What did you work on tonight? (9 Viewers)

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How come you didn't clock the clutch handle?
I asked her if she can easily access the handle and she was able to rather easily. My hands can also do it but not as easily so we left it alone.
 
Not terribly exciting but I replaced brake pads on my 2002 so I can get it ready to sell. This was Colin's car for a few years until it started having coolant leaks last year. I replaced radiator hoses, thermostat, coolant, radiator cap, clamps and just when I thought maybe I'd gotten the coolant leaks fixed, then I discovered the front brakes were toast. I also discovered the fill/dipstick tube for ATF was split so when I pour ATF in the tube it just leaks out right onto the ground. Had a buddy fix the tube with a TIG and put some new Advics pads on the front after sanding off a LOT of rust from the rotors as a result of it sitting for a while. Used my random orbit sander and 120 grit discs to put a nice swirly, scuffed finish on the rotors.

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Yesterday was garage cleanup & move the 1fz-Fe from the driveway onto the engine stand in my 1 car garage. Still a few more things to hide in the storage shed. It was a success.

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this is two weekends old at this point, but the original oil pan on my 1999 Honda Accord commuter was leaking near the timing belt gasket for God knows how long before I got the car. the undercarriage was disgusting. I degreased and pressure washed everything. Spent a lot of time cleaning up the mating surfaces and remade the gasket with black RTV. Good as new.

I've also been getting the dreaded and infamous P1259 code for malfunctioning VTEC engagement since acquiring the car in early May. I don't care how well someone says they maintain a vehicle, even if they are the first owner. This car was puttered around Albuquerque and not driven like it ought to be. When I got it, the oil was low and filthy so I tried a few cycles with a high quality filter and some seafoam in the crankcase thinking it might be the VTEC solenoid filter mesh gunked up. No joy. I pulled off the VTEC pressure sensor and it bench tested fine for resistance. The code kept throwing so I pulled off the whole solenoid housing and cleaned everything including the EGR valve for good measure. What a pain in the ass to get back there.

After that, I could finally trigger the code consistently on cruise control at 2500 rpm right where VTEC just becomes active. Before it was all over the place including under hard acceleration. That told me the pressure sensor was marginal in detecting a change under slight acceleration even though on the bench it had good resistance numbers. It is a 26-year-old sensor after all. I bought a whole solenoid housing and swapped out the sensor and it's all good to go. Also replaced the spark plugs with some Bosch Platinums.

I've been getting 30 miles per gallon over 2000 miles calculated at the pump driving to Los Alamos and back.

Don't trust a Harbor Freight torque wrench or you'll be like me wasting time cutting new threads on old exhaust studs.


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this is two weekends old at this point, but the original oil pan on my 1999 Honda Accord commuter was leaking near the timing belt gasket for God knows how long before I got the car. the undercarriage was disgusting. I degreased and pressure washed everything. Spent a lot of time cleaning up the mating surfaces and remade the gasket with black RTV. Good as new.

I've also been getting the dreaded and infamous P1259 code for malfunctioning VTEC engagement since acquiring the car in early May. I don't care how well someone says they maintain a vehicle, even if they are the first owner. This car was puttered around Albuquerque and not driven like it ought to be. When I got it, the oil was low and filthy so I tried a few cycles with a high quality filter and some seafoam in the crankcase thinking it might be the VTEC solenoid filter mesh gunked up. No joy. I pulled off the VTEC pressure sensor and it bench tested fine for resistance. The code kept throwing so I pulled off the whole solenoid housing and cleaned everything including the EGR valve for good measure. What a pain in the ass to get back there.

After that, I could finally trigger the code consistently on cruise control at 2500 rpm right where VTEC just becomes active. Before it was all over the place including under hard acceleration. That told me the pressure sensor was marginal in detecting a change under slight acceleration even though on the bench it had good resistance numbers. It is a 26-year-old sensor after all. I bought a whole solenoid housing and swapped out the sensor and it's all good to go. Also replaced the spark plugs with some Bosch Platinums.

I've been getting 30 miles per gallon over 2000 miles calculated at the pump driving to Los Alamos and back.

Don't trust a Harbor Freight torque wrench or you'll be like me wasting time cutting new threads on old exhaust studs.


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I had a '98 Accord EX 4cyl as a family hauler for about 10 years (2001-2011). It was a good little car. It even had a manual transmission! I owned it from about 25K miles to 150K miles and maintained it correctly but it was still burning about a quart of oil every 3k miles by the time it was at 150K miles. After 2 clutches, one catalytic converter, that amount of oil consumption and a terribly fading clear coat, I gave up on it. Now I have a 2008 Lexus ES350 with 170K miles (got it when it had 40K), perfect paint and no mechanical issues, and it gets almost 30 on the highway.
 
I’ve never done this, but my new to me 2012 tundra has a torn boot. How hard is this job?
It's not hard at all, but you need the right tools. Don't try taking off the outer joint with a hammer, no matter what anyone else says. It's not worth your time. Do both boots at once.

Pull the whole axle and cut the boots off. I used a hammer and chisel to remove the clamps. Some people drill a hole through them. Then slide the inner cup joint off the tripod bearing. I used a 5 gallon bucket to hold it up. Remove the snap ring retaining the tripod bearing, then pull it off the splines. Clean the whole thing with mild soap/water and shop towels. I've seen some people say don't use brake cleaner, and some that say it's fine. Just get it clean. I also used shop air to blow out the bearings and joint.

Slide the new outer boot down onto the axle shaft to the opposite end to where the smaller diameter section fits into the groove, then clamp it. You need one of two types of boot clamp: the crimp style, or the pull tension style. I had to use both just because each boot came with either type. Inner was from NAPA and outer was from Beck Arnley. Fill the joint/boot with grease and then clamp the larger diameter side of the boot. Now you can flip the axle over and do the inner side.

You'll lose some gear oil pulling the whole axle, so now's the chance to inspect the fluid and top it off afterwards. For my manual gearbox, I had a noise every time I let off the clutch. After topping off with new Redline fluid, the noise went away. I guess it was underfilled to begin with and I wouldn't have known otherwise.

These are the exact tools I used:

I already had these tools. I paid $40 total for the boots and this was an OEM Honda axle with a torn outer and no clicking/noise from the joint. I wouldn't re-boot something with noise or slop in the joint. It took a couple of hours just because it was the first time I've taken apart the suspension on this car. Just make sure to keep everything clean and wear nitrile gloves to avoid contaminants. Anything else that you introduce can become an abrasive.

Some may ask why not just replace the whole axle. A NAPA axle is $150 for this car and a cheaper Trakmotive or Cardone is $70-80 with shipping. I already know this OEM doesn't cause unbalanced vibrations and I already know it works and fits the hub. I don't have time to dick around with an aftermarket part that might not work out and cause me twice the work. I always try to fix/reuse what I have when I can. I'm set to put at least 25,000 miles on this car by summer, so I'll update this post later on.
 
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