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What did you do today....other than work on your car!?

What do you use? My house needs this too. I have used "30 seconds" in the past. Anything better out there now?
I used only water as my wife has a flower bed under there I didn't want to kill and it's Aluminum siding so I did want to wash the color away with a cleaner...
 
Charger Radiator follow up from minutes ago:
failed radiator pic2 6-23.jpg
Success - after a LOT more cussing, gyrations and praying to demon gods...

failed radiator part number 6-23.jpg
That doesn't look like a factory part number, eh? That means this was a cheap
aftermarket one and it lasted maybe THREE YEARS!

Now, what was the first thing I did when I finally wrestled it out of the car?
Chucked it across the drive, of course:
failed radiator pic3 6-23.jpg
Arnold style, with FEELING!
Sorry assed %^%$^*#@@ POS!
Then I gloated, arms stretched overhead:
 
watching it finally starting to rain here dry as hell. I have one more day of framing on this skeleton, and it ready for steel sheeting and skylight install,. also getting ready to bite the bullet and order the 12'x12' overhead doors this week ouch! had prices of 9500 to 10500 for 2 doors 2 openers and install, **** that, Menards has 2" insulated ones for 2600 each. Saving $$$ I will install myself.
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The service manager was saying how the radiator needed drained, tire has to come off, take the fender trim off, take the wheel well off etc.. I told him it's a blind hole(no fluid) and then he said "oh you must have a special engine then".. I hung up and called the Parts department had my son grab the sensor for me on his way home from work and did it afterwork... Again not fun laying in there of and on basically doing it by feel but for $580 I dealt with it.
The hardest car I've ever worked on was my daughter's Pitiful Thing Crusier GT. Wife wanted one when they first came out and after lifting the hood on one, I just dropped it and walked on telling her no way. A few years later she goes shopping with the youngest looking for a car and guest what...they find a PT POS. Oh, I was pissed when they brought it home and wanted me to work on the POS!
Installed sod at my daughters house around her pool area.God I’m getting to old for this.

View attachment 1477757

View attachment 1477758

View attachment 1477759
Oh man, I know the feeling!

Wife comes in the door Friday after work and has the owners' manual for the 2012 Charger in her hand.
Bless her heart, she was trying to diagnose what had happened to that critter that day.
She knows I'm not having the best of medical luck right now and is trying to keep trouble off me...
I tell her to put those back where she found them, I'm on the case.
We have a quick lesson on what that "other" gauge on the instrument cluster is for.

Turns out, the car has gotten hot - REAL hot - and since I don't see any coolant emerging from it anywhere,
I'm thinking the worst. Mental checklist is run down - no smoke, car runs fine, no other fluid on the dipstick,
fan is coming on when it should - all good so far.
So - where's the damn problem then?
Turns out, it's low on coolant - REAL low.
Ok, again - where's it going?
It's then that I notice the stains on the garage floor under her car and detective Ed figures it out - radiator!
Piece of shiyat, plastic and aluminum radiator - still quite a young unit too, since it got replaced when the
car got in an accident 3 years ago.

So....what have I been doing when a few spare moments here and there occur today?
Tearing the thing apart, of course. Turns out, it's quite an involved process to replace the radiator on these
late model cars. TONS of plastic, everywhere - and the product packagers at Chrysler have succeeded in
packing 10lbs of it in the proverbial 5lb bag, too.
Big fat ol' meathooks don't get along with micro-spaces to work in.
This job ain't a half hour in our old rides; in the Charger, an expert might get it done in half a day.
Either way, no choice - I gotta do it, regardless of physical whatevers.

Several hours later I've managed to get it down to the four bolts that hold the condenser to the
radiator; after that, I can hopefully lift the radiator out of the car and throw it across the pasture a few times
in triumph.
Local parts stores (all national chains) want like $300 for a replacement.
"Hello, Rock Auto?"
:thumbsup:
Oh geez....been thinking about getting a newer vehicle but.....don't think so anymore!

Charger Radiator follow up from minutes ago:
View attachment 1477994
Success - after a LOT more cussing, gyrations and praying to demon gods...

View attachment 1477995
That doesn't look like a factory part number, eh? That means this was a cheap
aftermarket one and it lasted maybe THREE YEARS!

Now, what was the first thing I did when I finally wrestled it out of the car?
Chucked it across the drive, of course:
View attachment 1477998
Arnold style, with FEELING!
Sorry assed %^%$^*#@@ POS!
Then I gloated, arms stretched overhead:

:thumbsup: Makes me what to some one:elmer:
 
The hardest car I've ever worked on was my daughter's Pitiful Thing Crusier GT. Wife wanted one when they first came out and after lifting the hood on one, I just dropped it and walked on telling her no way. A few years later she goes shopping with the youngest looking for a car and guest what...they find a PT POS. Oh, I was pissed when they brought it home and wanted me to work on the POS!

Oh man, I know the feeling!


Oh geez....been thinking about getting a newer vehicle but.....don't think so anymore!


:thumbsup: Makes me what to some one:elmer:
Man, I ain't kidding - every single fastener involved in that overly-complicated process fought like a biyotch,
not so much in tightness or whatever - but because of where they are. Access to any of them was a joke.
"Product packaging", my ***...
 
Still cleaning up after the garbage sale....getting rid of crap and advertising on FB Market place. Sorry to you nay sayers but it's been good for me.
 
Still cleaning up after the garbage sale....getting rid of crap and advertising on FB Market place. Sorry to you nay sayers but it's been good for me.
Like it or not, FB has pretty much killed off Craigslist.
 
Man, I ain't kidding - every single fastener involved in that overly-complicated process fought like a biyotch,
not so much in tightness or whatever - but because of where they are. Access to any of them was a joke.
"Product packaging", my ***...
I can only imagine what things are like with the newer stuff. I've concentrated on the Dokota pick ups and thought some of them were kinda crazy with how they were built. The 1st gens were easy but the 2nd gens got strange to me...
 
Was followed closely by the local Cops today.....

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All the way through the Krispy Kreme Drive-thru.

I laughed when I saw the patrol car...thinking typical...apparently they get 50% discount while on duty. :eek:
 
They're actually rolls of plastic hose pipe for a job tomorrow.
Didn't think they were.....was using my phone so clicked the pic and enlarged it and saw for sure it wasn't tires.
 
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