LOL I like leap years, not sure why just do.

 

'evening all. Anyone still up?

 

Yea. Not sleepy yet.

Pop

 

Still here........ate dinner too late! Better go find the Tums for later.

 

'morning.

Sorry to hear that Tums are in order. :-) What was for dinner?

Not sure whether to be nervous or excited. Should find out today if I start the new job. Won't get into details until I hear the verdict some time this morning.

In the meantime - had a few things to get done that took until now. By the time it's late enough to be early - might as well stay up and keep getting stuff done. Switching back and forth between day and night shift schedules can be... interesting. :-) Not going to complain though. A paycheck is can be worth considerably more than a nights rest when you'd lose sleep if you didn't have it anyway.

In the meantime... sounds like the puppy's getting into something he's not supposed to.

On a side note - been seeing some beautiful trailers for sale that would be perfect for side jobs later on down the road. (Spotted one recently that's already got a nice work bench, e-track, nice generator in a roll out on the side, etc... but still too early to want to have to store it for another 10 mo.

I have noticed that 98% of the cargo / toy hauler / enclosed trailers out here are all bumper pull. Gooseneck setups seem a bit tough to find. Anyone know why? Must just be used to seeing goosenecks everywere from growing up around horse folks who were already partial to that type of rig.


Edit: Finally got to that video pop posted too. Thanks for sharing that. I'd seen videos of versions that were considered for military use as amphibious vehicles since they're particularly well suited to swamps and mud. Nice find.

 

Good luck with the job Rob, very few Goosenecks around here too, mostly cause the bumper pulls can be pulled with just about anything with a hitch.

 

I'll bet it's not the first time.

 

Morning Steve!

and won't be the last.....

 

Some of you might appreciate the Groupon deal for today:
Los Angeles Deals: Packages & Cheap LA Things to Do | Groupon Deals

20 Laps in a Nascar at Irwindale, including lessons.

 

Why do they feel they need my email address to allow me to see that?

Guess not, Groupon....

Pop

 

Sorry, Pop. I didn't know you would need to be registered. I am registered with a junk address, but have never purchased from the site.

 

If I have to pay $150 I shouldn't have to give them lessons,too

 

I'd eventually want to do the half day or full day 'driving school' at Masda Speedway, Atlanta or Sebring. They provide cars (i believe track prepped miata's unless you feel like spending more, provide tires, fuel and lapping sessions.) That being said - i haven't been able to make time to get out to even waitch races lately, much less drive anything.

I've also been going into a frustrating withdraw from building and working on things that go fast / anywhere. Must be bad when other people are starting to notice. My wife looked over my shoulder while I was thumbing through a magazine of tech articles and 4x4's. Her only comment was "I think I'd rather see you make one of those a pet project than a bike. At least those have roll cages."

I knew I married her for a reason.

Gotta love a woman who accepts the inevitable.

(be it a pet project strapped to an engine... or finding some really enjoyable way to 'stress test' parts)

 

Saved maybe $1500 yesterday. A penny saved is a penny earned!

Last fall, Marge and I came home from out-to-dinner to find someone jack-hammering in our back yard. When I went out there to see what was making all the racket, I found it was all coming from the roof-mounted heater/air-conditioner "package" unit on the roof. Shutting down the A/C confirmed I didn't have to drag some little guy off our roof for using pneumatic tools at 8PM.

Re-starting it the following morning confirmed that we weren't gonna' have any more cool air until some serious problem got addressed. From all the noise, that "something" was likely a scroll compressor. However, the weather was already in a cooling trend, and we really didn't need A/C anyway. I DID call my HVAC guy, Don, but he didn't return my call. The gas heater portion of the package has performed flawlessly all winter to keep us warm.

Last Monday morning, Marge reminded me that we would be needing A/C in a few months, and to not let it go until the last minute. By chance, on Tuesday I got a cold-call from a "boiler room", wanting to set an appointment for the "semi-annual tune up". Already, I'm gonna' reject the notion of "semi-annual", but I let them talk their spiel. Told them I didn't need a tune-up, but an estimate on replacing a scroll compressor in a "Carrier 3-1/2 ton R-22 package unit". He said it might be around $1500, but they would need to look at it. We set an appointment for a "free estimate" for 10AM this morning.

After hanging up with them, I thought about Don again, and called him. This time he answered. After describing my symptoms, he asked me if I had climbed up on the roof to actually LOOK at the problem. Told him that I hadn't. He told me that those units sometimes have a problem with the fan coming loose on the motor shaft. If it were the scroll, it had thermal protection which would have shut it down as a preventive measure, so it probably wasn't a compressor. I got out the ladder.

I looked down through the grille/fan-support and everything looked normal. Darn! However, I pulled off the eight sheet-metal screws that hold the assembly in place and lifted it up enough to get a hand in there. The hub wasn't loose on the motor shaft, but the stamped-steel fan was loose on it's machined hub. Seems it's only swedged together and the crimp had failed, allowing the hub to turn inside the stamping. That's what was making all the squealing and screeching, and the "banging" was all my imagination!

I removed the set screw and took the fan off the roof. Cleaned the hub with MEK and brushed a little flux into the failed crimp. Some Mapp gas and solder later, it's not loose any more. I went to the hardware store and bought two 1/8" dowel pins and drilled two holes through the hub. Using LocTite Bearing Retainer, I drove the two pins into the assembly, hopefully to prevent a re-occurrence if the solder should somehow fail.

Put it all back together for a test. Got cold air again, and it's as quiet as it ever was. The price of two dowels? Under a buck. Mapp gas and solder, maybe fifty cents. My time? I'm gonna' charge me $1500 and call it even!

I expect the boiler-room people will call me in about an hour to ensure I'm going to be home for the appointment. I'll probably be in the barber's chair.

What do you guys figure I owe Don?

Pop

 

cool marv glad you got it fixed.