modifying' parts - but I've had a lot of emergency roadside repairs that did just that. If you have to to get it moving ...


See above. I did it right this time and there is no rubbing. There is a "groove" in the cover now though that didn't used to be there from when the belt was rubbing though, so it's a good thing I redid everything.

Quote:
"Hopefully I can get by without it and the two outside bolts will maintain enough pressure."

Fingers crossed! FWIW I ran around on 3 lug nuts out of 4 because when I got new tires, the (bozos) just threw the nut into the pneumatic wrench and powered it on - they never noticed they cross-threaded it. So when I had a flat, not only was it a b!#@h to get the nut off (I had help from a very kind person), but the lug bolt was ruined, and I didn't have time to get a new one right away. It was OK.


Funny you mention that. I'm already running on 4 of 5 bolts on one of my tires when I snapped one off a few years ago when changing a tire (I have a habit of breaking things with my bare hands that shouldn't be easy to break). I researched it at the time and 4 out of 5 bolts is okay to run on. Now with a few years of driving on it, I can vouch for that. Running on 3 out of 4 is NOT okay though. Glad you got that taken care of before something bad happened. :)

Quote:
GOOD LUCK Jack!!


Thanks.



Working on the Car (Day 3 - Final?):

Well... that was it. There was nothing more in my power to do. It was buttoned back up and ready to test.

I thought I'd drive around 10 or 20 minutes doing circles around my neighborhood at first before attempting anything more "dangerous", but after about 2 minutes of that I started getting bored and just went for it.

I initially thought I'd just drive a single exit on the expressway, but really... what would that prove? I needed to know if it could get me back to work or not.

Drove to work at my regular speed of around 70, and even pushed it to 80mph for a while there. Made it all the way to work. Stopped off on my way back and bought some gas, then fired her up and drove back home in rush hour traffic, so I did get to test it in different circumstances and I made it back home in one piece without the car blowing up on me.

A few things of note...

Car seems to start up differently. It fires right up, but something seems just a tad "off". It also seems to possibly be idling rougher than it did and make a little bit more noise than it used to.

There have always been other minor issues and annoyances with this car though. It could just be that I'm being hypersensitive about everything at the moment and in time I'll be comfortable driving it again.

The oil leak is now inconsequential. After driving about 40 miles on it today I came back home and it still read Full on the dipstick. Several hours later, there is 3 minor drops of oil on the fresh cardbord underneath.

I did the math and since November 14th when I started working until now (less than 8 months) I've put 108 quarts of oil into the car just to keep it running!!!! Only time will tell, but if I didn't do anything majorly wrong when putting it back together and I'm still driving it in 6 months, it would surprise me if I had to put more than a quart in there in between 6 month oil changes.

Fingers crossed that everything is fine and I'm hoping to get my BIL to at least take a look and a test drive and give me his opinion on it. I figure by the end of August I should know if it's wise to invest more money to get this car safe for winter or if I need to buckle down and find a new ride.


This was actually really fun in retrospect, minus all of the inner-turmoil. It would have been really fun if it was a 2nd car that I was restoring and I had all the time in the world to work on it and make everything perfect. Maybe one day I can get all the big bills out of the way and have a little extra cash so I can start doing that type of thing on the side. I can see why Kaylee was smiling all the time.


Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, July 14, 2018 3:57 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


So a guy my stepdad knew that he trusted with cars quoted me $275 to fix the timing if I need it. To the lay person, that might seem a bit expensive, but really I'd imagine that's quite a bit cheaper than I'm going to get quoted elsewhere. Honestly, 90% of the total job I did replacing that seal was getting down to the timing belt and removing it. You've got to remove the alternator/alternator belt, several mounting brackets, several plastic housings, the harmonic balancer and the power steering belt before you can even get down to the timing belt and have access to rotate the camshaft and crankshaft. At that point you're just 7 bolts away from removing and replacing the oil pump seal.

So $275 doesn't actually sound all that bad when you consider that my two quotes for replacing the seal were $500 and $600 before I did any work myself.

What I didn't really care for was the quote he gave me for doing the breaks. He said if I bought the parts he'd do it for $75 bucks. It's been ages since I had a break job done, so maybe that's a deal in 2018, but that seems rather high to me... especially considering while doing the timing job he already has one of the tires off and has full access to the passenger side pads.



I'm going to wait until after I work to call the guy back I really don't want to pay that much to have this part of the job done, but if I can't get it right myself I need to have it fixed. I'm wondering if I can ask him what the price would be if I got the car down there and stripped it down to the timing belt and he just fixed that for me and I put it back together myself.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, July 14, 2018 4:33 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


I don't have any advice, but it does sound to me like the timing is off, as you suspect. I hope it gets fixed soon, SIX!

******

Hubby's surgery went well, surgeon says "not cancer" (but of course, you always wait for the pathologist to weigh in!) so of course he's relieved but is on steroids and is very, very grumpy. Not too surprisingly, so am I! TTUL

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Sunday, July 15, 2018 12:00 AM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I don't have any advice, but it does sound to me like the timing is off, as you suspect. I hope it gets fixed soon, SIX!

******

Hubby's surgery went well, surgeon says "not cancer" (but of course, you always wait for the pathologist to weigh in!) so of course he's relieved but is on steroids and is very, very grumpy. Not too surprisingly, so am I! TTUL

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876


*Fingers crossed* for you and your husband that it isn't. Glad the surgery went smooth too.

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Sunday, July 15, 2018 5:55 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


This thread had 666 posts, couldn't let that stand.

Recently heard about soy and the estrogenic effects causing cancer in human women (but not in porcine). Have you all discussed that in here lately?

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Sunday, July 15, 2018 6:18 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN


Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
So a guy my stepdad knew that he trusted with cars quoted me $275 to fix the timing if I need it. To the lay person, that might seem a bit expensive, but really I'd imagine that's quite a bit cheaper than I'm going to get quoted elsewhere. Honestly, 90% of the total job I did replacing that seal was getting down to the timing belt and removing it. You've got to remove the alternator/alternator belt, several mounting brackets, several plastic housings, the harmonic balancer and the power steering belt before you can even get down to the timing belt and have access to rotate the camshaft and crankshaft. At that point you're just 7 bolts away from removing and replacing the oil pump seal.

So $275 doesn't actually sound all that bad when you consider that my two quotes for replacing the seal were $500 and $600 before I did any work myself.

What I didn't really care for was the quote he gave me for doing the breaks. He said if I bought the parts he'd do it for $75 bucks. It's been ages since I had a break job done, so maybe that's a deal in 2018, but that seems rather high to me... especially considering while doing the timing job he already has one of the tires off and has full access to the passenger side pads.



I'm going to wait until after I work to call the guy back I really don't want to pay that much to have this part of the job done, but if I can't get it right myself I need to have it fixed. I'm wondering if I can ask him what the price would be if I got the car down there and stripped it down to the timing belt and he just fixed that for me and I put it back together myself.

Do Right, Be Right. :)
geez. IIRC, the last 6 vehicles I bought were $600 each.

And why pay somebody else to do a brake job? I did my last one some weeks ago, in my driveway in the dark and rain (ran out of time).

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Sunday, July 15, 2018 6:48 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
geez. IIRC, the last 6 vehicles I bought were $600 each.


I never got one that cheap. Got this one back in 2008 for $2,000 though. Served me pretty well for most of that decade. I've actually paid quite a bit more keeping legal insurance in that time than I've paid for the car in the long run.

Quote:
And why pay somebody else to do a brake job? I did my last one some weeks ago, in my driveway in the dark and rain (ran out of time).


Nah... I'm going to do it. I figured I'd ask for shits and giggles since half of what would need to be exposed would already be open. Not very impressed with that $75 plus parts response. I've never done breaks myself, but after what I just did I'd imagine it's a lot closer to changing the spark plugs than it is trying to get the timing right.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, July 15, 2018 7:30 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I don't have any advice, but it does sound to me like the timing is off, as you suspect. I hope it gets fixed soon, SIX!

******

Hubby's surgery went well, surgeon says "not cancer" (but of course, you always wait for the pathologist to weigh in!) so of course he's relieved but is on steroids and is very, very grumpy. Not too surprisingly, so am I! TTUL


Good not to get your hopes up until you know.

I'll just say that in 2018 it's probably not wise for anybody in the profession to say "not something" unless they know damn well it's not something. Mistakes can be made, and I'm sure all the doctors aren't out their quivering in fear about every single little thing they say, but I think your husband is is pretty good shape here. :)

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, July 15, 2018 2:05 PM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
This thread had 666 posts, couldn't let that stand.

Recently heard about soy and the estrogenic effects causing cancer in human women (but not in porcine). Have you all discussed that in here lately?


Don't think that was and I had heard that years ago. About human women.

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Sunday, July 15, 2018 2:24 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:
This thread had 666 posts, couldn't let that stand. Recently heard about soy and the estrogenic effects causing cancer in human women (but not in porcine). Have you all discussed that in here lately? - JSF


HAHAHAHA!

When I had an excisional breast biopsy to examine some very strange (to the pathologists who looked at it) tissue, I asked both my gyn AND my surgeon (who also does cancer research) if there were any foods that I should avoid and they both said SOY Don't eat it more than once a week.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Monday, July 16, 2018 10:57 PM

BRENDA


Nice and sunny here today.

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Monday, July 16, 2018 11:25 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Nice and sunny here today.




Nice to hear it Brenda. Miserable and 89% humidity here. My sweat is sticking to my sweat. I honestly can't wait to go back to work so I can spend some time in the A/C again.



So my bro is going to try to arrange something with his BIL next week to maybe give me 15-20 minutes of his time. My plan is to go to my bro's house in the afternoon and strip the engine back down to get the timing belt off, and when his BIL is coming home from work he can swing by and maybe between the two of us we can get the timing right. Then if I can't put it all back together again before nightfall I can just crash on the couch and finish it in the morning.

According to somebody on a DIY forum, the camshaft fighting with me isn't all that abnormal and shouldn't be anything to worry about. It's just more pronounced on some engines than others.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, July 16, 2018 11:31 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


sigh

Blazingly hot and stultifyingly humid today - just like the last few weeks were, and the next few weeks will be. And despite the humidity, it's dry, dry, dry as a bone. Even the 100 year old native cedar tree and the drought tolerant native oaks are drying up, and constantly need to be rescued from death with whatever water I can get on them.

Rain and snow are how one pays for green landscapes. Without them, it would look like here.

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Monday, July 16, 2018 11:50 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Yeah... I hate the winter when it's here, but it's good for the landscaping.

Plus it's nice not to have any huge nasty bugs that you find in all the places that you don't get the annual deep freeze.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, July 17, 2018 2:28 AM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Nice and sunny here today.




Nice to hear it Brenda. Miserable and 89% humidity here. My sweat is sticking to my sweat. I honestly can't wait to go back to work so I can spend some time in the A/C again.



So my bro is going to try to arrange something with his BIL next week to maybe give me 15-20 minutes of his time. My plan is to go to my bro's house in the afternoon and strip the engine back down to get the timing belt off, and when his BIL is coming home from work he can swing by and maybe between the two of us we can get the timing right. Then if I can't put it all back together again before nightfall I can just crash on the couch and finish it in the morning.

According to somebody on a DIY forum, the camshaft fighting with me isn't all that abnormal and shouldn't be anything to worry about. It's just more pronounced on some engines than others.



Do Right, Be Right. :)


Sorry to say this Jack. But you can keep your A/C. Almost everywhere I go in malls and stores in the Summer the A/C I swear is cranked up as high as it can go and I just freeze. I hate A/C.

At least with the sun, I will pick up some colour. And the heat feels sooooo good.

I hope everything works out with your car. Fingers crossed for you.

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Tuesday, July 17, 2018 2:29 AM

BRENDA


Went to the vampires today. I'll go in next week to find out what they say.

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Tuesday, July 17, 2018 2:59 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Nice and sunny here today.




Nice to hear it Brenda. Miserable and 89% humidity here. My sweat is sticking to my sweat. I honestly can't wait to go back to work so I can spend some time in the A/C again.



So my bro is going to try to arrange something with his BIL next week to maybe give me 15-20 minutes of his time. My plan is to go to my bro's house in the afternoon and strip the engine back down to get the timing belt off, and when his BIL is coming home from work he can swing by and maybe between the two of us we can get the timing right. Then if I can't put it all back together again before nightfall I can just crash on the couch and finish it in the morning.

According to somebody on a DIY forum, the camshaft fighting with me isn't all that abnormal and shouldn't be anything to worry about. It's just more pronounced on some engines than others.



Do Right, Be Right. :)


Sorry to say this Jack. But you can keep your A/C. Almost everywhere I go in malls and stores in the Summer the A/C I swear is cranked up as high as it can go and I just freeze. I hate A/C.

At least with the sun, I will pick up some colour. And the heat feels sooooo good.

I hope everything works out with your car. Fingers crossed for you.


Well... I don't have A/C in the house or even my car. It's nice to be inside of it when I'm doing really physical work though. The last retail job I had turned it off at night and it would be near 100 degrees and I don't think I could really handle that anymore even though I'm good shape.

I don't know how it gets during summer up in the great white north, but when we're stuck in the 90's for about a week and humidity is close to 90% and you're only dipping to the low 60's at night you just can't cool anything off without the A/C. I'm going to have my windows open all night and the lowest it's going to get in my house by the time I need to close them again is the low 80's.

I'm going to look for a deal on an A/C unit when the summer is over this year. I won't use it but once a day just to get the humidity out of the house when it gets like this.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, July 17, 2018 4:00 PM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Nice and sunny here today.




Nice to hear it Brenda. Miserable and 89% humidity here. My sweat is sticking to my sweat. I honestly can't wait to go back to work so I can spend some time in the A/C again.



So my bro is going to try to arrange something with his BIL next week to maybe give me 15-20 minutes of his time. My plan is to go to my bro's house in the afternoon and strip the engine back down to get the timing belt off, and when his BIL is coming home from work he can swing by and maybe between the two of us we can get the timing right. Then if I can't put it all back together again before nightfall I can just crash on the couch and finish it in the morning.

According to somebody on a DIY forum, the camshaft fighting with me isn't all that abnormal and shouldn't be anything to worry about. It's just more pronounced on some engines than others.



Do Right, Be Right. :)


Sorry to say this Jack. But you can keep your A/C. Almost everywhere I go in malls and stores in the Summer the A/C I swear is cranked up as high as it can go and I just freeze. I hate A/C.

At least with the sun, I will pick up some colour. And the heat feels sooooo good.

I hope everything works out with your car. Fingers crossed for you.


Well... I don't have A/C in the house or even my car. It's nice to be inside of it when I'm doing really physical work though. The last retail job I had turned it off at night and it would be near 100 degrees and I don't think I could really handle that anymore even though I'm good shape.

I don't know how it gets during summer up in the great white north, but when we're stuck in the 90's for about a week and humidity is close to 90% and you're only dipping to the low 60's at night you just can't cool anything off without the A/C. I'm going to have my windows open all night and the lowest it's going to get in my house by the time I need to close them again is the low 80's.

I'm going to look for a deal on an A/C unit when the summer is over this year. I won't use it but once a day just to get the humidity out of the house when it gets like this.

Do Right, Be Right. :)


Weather site I go to says the humidity in my area is at 43% but then it is suppose to cloud over for a couple of days then by next Monday go up to around 29C which is 88F. So I will have to check back.


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Tuesday, July 17, 2018 8:15 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Yeah. It was 89% humidity last night at around 11:00PM by me. Fortunately, it never hit 80 degrees today, so even though the humidity was high I just left the windows open all day. As I expected, it was 82 in my house this morning. I just looked right now and it's reading 80. It's supposed to get down to 61 tonight, so when I get back from work it should actually be pretty comfortable for the first time in about a week.

The 10 day looks pretty good now. Looks like less humidity and only a few days in the low to mid 80s. Would have preferred that weather on my stretch of off days though. Oh well.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, July 17, 2018 10:08 PM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Yeah. It was 89% humidity last night at around 11:00PM by me. Fortunately, it never hit 80 degrees today, so even though the humidity was high I just left the windows open all day. As I expected, it was 82 in my house this morning. I just looked right now and it's reading 80. It's supposed to get down to 61 tonight, so when I get back from work it should actually be pretty comfortable for the first time in about a week.

The 10 day looks pretty good now. Looks like less humidity and only a few days in the low to mid 80s. Would have preferred that weather on my stretch of off days though. Oh well.

Do Right, Be Right. :)


Outside today it must have it around 80F at least then the clouds rolled in. Right now the thermometer I've got in my place reads at about 78F which means I am nice a comfortable.

It'll start getting cooler as it gets later. Right now the sun is till out and the sky is pretty blue with a bit of clouds.

With clouds it means jeans instead of shorts when I go to my chiropactor's tomorrow, then just have to see what happens for the rest of the week.

Did notice today while I was combing my hair that some spots have gone black because of all the sun we've been getting up here for the last couple of days.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 4:19 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Well, we have AC here; and a good thing too because hubby has some really weird temperature-regulating thing going on. So I'm totally and completely spoiled.

However, I HAVE been working outdoors; like I said: Our former gardener "Dave" left for a much better situation (He keeps sending me pix of Idaho, damn him! It looks so nice!) and I have to put in at least an hour a day just to keep up. Hmm... maybe not even keeping up! So I take doggie out for a one-hour walk, then get in an hour of vigorous gardening and I sweat my ass off! My T-shirt gets pretty wet. So after that, I'm ready for a nap!

******

So, those tasty pineapple-teriyaki meatballs that the family likes? I bumped up the ground ginger, and reduced the pineapple a bit which makes for a better recipe, and make them kebob-style: Browned meatballs, onion, red pepper, and (pre-cooked) yam slices, broiled. Served with salad (lettuce for hubby, arugula for me, with radicchio, green onion and finely-shredded cabbage and yogurt blue-cheese/lite Caesar dressing, and strawberries and red wine. I figured that hubby would be less grumpy if he had something to focus on besides how awful he feels. Guess what? It worked!!


******

Quote:
Did notice today while I was combing my hair that some spots have gone black because of all the sun we've been getting up here for the last couple of days.
How does that work? Usually my hair gets bleached by the sun???


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 7:36 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Do you have anything really tying you down to Cali, Sigs?

With all the taxes out there I'd be looking to get out asap. I don't know if Idaho's a big retirement destination or not, but my parents LOVE Arizona. I've never actually seen a mountain in my life, and they've got a beautiful view of one right outside their back patio door where they spend their evenings relaxing. Looks lovely and there's almost zero humidity which is great for my Mom's MS.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 8:24 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Do you have anything really tying you down to Cali, Sigs?

With all the taxes out there I'd be looking to get out asap. I don't know if Idaho's a big retirement destination or not, but my parents LOVE Arizona. I've never actually seen a mountain in my life, and they've got a beautiful view of one right outside their back patio door where they spend their evenings relaxing. Looks lovely and there's almost zero humidity which is great for my Mom's MS.

Do Right, Be Right. :)
Well, quite a bit, actually. Hubby is still working at a job that can't possible be replaced, with benefits that can't be duplicated, so until he retires we're still here. Also, like you, we have a house, and I would like to finish up fixing it up before we put it up for sale. We need to be extremely careful about health insurance and medical benefits for our darling daughter ... altho she's eligible for Medicare, not all states require that insurances sell "medigap" for people under 65, plus our health insurance (one hubby retires) is still tied to specific providers. And, we have some family here.

So I'm just trying to get thru Step One of the Get Out of California Plan ... fix up the house. It has been very difficult because hubby's ongoing health problems and dear daughter's disabilities means that I get to do everything - from chauffering her around to keeping up with hubby's health to yardwork to cooking to taxes to legal matters to my own health problems; finding and honchoing contractors and taking care of minor repairs and maintenance only gets an hour a day, at most. The day before, I narrowed down where the sprinkler zone problem was (the valve). Yesterday, I screwed the dishwasher into the frame so it wouldn't keep tipping forward (the installer didn't finish the job) and painted a window casing for installation. Today, I finished up with the AC repair guys (Freezing up at the compressor, baffles/dampers not moving for zone heating), today I'm slated to give the casing another coat of paint and install it.

Which reminds me .... I have to figure out how to rebuild or replace a sprinkler valve ... yanno, one of this big brass jobs. I managed to troubleshoot it to the valve itself (not the controller, not the solenoid, not the incoming water pressure, not a break in the downstream line) so I'm going to to some inet research. The inet ... what a wonderful thing!

But I feel like the Little Dutch Boy with my fingers in about 17 holes ... and I only have 10 fingers!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 8:50 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


AHA! And here it is!



I didn't realize there was a nut right underneath the actuator/ diaphragm. Easy peasy!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 9:17 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Do you have anything really tying you down to Cali, Sigs?

With all the taxes out there I'd be looking to get out asap. I don't know if Idaho's a big retirement destination or not, but my parents LOVE Arizona. I've never actually seen a mountain in my life, and they've got a beautiful view of one right outside their back patio door where they spend their evenings relaxing. Looks lovely and there's almost zero humidity which is great for my Mom's MS.

Do Right, Be Right. :)
Well, quite a bit, actually. Hubby is still working at a job that can't possible be replaced, with benefits that can't be duplicated, so until he retires we're still here. Also, like you, we have a house, and I would like to finish up fixing it up before we put it up for sale. We need to be extremely careful about health insurance and medical benefits for our darling daughter ... altho she's eligible for Medicare, not all states require that insurances sell "medigap" for people under 65, plus our health insurance (one hubby retires) is still tied to specific providers. And, we have some family here.

So I'm just trying to get thru Step One of the Get Out of California Plan ... fix up the house. It has been very difficult because hubby's ongoing health problems and dear daughter's disabilities means that I get to do everything - from chauffering her around to keeping up with hubby's health to yardwork to cooking to taxes to legal matters to my own health problems; finding and honchoing contractors and taking care of minor repairs and maintenance only gets an hour a day, at most. The day before, I narrowed down where the sprinkler zone problem was (the valve). Yesterday, I screwed the dishwasher into the frame so it wouldn't keep tipping forward (the installer didn't finish the job) and painted a window casing for installation. Today, I finished up with the AC repair guys (Freezing up at the compressor, baffles/dampers not moving for zone heating), today I'm slated to give the casing another coat of paint and install it.

Which reminds me .... I have to figure out how to rebuild or replace a sprinkler valve ... yanno, one of this big brass jobs. I managed to troubleshoot it to the valve itself (not the controller, not the solenoid, not the incoming water pressure, not a break in the downstream line) so I'm going to to some inet research. The inet ... what a wonderful thing!

But I feel like the Little Dutch Boy with my fingers in about 17 holes ... and I only have 10 fingers!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876


It's really too bad that I don't live by you. Considering what you paid your gardener, I think you'd pay me quite well for the work I could do on your house and you'd be getting a steal compared to paying the "pros".

Ain't Youtube wonderful?

I was just talking to my store manager about it this morning for about 10 minutes when I broke the news to her that I would no longer be putting a large part of my wages back into cheap motor oil. :)

Glad you figured out your sprinkler issue. ;)


I couldn't remember if you and your husband were actually retired yet. Might as well make that money while the gettin' is good. Smart to work on the house now though so you can move as soon as you figure everything else out.

While it's true my house kind of ties me down to where I'm at, the taxes are so cheap and I like my neighbors. It's close enough to my family to not be a problem too. I don't imagine I'm going to be moving for a very long time unless something major were to pop up.

I won't be paying in property taxes until late 2023 what my brother who lives 15 miles from me across state lines will pay this year.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 12:43 PM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Well, we have AC here; and a good thing too because hubby has some really weird temperature-regulating thing going on. So I'm totally and completely spoiled.

However, I HAVE been working outdoors; like I said: Our former gardener "Dave" left for a much better situation (He keeps sending me pix of Idaho, damn him! It looks so nice!) and I have to put in at least an hour a day just to keep up. Hmm... maybe not even keeping up! So I take doggie out for a one-hour walk, then get in an hour of vigorous gardening and I sweat my ass off! My T-shirt gets pretty wet. So after that, I'm ready for a nap!

******

So, those tasty pineapple-teriyaki meatballs that the family likes? I bumped up the ground ginger, and reduced the pineapple a bit which makes for a better recipe, and make them kebob-style: Browned meatballs, onion, red pepper, and (pre-cooked) yam slices, broiled. Served with salad (lettuce for hubby, arugula for me, with radicchio, green onion and finely-shredded cabbage and yogurt blue-cheese/lite Caesar dressing, and strawberries and red wine. I figured that hubby would be less grumpy if he had something to focus on besides how awful he feels. Guess what? It worked!!


******

Quote:
Did notice today while I was combing my hair that some spots have gone black because of all the sun we've been getting up here for the last couple of days.
How does that work? Usually my hair gets bleached by the sun???


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876


Well Sig, I take a fair amount of seizure medication so that could be the reason and also my Native blood too I think plays into it. My hair goes from brown to black in the summer depending on the amount of sun we get up here.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 2:48 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:
It's really too bad that I don't live by you. Considering what you paid your gardener, I think you'd pay me quite well for the work I could do on your house and you'd be getting a steal compared to paying the "pros".
Well, bad for me. Good for you!
Do you have any idea of the COSTS around here??? Plus all of the traffic and aggravation?? You'd HATE the lifestyle!!!


Quote:
Ain't Youtube wonderful?
No shit! With all of that knowledge at people's fingertips, they should be vastly empowered! I'm getting smarter every day!


Quote:
I was just talking to my store manager about it this morning for about 10 minutes when I broke the news to her that I would no longer be putting a large part of my wages back into cheap motor oil. :)
Well, oil IS expensive! So, what are you going to do with that "extra" money? (Knowing you, you'll probably save it or turn it to productive use, and not just fritter it away.)

Quote:
Did notice today while I was combing my hair that some spots have gone black because of all the sun we've been getting up here for the last couple of days.- BRENDA

How does that work? Usually my hair gets bleached by the sun??? SIGNY

Well Sig, I take a fair amount of seizure medication so that could be the reason and also my Native blood too I think plays into it. My hair goes from brown to black in the summer depending on the amount of sun we get up here.- BRENDA


I wonder if overall you're lacking vitamin D. I know (from dear daughter's trials of many anticonvulsants) that some of them - carbamazepine for sure - reduce the amount of vita D in the system. Dear daughter's doctor recommended additional vitamin D.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 7:38 PM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
It's really too bad that I don't live by you. Considering what you paid your gardener, I think you'd pay me quite well for the work I could do on your house and you'd be getting a steal compared to paying the "pros".
Well, bad for me. Good for you!
Do you have any idea of the COSTS around here??? Plus all of the traffic and aggravation?? You'd HATE the lifestyle!!!


Quote:
Ain't Youtube wonderful?
No shit! With all of that knowledge at people's fingertips, they should be vastly empowered! I'm getting smarter every day!


Quote:
I was just talking to my store manager about it this morning for about 10 minutes when I broke the news to her that I would no longer be putting a large part of my wages back into cheap motor oil. :)
Well, oil IS expensive! So, what are you going to do with that "extra" money? (Knowing you, you'll probably save it or turn it to productive use, and not just fritter it away.)

Quote:
Did notice today while I was combing my hair that some spots have gone black because of all the sun we've been getting up here for the last couple of days.- BRENDA

How does that work? Usually my hair gets bleached by the sun??? SIGNY

Well Sig, I take a fair amount of seizure medication so that could be the reason and also my Native blood too I think plays into it. My hair goes from brown to black in the summer depending on the amount of sun we get up here.- BRENDA


I wonder if overall you're lacking vitamin D. I know (from dear daughter's trials of many anticonvulsants) that some of them - carbamazepine for sure - reduce the amount of vita D in the system. Dear daughter's doctor recommended additional vitamin D.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876


I do take additional Vitamin D now Sig. Have for the last almost 4years.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018 8:25 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Well the oil wasn't actually all that expensive, believe it or not. I found out that I could use 10W40 in my car and we had an off-brand oil for 20 bucks for 12 quarts that went on clearance for $14.97, so I bought 7 at a time one day back during winter and I just ran out. The killer was the 40 bucks I was spending on the two 12 packs of Pennzoil before I did some research about the 10W40.

Still though, you can't imagine how nice it was to just hop into my car last night and go to work and not have to do the usual routine of popping the hood and putting oil in the car first. Not too big a deal now, but that really sucked during the dead of winter.


What am I going to do with the money? Every year I keep telling myself that this is the year I'm going to finally buy a big flatscreen TV on black friday, but I never pull the trigger.

You're probably right though. I will probably just put it into one of my big ticket items that need buying.




I was able to work with my interim manager last night to fix my schedule that keeps getting botched now that our old manager was fired and the guy that hired me initially is running overnights until around winter sometime. He has no problem giving me whatever days I want to work because of my "bang for the buck", but told me not to tell anybody else about it because he's been telling people just to work what they're scheduled. A lot of people aren't happy right now, so I have no problem keeping that secret.

It looks like I'm going to get my three days at the end of one week and then again at the beginning of the next, so I'm in for very long "weekends". Once summer is over I think I'm going to volunteer an additional day and start working 7 days straight for a full 26 weeks a year. That'd be an extra 2,000-2,500 per year if I just started doing that, and I'd like to get it established before the new manager comes in.

6 straight days kind of sucks, so 7 would be even worse, but when you've always got 7 days off to look forward to it's not all that bad.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, July 19, 2018 7:05 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:
I do take additional Vitamin D now Sig. Have for the last almost 4years.
Has your doctor tested your levels? It's a common test around here .... in LA! where the sun shines 90% of the time! Maybe more is necessary? Or maybe D3 not D2? That's the only explanation I can think of for seasonal changes possibly based on sunlight exposure.


*****

Well, the video on sprinkler actuators sure made everything look easy-peasy but reality didn't conform. :wrysmile: Yesterday was not able to remove either the backflow regulator OR the actuator. I even called on hubby's help ... being a former mechanic and construction guy he tends to know how to pull things apart ... no go. So I sprayed some "liquid wrench" on the frozen parts .... also on the same parts of a different unit that's easier to reach which is my test case .... today I'll give it another try. If worst comes to worst I'll have to cut it out. In the meantime delegated dear daughter to hose-water the veggie garden.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Thursday, July 19, 2018 7:18 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Had another great night last night. Love working for a good manager that knows to just point me in the direction he wants and then get the @#(! out of my way.

Man... I'm really starting to tell that all this work and the diet and not drinking is paying off. For the first time in years I'm actually feeling strong again. I only managed about 5 hours of sleep in between shifts because I got a little carried away with one of my projects yesterday, but the amount of energy this gluten free diet provides is amazing. I wouldn't want to run on only 5 hours of sleep every night between shifts, but before I got back in shape and started eating differently, a 5 hour sleep would have meant I felt like hell all night.



The new manager likes wrapping things up early, so instead of being scheduled until 6 and sometimes not getting out until 6:30, I've been scheduled until only 5:30 and there isn't much work left to do by then except for straightening things up which I find to be a total drag at the end of the night. I've been going in a half hour earlier to make up the difference and I gave the manager a heads up that he's going to have to override that today and he said it's no problem and just to "come in whenever".

It's a shame that he's only going to be my manager for the next 3 months. Oh well... I kind of enjoy breaking in a new manager. And this time I've got the store manager and the 2nd in command behind me. I don't imagine they're going to be so quick to take his side if I get written up for insubordination again.

Who knows though. He might be good. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until he proves he's an idiot just like the last one.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, July 19, 2018 11:03 AM

JJ


I went to post in a thread I created and saw the disgusting horrifying pictures sig posted there.
Sig loves to do that.

So I think I should share those pictures here. I will continue to do so
because I can't think of a better way to stop her from doing this.
From now on sig these type pictures will wind up here in your garden.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:


Hey THUGR, fuck you deep state troll and your bogus lies. You're so stupid think we buy into that. What an ass.



http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111204/news/712049915/


We came, we saw, he died (giggle!)




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Thursday, July 19, 2018 11:38 AM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
I do take additional Vitamin D now Sig. Have for the last almost 4years.
Has your doctor tested your levels? It's a common test around here .... in LA! where the sun shines 90% of the time! Maybe more is necessary? Or maybe D3 not D2? That's the only explanation I can think of for seasonal changes possibly based on sunlight exposure.


*****

Well, the video on sprinkler actuators sure made everything look easy-peasy but reality didn't conform. :wrysmile: Yesterday was not able to remove either the backflow regulator OR the actuator. I even called on hubby's help ... being a former mechanic and construction guy he tends to know how to pull things apart ... no go. So I sprayed some "liquid plumber" on the frozen parts .... also on the same parts of a different unit that's easier to reach which is my test case .... today I'll give it another try. If worst comes to worst I'll have to cut it out. In the meantime delegated dear daughter to hose-water the veggie garden.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876


I do take Vitamin D3 and not that I know of. I just went to the lab and I always read the lab paper. She checks a lot of things. Potassium, calcium, my thyroid of course because of meds. Heart, liver because of my seizure meds. Iron levels on levels.

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Thursday, July 19, 2018 11:43 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:
I do take Vitamin D3 and not that I know of. I just went to the lab and I always read the lab paper. She checks a lot of things. Potassium, calcium, my thyroid of course because of meds. Heart, liver because of my seizure meds. Iron levels on levels.
I read my test results too. Not that I understand what they mean (except a few common things) so I show them to my sister who used to work in the medical field and so medically knowledgeable she should be a doctor, and she explains it all to me.



-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876

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Thursday, July 19, 2018 8:46 PM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
I do take Vitamin D3 and not that I know of. I just went to the lab and I always read the lab paper. She checks a lot of things. Potassium, calcium, my thyroid of course because of meds. Heart, liver because of my seizure meds. Iron levels on levels.
I read my test results too. Not that I understand what they mean (except a few common things) so I show them to my sister who used to work in the medical field and so medically knowledgeable she should be a doctor, and she explains it all to me.



-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876


My doctor explains the test results too me and she usually has them where I can see them.

I meant I read the paper you take to the lab. That was my fault for not explaining what I was saying better.

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Friday, July 20, 2018 7:53 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


3 nights in and except for having to wake up to an alarm clock this doesn't even feel like work anymore. I'm virtually pain free... at least compared to what I used to be going through. Because the dipshit night manager got fired and prep for the remodel coming up, I'm getting a ton of exposure to day shift management that I wouldn't have otherwise had. The second night I've worked with one of the guys on days that I'd only met and said hi to before, and he was asking me about my schedule again. I know he wants me to work more. :) It's really being noticed how much more gets done on nights I'm there. I'm not sure if that will equate to any more money down the road, but I really don't think calling my schedule from now on is going to be any problems, even when the new manager is hired in.

Another great workout. I forgot how good it feels to come home and feel the burn of an actual workout as opposed to all the aching joints and other "Old Man" pains.

I almost feel like I'm in my 20's again......

Almost.



It's too bad my job doesn't pay what would equate to a livable wage for most people. I can't recommend this type of work enough for the physical benefits.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, July 22, 2018 7:43 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Interesting night last night.

I had to keep myself from doing my standard "dramatic eye roll" when the interim manager told me that I'd be training a new girl that was starting tonight. (No sexism implied here, I would have eye-rolled just as hard if I were training a new guy). I'm not sure if he was aware what a hot-button issue training people was with me, but he did say to take it easy on her for her first night. Our relationship is going really well right now, so I didn't want to be the first person to put something between us by saying I didn't want to train somebody, so I bit the bullet.

She impressed me right off the bat. Not only did she know what a palette jack was and how to use it, but she pulled those 2,000 lbs palettes of water with me without bitching about it once. When we had to lift a fairly heavy chair over our heads to get on a shelf, I asked her twice if she was sure she could do it before we tried. We didn't manage to get it up there, but damned if she didn't give it her all. I could tell that was really bothering her, and I told her so and told her to cut that shit right out. I said that technically we probably should have had somebody with a forklift put it up, but I usually just grab somebody else and do it quickly if there isn't a forklift around. Eventually my manager drove by and I asked him to give me a hand and once he felt the box he said "this is a forklift job" and put it up so we could just push it in.

I laughed and told her, see... even he didn't want to try putting it over his head.

Then he said "work smart, not hard", and it was her turn to laugh since I had just said that to her about an hour before.

She's a college grad and seems to have a lot of ambition. She wants to be a manager, like tomorrow (millennials, huh?) I think she can do it if she manages to maintain her enthusiasm and this is her normal work ethic and not just the "first day boom syndrome".

As if I didn't like her enough already, after she told me her age (23), she asked "how old are you if you don't mind me asking". When I told her 38 she said "no way. I would have thought you were in your mid 20's".



All this work and the new diet seems to be paying off. I was just saying how I practically feel like I'm in my 20's again. I'd be lying if I said that it didn't feel good hearing a young woman tell me that I look like it too.


At the end of the night the manager told me that she said she really liked working with me. I guess he told her that I took it easy on her and that I wasn't in "beast mode" tonight. He thanked me for that and for not scaring away the new hire. :)


Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, July 22, 2018 2:03 PM

BRENDA


Suppose to hit 30C either today or tomorrow. Which is around 90F or higher to you all.

Yay! to heat.

On the flip side every where I go will have A/C cranked up. So booo! to cold.

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Monday, July 23, 2018 8:24 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Wow. It'll be hotter by you than by me for a while. Finally cooled off here. :)

Glad we could make that trade Brenda.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, July 23, 2018 10:53 PM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Wow. It'll be hotter by you than by me for a while. Finally cooled off here. :)

Glad we could make that trade Brenda.

Do Right, Be Right. :)


It'll be real nice for the rest of this week and maybe next Jack.

On the flip bloodwork results back and all is good. Blood sugar stable, thyroid stable, calcium good, iron and all like that good. Potassium and B vitamins good too. Heart, liver, lungs and kidneys all functioning as they should be.

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Monday, July 23, 2018 10:55 PM

BRENDA


Forgot to mention that my blood pressure was also nice and normal.

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Monday, July 23, 2018 11:04 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Good to hear Brenda!

I still haven't seen a doctor. I'm a little scared to get all the tests done, tbh.

Just tested last night and had 137/74 with 81BPM, the lowest all week. Regularly much lower than it used to be. Hopefully I can keep improving it. At least even when the numbers were higher this week, the BPM was constantly in the low to mid 80s, which is probably the biggest change overall. I was constantly testing between 105-115 BPM a few months ago.

I don't know how true it is, but I've heard that we generally only have a certain number of heartbeats in us. I might be adding about 20% to my lifespan or more with the changes I've made.

It's a nice thought, anyway.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, July 24, 2018 2:35 AM

BRENDA


Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Good to hear Brenda!

I still haven't seen a doctor. I'm a little scared to get all the tests done, tbh.

Just tested last night and had 137/74 with 81BPM, the lowest all week. Regularly much lower than it used to be. Hopefully I can keep improving it. At least even when the numbers were higher this week, the BPM was constantly in the low to mid 80s, which is probably the biggest change overall. I was constantly testing between 105-115 BPM a few months ago.

I don't know how true it is, but I've heard that we generally only have a certain number of heartbeats in us. I might be adding about 20% to my lifespan or more with the changes I've made.

It's a nice thought, anyway.

Do Right, Be Right. :)


Thanks Jack.

My doc sends me once a year to check all of this because my seizure medication is hard on my liver and my kidneys. And my thyroid levels have to be checked to make sure I am getting the right dose of meds for that.

My BP today was 130/80 which is perfectly normal but I am usually low at around 90/50. Mine only goes normal if I am really sick or nervous. Docs even my GP makes me twitchy when I go in for test results. But she was happy and so was I.

105 or 115 is good for BP on the higher number Jack. Keep it up.

I'm not sure I believe that either. We never truly know how many years the universe has granted us. That's just part of being human beings.

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