INVENTORY DAY.......

Today started cold and sunny, almost like any other day in the frozen tundra we call the Northeast. We had several things on the top of the list today.....we need to change several 8 foot fluorescent bulbs in the shop and change an oil filter in one of our tenants furnace.

Mr. Fix-It and I enter the shop to the smell of gasoline .....we have a scooter in the shop for repair. The customer had left gas in it and ruined the carburetor. But in the time it was sitting in the shop the gasoline laced with ethanol literally ate thru the fuel line causing gasoline to leak on our floor in the shop. We clamped it off until we could get to the job. Remember with an average of 13% ethanol in the current gasoline sold here. it is natural corn based and absorbs water, hence the corrosion in all things carburated!

We never got to the inventory shelf today...

MADE IN USA

Mr. Fix-It and I have been struggling over the last several years with inferior parts for a wide variety of items we repair on a daily basis. Usually our repairs include power equipment and automotive items. We have found that whatever we buy that is made in a different country doesn't have the same quality as made here in U.S.A. I am not sure if the quality assurance is required but with the items that we buy we have noticed that there is a definite inferior quality to items made in China, Tiawan, Indonesia, Korea ect...I could go on with a very long list of countries we have noticed this from. Which brings me to an article I read recently that I will cite below in regards to our economy and putting the American people back to work.
BUY USA.....
A physics teacher in high school once told his students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train at all, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American.
Good Idea....one light bulb at a time.
Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of itI was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China. The next day I was in Ace Hardware  and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in the U.S.A. Start looking. In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else- even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track. Let's get behind her.!
My grandson likes Hersheys candy. I noticed though that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it anymore. My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.
This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 watt light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value". I picked up both brands of bulbs and compared the stats, they were the same except for the price.  The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand and was made, get ready for this- the USA at a company in Cleveland, Ohio!
So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use everyday that are made right here in the USA  So on to another aisle- Bounce Dryer Sheets...yep, you guessed it, Bounce costs more money and is made in China. The Everyday Value Brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!
Lay's stacked potato chipsin a can are made in Mexico. Good old Pringles made in the USA.
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that are made in the USA .- the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others so we can all start buying american, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened a decade ago) Let's get with the program. Help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the USA.

                      

Which brings me to the long- winded point I am trying to make. We have been buying parts from Tecumseh for almost 30 years.  Tecumseh went out of business in October or November of 2008. They were in business in The USA for more than 105 years! What parts that are still available , which are few and far between have been made overseas, I am not sure when the company started outsourcing to other countries but this is what we have found with their parts.....you will see several pictures posted in this entry, a set of points and condenser, One package containing the points and condenser made in Taiwan and the other made in the Czech republic. We have received at least 6 or 8 sets of there for snowblowers this winter. Every set of points we received was defective, it is clear that there was no quality control. the contact area that cones together to form the spark was pressed in too far and at an angle so the contact s touching area was maybe 10% out of a possible 100%. We called customer service at our parts distributor to advise them of what we had found on the first couple of sets. A month later when we ordered several more sets we received the same thing, defective parts, made in another country.....
 We make up new swear words as we try to work with these inferior products and we try to modify them so we can at least get the job out, it is anti-productive.
If everyone tries to do this we can send a message to manufacturers!!! Please buy American!
                                     

The Mr. Fix-It shop.....

There is always something new in the shop.

Chrysler minivan coolant leak very hard to detect .....

Mr Fix-It and I have been working for several weeks on a mystery coolant leak in a Chrysler Minivan.....the van has been losing coolant but the customers have been unable to explain when and where the coolant is making its grand exodus from the system.....the customers are elderly and pretty clueless when it comes to anything mechanical. Mr. Fix-It has asked them to check the level of the overflow bucket because it was losing some coolant and he did not want it to overheat...they called in a panic wondering why the windshield was covered in an oily substance....they had filled the windshield fluid bucket with antifreeze!  The antifreeze was dripping everywhere....the side view mirrors were covered, it was in the door moldings, down the entire sides of the van.

The reason we could not pinpoint the leak was because the customers kept filling up the radiator but not using a funnel, and all the coolant was filling the k-member and was leaking randomly depending on how and where the van was parked. We finally found the leak....the van had been overheated so badly that the side tanks, which are plastic  let go ...we replaced with an OEM radiator  and so far so good. We have asked the customer NOT to open the hood if they need anything checked to please come and we will do it for them.  It was a real challenge trying to clean out the windshield washer bucket which was filled with antifreeze.                      

sunday dawned clear and sunny.....

the telephone was silent.

mr. & mrs. fix-it on the cape

Today we loaded tools into the land rover and headed to the cape.

We had a job in dennis, ma. to do for our attorney. he could not start his 2001 volvo wagon.

We took everything we thought we would need and then some. On our last trip to the Cape we had also picked up his Toro snowpup which was in need of service.  

On our way down we had previously planned a meeting in Mansfiels for some training.
after that we hit the Sagamore Bridge which was under construction and headed down to Dennis, Ma.

We passed all the clam shacks closed for the season, wishing for one last succulent taste of a fried clam......we got to the house, which is on a hill with several inches of unplowed snow on the driveway and barrelled our way up.

We got out the tools we needed and  hooked the battery up to a battery charger, then checked to see where the juice from the battery was channeling. The rear passenger map light was on, upon checking it fornd it was defective. Mr. Fix-It removed it to stop the draw of power, we removed the 9 year old battery and replaced it with a new one. Drove the car arounfd the block for good measure. All was well , we would order the switches to change on our next visit to the cape.

Our original plan was to heard to Marthas Vineyard for a few days, but the sun was dipping below the horizon so we decided to trek down to Provincetown where we hadn't been in several years to check out the scene....we gor there long after dark, found a hotel, had dinner at the Lobster Pot, which was on the  waterfront and awesome. The next day we checked out Race Point, in hurricane -like conditions.....we camped and went on the dunes when we were kids with a modified VW bug , we had a great time in the summer there when we were growing up.  Mr. Fix-It and I started going there when we were only 18 years old. We camped and did the dunes every weekend for years, until life and bills intruded in on our life!!!

We hope to get there again on our next trip to the Cape. Above picture is my fathers modified VW bug in the 60's in the dunes of P-town....

quigley van fuel delivery problem......the van won't start.

My sister called today....her Quigley 4 wheel drive van won't start..... she rode into work today with her husband, and she left the van at home. Mr. Fix-It and I will go to their house later with a handful of tools.

Its arounD lunchtime and I need to go to work in two hours so we need to go to check the van....we brought starting fluid and a tester to check the level of the battery.

The Quigley has been  on a charger for several hours.....Mr. Fix-It pulls the air cleaner housing off of the engine, sprays some starting fliud in the throttle body and turns the key, the engine turns over and starts.
The problem is not the battery or the starter. It appears to be a fuel delivery problem. Mr. Fix-It turns the van off.  He jumps into the drivers seat for another test. He turns the key on to see if he can hear the fuel pump cycling. ...nothing.....
so its probably a fuel pump, which on the Quigley 4x4 van is in the tank which has been made to fit with the modifications to convert the van to 4 wheel drive.

Mr. Fix-It digs a little deeper with a tech he knows at a local Ford dealer. He pulls the schematic chart for the fuel system. Mr. Fix-It discusses several different scenarios with his tech buddy at the Ford dealer. Mr. Fix-It tests the fuel pump module which , unbelievably is mounted behind the drivers rear tire. It is made of aluminum and plastic, and the seam on the module is running in the up/down position.....very easy for salt, water and dirt to penetrate and corrode over a period of time....how convenient for Ford Motor to manufacture this part to fall victim to PLANNED OBSCOLESCENCE!

7 degrees.....broken water pipe

Today dawned sunny and beautiful, but when i woke up it was only in the single digits here in the northeast. The plan today was to take a day off, the first in many weeks, after last weeks no heat call at my sisters we needed a few hours off.

My cell phone rang and it was my brother- in- law . They own a local business in a strip mall. Their neighbor failed to keep his heat up high enough and froze the water pipe coming into the building!

The karate studio next door filled with water and when it had nowhere else to go the water came knocking on his door.... it came rushing through the walls, there were several inches of water in the building.

Mr.Fix-It and I  left the shop with a wet/ dry vacuum minus the filter and hit the road. We loaded it into my trunk and off we went not sure what we would find..

to be continued....





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sunday dawned cold and clear.....no heat call

Sunday dawned sunny and clear, but very cold. finally a day off...today is the day we have been planning on watching football playoffs with a crock pot of 2 alarm chili....it is already on its 12 hour simmer....

The telephone rings, not a good sign on an early sunday a.m.,  its my sister, she has no heat.....

We dress , pack a 5 gallon bucket with miscellaneous STUFF....screwdrivers, pliers, basic tester, flashlight, and much more....
there are several inches of new snow on the ground and its cold.

We get there, I have snow pants over my pajama pants. Mr. Fix-It has his trusty blues on.....
we are in.....the boiler room is in the garage in its own room, we hear movement upstairs......i get a text from my neice " are you coming soon? its cold!"  I text back," we are here!"   I hear her running down the stairs.

Mr. Fix-It is already into the furnace, he has checked to see that the oil burner switch is on, made sure there is enough oil in the tank, and checked the line to make sure there were no obstructions in it.... then he started taking the covers off to get to the innards.

He tried the reset button, nothing. tries to start and almost immediately shuts off. Mr. Fix-It said "there's no fire in the hole!"
Mr. Fix-It looks inside the chamber and its sooty black, no clean white burn.  Now we have to take all covers off, we try to figure out how all the covers come off..... we get the top cover off and look inside, we cant ever see the grid inside, it is loaded with soot!
My brother- in -law starts to vacuum....what a mess....soot is sooooooo dirty.
we are literally chipping away at the hardened soot.....slow but sure.....after several hours of cleaning between 4 people, and emptying the vacuum and blowing out the filter in the wet/dry vacuum many times, we all look like chimney sweeps....we finally break through the soot into the fire chamber.....cuts and blood , sweat and tears.....we take down the chimney pipes which are loaded with soot.
It is clear that this furnace hasnt been running correctly for some time.
Mr. Fix-It changes the filter, which was much needed. He then tries to fire it, it runs on safety mode until it kicks off again. My sister, brother-in-law and I all watch expectantly, it runs on safety for a minute and shuts off.
Mr. Fix-It continues to reassemble the covers on the furnace.....we are just watching noone is saying much. We are a dirty pack of soldiers.....
Mr. Fix-It is undeterred......
He opens the door to the sensor eye and blows out any dust that could be tricking the sensor into shutting off. Closes it up again. Resets it and again shuts off after safety shuts off.. He then checks the air door, the door is set at 10, that is unusually wide gap.....Mr. Fix-It adjusts it to 8.  Resets it again, and Voila!

We all breath a sign of relief there is ice on the inside of the garage door windows.....

Mr. Fix-It strikes again!


Follow up to the above post:  The next day my brother- in -law called Mr. Fix-It, the furnace shut off again. Mr. Fix-It suggested he close the blower door to a 6. After that and since no problemo. And the oil consumption has gone way down. Go figure.

Our thoughts on this incident after reviewing all information that led to the failure: Our conclusion is the technician that had been paid to clean the boiler may not have actually have cleaned/vacuumed it out for a couple of years and he kept opening the air door to continue to get it to run. Hence, carboning up the furnace and burning an awful lot of oil. Oil men want you to use alot of oil!  (Just my two cents.)

FYI...Mr. Fix-It has never worked on this furnace.

100k Toyota Highlander loud growling

Today a customer came in in a panic , several days ago she thought she heard revving in her engine , she said it sounded like the engine would not shift once she was on the highway  she was convinced that there was something terribly wrong with her transmission because she was driving it , it did not seem to want to shift.  She came in and Mr. Fix-It who is very cautious first checked the level of the transmission fluid. All was fine. Then he went to the fuse box under the hood to see if anything there was amiss, all fuses still in working order. Mr. Fix-it them went into the drivers area and opened up the fuse box under the dash, again nothing amiss.  Finally after exhausting all those things, he took it for a test drive with the vehicle owner..... they came back 10 minutes later.......wht do you think they found ?
Hints: Loud growling when steering wheel was turned to the left.....quiet when turned to the right....

I will post the answer tomorrow.


Wheel bearings!

rusty ariens snowblower

Today we did a little work on a rusty 80's Ariens snowblower. It is evident that when the homeowner used it up here in the Northeast near the road to clear the windrow. The snowblower was  not washed with water after it was used. There is so much salt on the roads up here in the Northeast that it literally eats steel. The paint  is peeling off in 6 inch pieces due to the addition of the liquid calcium that is poured on the roads . Best defense once you use your snowblower is to rinse it with hot water after each use. Believe it or not it will increase the longevity of the machine.

anti-seize and my niece.....

My niece, Tallia, was over to the shop tonight. She had a question for her uncle, Mr. Fix-it.... her fifth grade teacher  drives a Honda CR-V. She told her class if you want a reliable car that lasts a lifetime get a Honda. So Tally asked her uncle, Mr Fix-it's opinion.  He advised that any vehicle that is purchased new and preventative maintainence is done on it should be a reliable vehicle.  He advised her though that sometimes as vehicles get older it is much harder to get parts. Mr. Fix-it needed to replace a battery terminal on a 1992 Toyota this week he called the dealer and it was still available. An OEM Terminal. !!!
Tallia also reminded Mr. Fix-it that a mechanics best friend is and always would be anti-seize. Funny that a 10 year old would know these handy facts....www.neverseezproducts.com/antiseize.htm

this is a new adventure...here we go