What did you do to your other vehicle today?

Done with the trailer wiring - like everything else, it took longer than it should have. This is the very last part to be done, the hookup for the center clearance lites:

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Now I just need some plywood for the bed.

Modified the 4 pin Tekonsha Jeep trailer harness to 5 pin - and since I was already modifying it, I also removed the plugs for the RH side and moved the wire over to pin 4 of the LH tail lite as the '06 has the RH turn signal there. That should make installation even easier.

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As I didn't want to cut the already short wires between the two plugs, I stripped them in place and twisted/soldered the additional wires on directly. This meant I couldn't use heat shrink. Instead, I used self-vulcanizing rubber tape which will insulate and weather proof the splice, followed by a top application of harness tape to protect the rubber tape from chafing as its quite soft.
 
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Today I had my first experience with diesel fuel gelling. We are in the Bend, OR area for a few days. We filled up at home west of the Cascades where is rarely gets below 32 deg F. Then I parked it outside overnight here in Bend in sub zero temps. This morning it started but wouldn’t run for more than a few seconds. Finally got it into the garage (barely fit with the door shut). I put some 911 and anti-gel treatment in the tank (which I had to walk 2 miles in deep snow and really cold temps to get🥶) and let it sit all day in the warmer garage.
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Now it runs and drives normally again even though it’s currently -7 deg F. The test drive was fun with over a foot of unplowed snow on our street!
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Woodrow said:
Today I had my first experience with diesel fuel gelling. We are in the Bend, OR area for a few days. We filled up at home west of the Cascades where is rarely gets below 32 deg F. Then I parked it outside overnight here in Bend in sub zero temps. This morning it started but wouldn’t run for more than a few seconds. Finally got it into the garage (barely fit with the door shut). I put some 911 and anti-gel treatment in the tank (which I had to walk 2 miles in deep snow and really cold temps to get🥶) and let it sit all day in the warmer garage.
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Now it runs and drives normally again even though it’s currently -7 deg F. The test drive was fun with over a foot of unplowed snow on our street!
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Awe the joys of owning a diesel , you won't go wrong with Power Service products they really work well .
 
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On my 89 Jeep Cherokee, I tracked down and repaired some electrical faults that were causing my turn signals and hazards light fuses to blow every time I turned them on. I pulled the front and rear light fixtures and cleaned them and followed and tested all of the harnesses and generally tidied everything up.

It turned out to be corrosion in the connector from the main harness to the front light harness. It's usually something simple ... once you find it. This would have been an easy job but a previous owner must have removed the front grill header panel at one time and mistakenly put the connector in front of the radiator support panel instead of behind it. The connector should have been right below the headlight and accessible from under the hood which would make it an easy job. I had a hard time even finding it let alone putting my hands on it.

I was actually happy to pull the header as it allowed me to clean several things up and replace a few things like the horns. Everything is fine now ... beep, beep.

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The trailer is done. Done, done, done. Thank Goddess - it ended up being way more of a project than I originally anticipated.

Lites at nite:
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Tailgate with stiffening rib:
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Painted the tailgate. Makes the whole trailer disappear at nite, so I...
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...Added reflective tape! Note harbor freight tie downs.
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With a bit on the tongue area as well:
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Zorba said:
The trailer is done. Done, done, done. Thank Goddess - it ended up being way more of a project than I originally anticipated.

Lites at nite:
View attachment 495019

Tailgate with stiffening rib:
View attachment 495021

Painted the tailgate. Makes the whole trailer disappear at nite, so I...
View attachment 495022

...Added reflective tape! Note harbor freight tie downs.
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With a bit on the tongue area as well:
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Click to expand...

Nice work 👍
Florida requires a plate on that size trailer?
 
Chickenshit problem with the wife's little Fiat. No windshield washer spray on either end, although the reservoir was full and the pump could be heard running. Figured "Clogged intake!" - got it apart and there was some kind of snotty looking slime clogging the input screen. Cleaned it out, mo' bettah.

Being so small, this thing can be a challenge to work on - I first Googled how to do this, and found out that the front bumper needs to come off if you want to pull the reservoir. (!!) But a little more Google-Fu revealed that if you want to pull the PUMP, its very easy to do by removing the front wheel, 5 screws, and peeling back the plasti-rubber liner. 10 minutes.

Of course, Fiat being Fiat, there were 3 types of fasteners: 2 phillips, 2 1/4" hex, and 1 9/32" hex. Sigh...

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Brakes still have at least half their material on them, maybe a bit more. As it should be at 75K.

Oh, and the wheel torque spec is 66 ft-lbs!
 
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CCP/Plandemic ruined a LOT of steering wheels, including the Fiat and the leather cover on the MBZ. Replaced the MBZ's cover months ago, today got the new cover put onto the Fiat. Grab your corset hook when doing one of these, its your best friend for getting the laces tight!
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Zorba said:
CCP/Plandemic ruined a LOT of steering wheels, including the Fiat and the leather cover on the MBZ. Replaced the MBZ's cover months ago, today got the new cover put onto the Fiat. Grab your corset hook when doing one of these, its your best friend for getting the laces tight!
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I did that once with a kit that was custom cut for the wheel in my '08 Charger... never again.
 
Replaced plugs and coil packs in our JKU.
Runs MUCH better now, but I broke a plastic clip on coil #3, so I'll have to deal with that.
At least it is on the side that is accessible without removing the intake assembly!
 
Tranz Zam said:
After tearing it down for paint, got my LS6 mocked up to see what it looks like.

That's 3 coats of silver base, 3 coats of silver metal flake, 2 coats of candy gold, and 3 coats of clear. Took a while, but definitely worth it!

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That is just ridiculously cool as hell!!! Reminds me of the song by Ray Wylie Hubbard. Cooler -N-Hell
 
Sea Cot said:
2009 Jetta TDI. Removed the engine and trans. Slowly selling parts. Waiting for machine shop to test the cyl head and report results. Fail = part out. Pass = collect parts to reassemble engine and swap in to the '98, or pick up a different swap recipient, or do both and sell everything in a couple years. You just never know. It's like a Choose Your Adventure book without a plot.

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Whats the partout looking like here? Sometimes I consider giving up on my 09 A3 and going this route
 
It turns out the headers I have on my mr2 engine are just barely keeping the engine from getting into position to get the last motor mount.

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So close!!

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Right up against the firewall. I'll have to pull the drivetrain and give it a few boinks with the hammer to make room. Bummer.
 
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lBasket said:
Whats the partout looking like here? Sometimes I consider giving up on my 09 A3 and going this route
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Slow but I'm missing local sales because my schedule has been erratic lately. I've sold 4:1 parts on ebay v. marketplace. I should meet my sales goal once tax refund checks start flowing, but the carcass is going to scrap soon with a lot of meat on the bone.

Machine shop said they'll test the head next week.
 
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Sea Cot said:
Slow but I'm missing local sales because my schedule has been erratic lately. I've sold 4:1 parts on ebay v. marketplace. I should meet my sales goal once tax refund checks start flowing, but the carcass is going to scrap soon with a lot of meat on the bone.

Machine shop said they'll test the head next week.
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How much you think you're gonna get out of it?

Good luck! Idk much about the TDIs. Mine was the later gen 2.0t (EA888) which has oil pressure problems. Mine had oil pressure problems :LOL: engine has been at the machine shop since september. I don't think he's even started on it yet. I'm tempted to cut my losses, the longer is sits the lower my motivation to pay for that 4-5k rebuilt gets
 
lBasket said:
How much you think you're gonna get out of it?

Good luck! Idk much about the TDIs. Mine was the later gen 2.0t (EA888) which has oil pressure problems. Mine had oil pressure problems :LOL: engine has been at the machine shop since september. I don't think he's even started on it yet. I'm tempted to cut my losses, the longer is sits the lower my motivation to pay for that 4-5k rebuilt gets
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I advertised the complete car at $1700. Received offers ranging from $300 to $1000. I'm projecting just over $2k in sales, including scrapping the carcass, and I'll still have the engine, harness, ECU.
 
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