General Tech What did you work on Today?

Herzog

somewhat damaged
Admin
Location
Wyoming
I must be the odd man out. I hate hard flooring as it is sooooo effing cold! Now, heated flooring and I am in, but not for the $$$$$ it costs.

I love a good soft carpet.
We did the "hard" floors and just a HUGE soft rug upstairs and it is cozy. I do agree, especially in the basement my office floor is COLD in the winter... but I still prefer it over carpet. I just get grossed out at carpet older than a few years, totally a personal preference though
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
But you don't have to mow the lawn...
FACT.

I like the LVT as well. We're coming up on two years in early May in our house. LVT has been pretty nice to have.
Glad to hear you've liked it. One of our subs scratched the floor in the kitchen so the flooring guys had to replace 5 or 6 pieces. I was stressed out watching them cut them out and replace but you can't even tell where they did it.

I must be the odd man out. I hate hard flooring as it is sooooo effing cold! Now, heated flooring and I am in, but not for the $$$$$ it costs.

I love a good soft carpet.
We did the "hard" floors and just a HUGE soft rug upstairs and it is cozy. I do agree, especially in the basement my office floor is COLD in the winter... but I still prefer it over carpet. I just get grossed out at carpet older than a few years, totally a personal preference though
Carpet, especially with pets is just gross. 2 years after our heeler died I was still getting hair and dander out of our carpet. That's nasty. With hard flooring there's nowhere for it to hide and my allergies appreciate that.
 
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mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
...

Glad to hear you've liked it. One of our subs scratched the floor in the kitchen so the flooring guys had to replace 5 or 6 pieces. I was stressed out watching them cut them out and replace but you can't even tell where they did it.
...


We've got one scratch where we slid an entertainment center across the floor. I honestly can't find where it scratched.
 

Coco

Well-Known Member
Location
Lehi, UT
I should have said we will be ripping the tile/carpet out on our main floor in our house soon and doing a similar looking floor to @xj_nate. I liked the more stone/gray colors, but I have been informed, probably similar to Nate's wife that it is out of style, so I am doing the same yes dear approach haha.
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
I should have said we will be ripping the tile/carpet out on our main floor in our house soon and doing a similar looking floor to @xj_nate. I liked the more stone/gray colors, but I have been informed, probably similar to Nate's wife that it is out of style, so I am doing the same yes dear approach haha.
Yup, I like gray too but apparently that came and went. One of the only questions I even bother to ask is "will this be out of style in a few years?" and that makes her re-think her approach occasionally.
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
Going to a LVP floor as apposed to tile will help a LOT with the future redo. Way easier to install, waaaaayyyy easier to remove.
One of my only complaints about the house is that they did tile in the upstairs bathrooms. Like why not also do LVP up there? 🤷‍♂️

We didn't have a choice or I would've told them to do it.
 

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
Fixed this side case for a Yamaha Raptor 700 the other day.
Engine cases are matched, so you can't just buy one side and expect it to not leak. Guessing this saved the owner at least few hundred dollars in case halves and more in parts + labor to press new bearings & seals in & at least a week of waiting.

This boss feeds an external oil line that had cracked and was leaking.
I was able to weld it up and retap proper sized threads in it (as just welding up the crack would have yeilded an oversized hole - I had to fill some of it then retap).
This was a bit of a pain since AL absorbs oil to some extent and it all had to be cleaned and burned out before it would weld without massive porosity.
20220125_160801.jpg20220125_160831.jpg

(My non scientific leak test was feeding a bolt in and then forcing air through a rubber compressed air nozzle on the inside and listening/ feeling for leaks).
20220125_160905.jpg
 

zmotorsports

Hardcore Gearhead
Vendor
Location
West Haven, UT
Fixed this side case for a Yamaha Raptor 700 the other day.
Engine cases are matched, so you can't just buy one side and expect it to not leak. Guessing this saved the owner at least few hundred dollars in case halves and more in parts + labor to press new bearings & seals in & at least a week of waiting.

This boss feeds an external oil line that had cracked and was leaking.
I was able to weld it up and retap proper sized threads in it (as just welding up the crack would have yeilded an oversized hole - I had to fill some of it then retap).
This was a bit of a pain since AL absorbs oil to some extent and it all had to be cleaned and burned out before it would weld without massive porosity.
View attachment 145461View attachment 145462

(My non scientific leak test was feeding a bolt in and then forcing air through a rubber compressed air nozzle on the inside and listening/ feeling for leaks).
View attachment 145463

Nice job on the repair Stratton.

If you have a TIG welder with advanced features such as pulse and frequency I like to adjust the pulse down low and the frequency to around 50Hz. What this does when welding cast aluminum is actually floats the impurities to the surface where they can be brushed away. I will bathe the TIG torch over the area to kind of "rattle" the aluminum a bit with the arc which will bring the impurities to the surface where I can then remove them with a stainless steel brush. This also acts as a preheat because the aluminum dissipates heat so quickly and then go in and begin puddling the aluminum and adding filler. This has worked quite well on those dirty castings, especially powersports engines. When a boss gets destroyed, if it is in a place that it can be cut off I will opt to go that route then machine a new one from solid aluminum. This replaces the cast boss or bung with a solid chunk and negates the possibility of stripping the threads out again.

Just a tip for next time if you have that option.
 

zmotorsports

Hardcore Gearhead
Vendor
Location
West Haven, UT
Continued on last night with the 2002 Silverado 2500 Duramax that's in the shop.

After removing the OEM upper control arm and shock I touched up the paint a little before reassembly began.

gm1.jpg

While the paint was drying I removed the OEM keys from the torsion bars. Using a special C-clamp the tension must be removed from the torsion bars. Then remove the bolt and saddle for the adjustment.
gm2.jpg

Then tap the torsion bar forward and allow the key to drop out. Watch the toes.
gm3.jpg

Here are the new keys in relation to the OEM keys.
gm4.jpg

gm5.jpg

New keys installed. I also apply some anti-seize where the hex on the torsion bars meet the keys as well as the lower control arms.
gm6.jpg

New Cognito upper A-arms installed and the knuckle reconnected. I set the adjustments roughly in the middle but he will have to take it for a full alignment when completed.
gm7.jpg

Shock installed and the passenger's side is now complete.
gm8.jpg

Both sides completed and truck lowered back down before closing up for the night. I still have to preload the torsion bars as I run out of time last night.
gm9.jpg

Thanks for looking.

Mike
 

zmotorsports

Hardcore Gearhead
Vendor
Location
West Haven, UT
Also, the FASS and Banks systems arrived so I can get going on them next on this 2002.
FASS.jpg

banks.jpg


I was told last week when I ordered the Banks Monster Exhaust that it would be 2-3 weeks due to one component of the kit being on backorder. I was pleasantry surprised yesterday when I received the call saying the exhaust had arrived already. The client will be surprised when he picks it up because I told him he would have to bring the truck back in a few weeks for the exhaust.
 

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
Nice job on the repair Stratton.

If you have a TIG welder with advanced features such as pulse and frequency I like to adjust the pulse down low and the frequency to around 50Hz. What this does when welding cast aluminum is actually floats the impurities to the surface where they can be brushed away. I will bathe the TIG torch over the area to kind of "rattle" the aluminum a bit with the arc which will bring the impurities to the surface where I can then remove them with a stainless steel brush. This also acts as a preheat because the aluminum dissipates heat so quickly and then go in and begin puddling the aluminum and adding filler. This has worked quite well on those dirty castings, especially powersports engines. When a boss gets destroyed, if it is in a place that it can be cut off I will opt to go that route then machine a new one from solid aluminum. This replaces the cast boss or bung with a solid chunk and negates the possibility of stripping the threads out again.

Just a tip for next time if you have that option.
Thanks for the advice. I've been preheating with a map gas torch to burn stuff out then manually pulsing it with the foot pedal really slow. Then trying to smooth it to get the impurities out.

I need to learn the settings better because right now I've got to preheat a lot or start the amperage fairly high to start the arc then pull it back to maybe 75% and I don't have the foot control skills yet to pulse from 10ish%-75% perfectly.

But I will try those settings! Hopefully it will help a lot.
 

Pike2350

Registered User
Location
Salt Lake City
One of my only complaints about the house is that they did tile in the upstairs bathrooms. Like why not also do LVP up there? 🤷‍♂️

We didn't have a choice or I would've told them to do it.
I hate LVP in bathrooms. The big problem is that if/when water gets in it will get under it and have a very hard time drying(if ever) being a floating floor it just makes it so much easier for damage. I prefer tile in bathrooms because it is hard for water to get under it.

Granted a good install will lessen the chance of water getting under the floor but any water making it to the baseboards will likely get under. I just prefer a "glued/set" floor for bath and laundry. I generally prefer it in kitchens too but open floor plans can make that a bit more challenging at times
 

Vonski

nothing to see here...
Location
Payson, Utah
Snagged this off ksl for the shop. The actual “work” involved (besides driving to Hyrum to pick it up), was dragging it 100’ through the guy’s backyard that still had 6” of snow. If I had known it’s location, a sled would’ve been ideal. 🤷‍♂️ Instead, my nephew and I strapped and drug it out like a couple sled dogs. 😂 Other than a few scuffs, f’n brand new.
 

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Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
Snagged this off ksl for the shop. The actual “work” involved (besides driving to Hyrum to pick it up), was dragging it 100’ through the guy’s backyard that still had 6” of snow. If I had known it’s location, a sled would’ve been ideal. 🤷‍♂️ Instead, my nephew and I strapped and drug it out like a couple sled dogs. 😂 Other than a few scuffs, f’n brand new.
Sweet find!
 
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