What Did You Do With Your Rig Today?

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First off... SORRY NO PICTURES....

yesterday and today have been quite productive on the “Adventure Machine”, I got both the transmission and transfer case reinstalled. Then worked on a few minor wiring projects.

So for those of you fallowing along, I will be updating my build progress in a little while after I re-check my list of projects that yet need to be completed by May 1st.
 
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Beat Sonic front facing camera on a 2020 Toyota Tundra. Awesome picture...no more blindness when cresting a hill. Video screen pics up bands when taking picture, not there though.
 

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$72 Bonehead Mistake:

In hoping to get my AC working better, I removed and cleaned the blower motor and condenser casing on my van, on a tip from a pal on expo. All went fine, easy-peasy. Cleaned ages-old caked up dust on the fins on the squirrel cage with some 303 cleaner, q-tips, and water. Cleaned up the motor housing, too. Was all nice and shiny black. Put it off to the side on top of the air filter housing.

Reached into the casing and pulled out a bunch of long pine needles and leaf bits; enough to fill up a 16 oz tumbler. Stuck my shop vac hose in there to get any tiny bits.

blower-motor_210415_6030-700.jpeg....blower-motor-debris_210415_6032-700.jpeg

Welll...the blower motor and squirrel cage slid off the sloped air filter housing and fell to the driveway. Broke a two and half inch piece out of the rim of the old brittle cage, along with the top edges of several fins. Cracked the cage at the bottom, too. So I Krazy-glued it all back together nice and neat. Let that set up, spun it around and looked good. Re-installed everything; which is really just blower motor, vent hose, coolant overflow reservoir, and associated connections. Looked all nice and tidy and clean.

Took her for a drive to see if it was blowing any cooler, with all that debris now gone. Turned it to cold and turned on the blower. It immediately sounded awful, like I don't know what, but the dash was vibrating and the blower was thrumming like a woodcock in heat. Turned it off quick. I knew what probably happened and headed back to the yard.

Took it all apart again to find the squirrel cage had exploded, as I figured.

blower-motor-boneheadmove_6036-700.jpg

Called the parts store, heard they had one in stock, and told 'em I'd be down in a bit. Ate dinner, then went and got the new one. I suppose I could've searched junkyards tomorrow for just the cage, but for 72 bucks and tax, it was worth saving the time and effort tomorrow to just get a whole new assembly.

I'll use the old motor for something, sometime.

Maybe I'll fab up a 12v ceiling fan with giant blades for the rooftop tent :tonguewink:.

That was a $72.00 bonehead move, letting it sit on the sloped air filter housing. Told my kid what I'd done and she said "Well, you won't do THAT again!" I said "Ha, yeah, I don't know, I probably will."

.
 
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Road said:
$72 Bonehead Mistake:

In hoping to get my AC working better, I removed and cleaned the blower motor and condenser casing on my van, on a tip from a pal on expo. All went fine, easy-peasy. Cleaned ages-old caked up dust on the fins on the squirrel cage with some 303 cleaner, q-tips, and water. Cleaned up the motor housing, too. Was all nice and shiny black. Put it off to the side on top of the air filter housing.

Reached into the casing and pulled out a bunch of long pine needles and leaf bits; enough to fill up a 16 oz tumbler. Stuck my shop vac hose in there to get any tiny bits.

View attachment 194939....View attachment 194941

Welll...the blower motor and squirrel cage slid off the sloped air filter housing and fell to the driveway. Broke a two and half inch piece out of the rim of the old brittle cage, along with the top edges of several fins. Cracked the cage at the bottom, too. So I Krazy-glued it all back together nice and neat. Let that set up, spun it around and looked good. Re-installed everything; which is really just blower motor, vent hose, coolant overflow reservoir, and associated connections. Looked all nice and tidy and clean.

Took her for a drive to see if it was blowing any cooler, with all that debris now gone. Turned it to cold and turned on the blower. It immediately sounded awful, like I don't know what, but the dash was vibrating and the blower was thrumming like a woodcock in heat. Turned it off quick. I knew what probably happened and headed back to the yard.

Took it all apart again to find the squirrel cage had exploded, as I figured.

View attachment 194940

Called the parts store, heard they had one in stock, and told 'em I'd be down in a bit. Ate dinner, then went and got the new one. I suppose I could've searched junkyards tomorrow for just the cage, but for 72 bucks and tax, it was worth saving the time and effort tomorrow to just get a whole new assembly.

I'll use the old motor for something, sometime.

Maybe I'll fab up a 12v ceiling fan with giant blades for the rooftop tent :tonguewink:.

That was a $72.00 bonehead move, letting it sit on the sloped air filter housing. Told my kid what I'd done and she said "Well, you won't do THAT again!" I said "Ha, yeah, I don't know, I probably will."

.
Click to expand...
The junkyard part would be just as brittle and probably not save you that much.
 
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TahoePPV said:
The junkyard part would be just as brittle and probably not save you that much.
Click to expand...
.
You're right, man, probably would be. The new motor and squirrel cage are more stout, too, and I like seeing new parts all shiny, clean, and working perfectly.

I did find, this morning, new cages for these blower motors I could order.

I keep toying with ideas for what I can do with the old motor. I actually like the idea of experimenting with a variable speed switch, like the van has, and making a slow ceiling fan with paddle blades for under my big-assed awning when I'm in the desert. OR ordering another cage and creating an air mover casing for the back of my van when parked. Run it off the solar powered house batt I'm installing, and until then run it from the trailer deep cycles like I do the fridge (which I keep in the van).

.
 
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Mounted apillar lights lights on my JK. Used Spot beam on the top and flood beam on the bottom. Used a rugged ridge dual a mount and 3” Raxiom cube lights.
 

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Sent my Cherokee in to the garage to find out why I was still having a cylinder #3 misfire. Turns out I have broken fuel jets cylinders #3 and cylinder #1.
 
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Continuing to spiff up the ol' gal into working condition after she sat so much without running this past year. It literally took me a year to go through a full tank of fuel and two 5 gal jerrys. When I'm out wandering I'll often go through a tank in two days or less.

I've had the Engine Power Reduced & Clean Exhaust Filters messages flashing at me big time since winter, as well as four different codes on my OBDII reader. So, I cleaned a bunch of stuff under the hood, blew out the air filter while waiting for the new one to show up, added a full tank of fresh diesel and some Red-Line, and took her out for a couple good spins on the interstate and around town. It was discouraging to keep seeing Engine Power Reduced so I let it sit a few days while researching fuel line problems and other possible causes.

On a whim of "Y'know, it's a damned nice day and I bet the ol' gal wants to run right..." I took her out again and she ran finest kind, with NO flashing Engine Power Reduced or Clean Exhaust Filter messages and down to two codes that show up intermittently: EGR and exhaust gas temp high.

The Clean Exhaust Filter shows up when it hasn't been run much, or not much at higher speeds, which it hasn't for a year. That's easily solved by getting up over 40 or so for 30 mins. Which I'd done, though it came right back, then after a few more longer spins at higher speeds, finally disappeared.

The Engine Power Reduced, though, was more mystifying because it could be caused by a number of things.

As it turned out, all she wanted was a good long drink of fresh diesel and to let it work through her system a bit.
I used to have a big coffee mug that said "I love the smell of fresh diesel in the morning."

fuel-filter_6082-900.jpeg
Just got a new two-part fuel filter today and will get that in soon, as well as drain and clean the water separator, then get the new air filter in when it arrives; change the oil; flush, clean and refill the coolant system; and just generally let her know I'm still taking care of her.


solar-panel-trailer_5855-900.jpeg
On the trailer, I started figuring how to make a quick-release mounts for my solar panels, which have been strapped to the roof of the RTT since last fall, providing steady power and keeping the two batteries in the trailer topped off all winter. It also kept the two starting batteries in the van topped off when she was sitting still so much, via the 7way connection at the hitch. Pretty nice not have to run a 110 cord out there with a smart charger.

I now have an exact matching solar panel for the van, so want matching quick release setups for the roof of both van and trailer. That way it won't matter which panel goes on which vehicle after taking them down and moving them around camp, or to clean, or whatever. I think I have a good, solid, easy and durable way to do it inexpensively.

power-center_5863-900.jpeg

I went through my trailer's power center, too, checking connections, fuses, power switches, and operability, and will do a thorough cleaning of that bay when I go through, sort, and re-ogranize the other two bays in the nose box, hopefully later this week if the weather holds.


..
 
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