*sigh* I got to drop the Hurst shifter...

[khryslerkid]

Nothing feels better than a finely adjusted and properly working four speed shifter and trans! I remember doing many back in the day. Some would be so worn out, locking up, unbearable to drive. I would recondition the shifter, readjust the linkage and take it out for a test drive. I'd drive it like grandma for awhile then when things were warmed up drive it like Ronnie Sox! If it passed the test all was right in the world.

As of lately I haven't had the natural nack to work on something and have it go perfect the first time. Seems like something is fighting me when it used to be second nature. I'll just go with the flow and eventually the jobs done. Glad I'm not doing it for a living, I'd be out of business by the end of the month. Maybe it's not me?

 

[moparedtn]

Nothing feels better than a finely adjusted and properly working four speed shifter and trans! I remember doing many back in the day. Some would be so worn out, locking up, unbearable to drive. I would recondition the shifter, readjust the linkage and take it out for a test drive. I'd drive it like grandma for awhile then when things were warmed up drive it like Ronnie Sox! If it passed the test all was right in the world.

As of lately I haven't had the natural nack to work on something and have it go perfect the first time. Seems like something is fighting me when it used to be second nature. I'll just go with the flow and eventually the jobs done. Glad I'm not doing it for a living, I'd be out of business by the end of the month. Maybe it's not me?

Interesting. While I've been having a renaissance of sorts in my shadetree-neckery the last few years,
you're sort of going the other way a tad sounds like.

I'd say yours is more "normal" an experience as we age for sure, no offense.

No doubt, mine's a result of knowing there's not much gas left in the proverbial tank, though - that
was a hard-learned lesson of the last 8 years or so, after all - so I want to do it once, whatever it is.
Couple that with not wanting to leave anything undone or a mess and wala, there ya go.

 

[khryslerkid]

A neighbor brought me his snowblower last week and said the auger was slipping. I'm hoping it's as simple as a worn belt. So I go to take the belt cover off (plastic) and the one side is broken and the other is cracked. I'll fix this later.

So the belt is worn and the adjustment is maxed out. Do my research on what belt it takes and start looking around town. No luck there. I go online and find one on Amazon for $18. ETA Wednesday. I get it Thursday, go to install it and it's too long. Measure it and it's 30". Factory spec is 29-1/4". The sleeve on the new belt states it's 29-1/2". It's the right part number, the number is even printed on the belt. Well I later find out that this belt was specifically made for this unit and it needs to be exact and you're not going to find a belt that measures in 1/4" increments. Need a OEM belt.

So I try a lawnmower shop on the other side of town, then a tractor dealer with no luck having the belt in stock. The dealer says they have one in Baltimore and can be here on Tuesday. Another $18 but this is OEM. This belt arrives and it fits perfect. What a pain in the ***. Now I'm sending my first belt back to the Amazon seller. Great guy emailing me a postage free shipping lable.

It's a five minute job replacing this belt and I'm jumping through hoops to get the job done.

 

[demonram]

You mean besides my mighty B&D jigsaw?
Eh, I do need to replace my sawzall that laid down and died a while back, I suppose...
Lots of other priorities in life these last months and days, you know.
Thanks for the good vibes!

I have every type of saw you can imagine, but I don’t know what I’d do without those little oscillating tools. I actually have three of them, two on the truck and one in the garage. They are so versatile. Don’t get me wrong, jigsaws, sawzalls have there place, but for better control and less chance of damage to surrounding areas, ya can’t beat them. Take care sir!

 

[moparedtn]

A neighbor brought me his snowblower last week and said the auger was slipping. I'm hoping it's as simple as a worn belt. So I go to take the belt cover off (plastic) and the one side is broken and the other is cracked. I'll fix this later.

So the belt is worn and the adjustment is maxed out. Do my research on what belt it takes and start looking around town. No luck there. I go online and find one on Amazon for $18. ETA Wednesday. I get it Thursday, go to install it and it's too long. Measure it and it's 30". Factory spec is 29-1/4". The sleeve on the new belt states it's 29-1/2". It's the right part number, the number is even printed on the belt. Well I later find out that this belt was specifically made for this unit and it needs to be exact and you're not going to find a belt that measures in 1/4" increments. Need a OEM belt.

So I try a lawnmower shop on the other side of town, then a tractor dealer with no luck having the belt in stock. The dealer says they have one in Baltimore and can be here on Tuesday. Another $18 but this is OEM. This belt arrives and it fits perfect. What a pain in the ***. Now I'm sending my first belt back to the Amazon seller. Great guy emailing me a postage free shipping lable.

It's a five minute job replacing this belt and I'm jumping through hoops to get the job done.

Would have been easy to walk away from that one and give the thing back to the neighbor.
You didn't and instead saw it through.
That sort of thing speaks volumes, least to me.

 

[moparedtn]

I have every type of saw you can imagine, but I don’t know what I’d do without those little oscillating tools. I actually have three of them, two on the truck and one in the garage. They are so versatile. Don’t get me wrong, jigsaws, sawzalls have there place, but for better control and less chance of damage to surrounding areas, ya can’t beat them. Take care sir!

Appreciate you, my friend. Be careful out there.

 

[moparedtn]

Epilogue:
I expected to wake up this morning with a case of "concrete back" because rolling around on
concrete under a car can really put the sore in you the next day. Saps the life outta ya...
This time, though, I have to admit it's not bad at all. Minor stiffness in the neck, a little coldness
in the hands, not bad at all really - and no lacerations from hacked up floor pans!

In the end, I'm grateful He kept me around to be doing these things.
There's a satisfaction to getting these little projects done yourself that you can't really get
anywhere else and it's a gas when really old memories of doing the same thing decades ago
kick in and you've survived to do it one more time.
Ain't much to anyone else, but it's meaningful to me.

 

[Hey-O]

I've said nothing, knowing you would get er done!! Well done!!

 

[khryslerkid]

Makes a big difference when you use jackstands too!

 

[moparedtn]

Makes a big difference when you use jackstands too!

Yeah no doubt - no vehicles falling on me and thanks to the mangling of the floor pan,
no ribboning of hand flesh, either.