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Green Jeep update

Well we finally got to drive the Green Jeep down the road. The brakes work fine with the new lines and master cylinder. The new power steering pump is working well too.

Saturday, we dropped the transmission pan and installed a replacement kick down cable for the transmission. Then we put on the front header and wired up the headlights.

Yesterday, Sandy found a hood that was a perfect match for her faded green paint and I put that on. She re-instituted the insurance. I will drive it around for a few days to make sure all the bugs are out but it looks like the Phoenix is ready for flight.

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Rebuilding the Green Jeep

Rebuilding the Green Jeep

Jennifer’s mother’s Jeep Cherokee caught fire. We think it had something to do with the power steering. She was making a hard turn in a parking lot when she saw smoke coming from under the hood. By the time she got the Jeep moved to a safe place and tried to open the hood, the fire was fully evolved.

The fire department responded quickly pried open the hood with crow bars. The entire grill and front header were burned and melted. Under the hood, the wiring harness and most of the hose were gone as well.

Jennifer began by stripping off the burned parts. I happened to have a parts Jeep of similar vintage available to donate the wiring harness and many of the small parts. She elected to swap the entire intake manifold and engine bay harness as a unit including the ECU. This method meant a lot of the tedious connectors did not have to be disturbed.

Many parts like the radiator, power steering pump, brake booster and master cylinder were bought new. The green Jeep was originally equipped with Anti Lock Brakes. However the system had never worked properly. To reduce complication in the rebuild we decided to swap to standard brakes since the donor Jeep was equipped that way.

The Brake swap meant fabricating new brake lines. The old passenger side front line was reshaped and a new fitting was installed. The driver’s side line was fabricated from raw tubing and new fittings. The rear line needed only a fitting swap to be compatible. The rubber line to the rear axle was replaced as it was damaged removing the steel line. The brake proportioning valve was taken from the donor Jeep. The brake booster and master cylinder are new.

The engine bay wiring harness goes though the firewall in two places. One place handles connections for the anti lock brakes and the other is for the transmission computer. We elected to remove the dash in the green Jeep to make sure we handled all the connection properly. We did not remove the dash in the donor Jeep after we were familiar with where all the pugs were.

When getting ready to put the exhaust manifold back in place on a new gasket, I noticed it was cracked as they commonly are on 4.0 Jeeps. I removed it and welded up the crack before reinstalling it. Jennifer set the intake in place and routed all the wires attached to it. She also swapped in most of the vacuum lines from the donor Jeep. He brother sent parts from a Jeep he was scrapping with helped with many of the small parts such as a power steering reservoir cap, and many of the small vacuum fittings. He also supplied a new valve cover complete with the proper fittings and a cap.

The transmission rubber line to the radiator was melted as well. Rather than purchase the pricey disconnect that is so troublesome, I elected to use some of the excess power steering return hose we had and make a line. I used my tube flaring tool to make a bubble on the end of the tube. I then clamped the rubber hose in place using a worm drive hose clamp.

She purchased a new power steering hose, but it had the wrong fitting on one end. So we ended up swapping one from the donor Jeep. We also had to reuse the old pulley off the damaged pump as the new power steering pump did not come with a pulley or a reservoir cap.

The front of the Jeep was slightly damaged from where the hood was pried open. I used a High Lift jack to work the steel structure back into place. The hood itself will have to be replaced.

Yesterday, Jennifer set about making all the connections necessary to crank the engine for the first time. After the fuel system primed, the engine started quickly. The idle was a little rough as the computer adapted to its new home. After a few seconds of running however, it smoothed right out.

There is still a lot of work left to be done. The brakes have to be bled, the power steering system bled as well. The transmission kick down cable was damaged so the transmission pan will have to be dropped to repair that. The front header with the headlights needs to be reinstalled and we still need to procure a hood. It should be drivable again soon.

We may have to change its name form Mr Green Jeep to the Phoenix.

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2011 Crow Mountain Hill Climb

2011 Crow Mountain Hill Climb

This weekend was I worked the seventh running of the Crow Mountain Hill Climb. I worked as I always have as Course Marshal. The race is held near Hollywood Alabama on a crooked section of County road 33.

My job is to make sure the course is staffed and ready to run. I also respond to any incidents and help clear any damaged cars from the course.

This year, I loaded up my fire extinguishers, tools and tow straps. I mounted my flashing light and siren on the roof of my Jeep.

We camped in the big hay field at the base of the mountain. It got unexpectedly cold during the night. I have always brought my Carhart coat in the past but I completely forgot to pack it this year. I was really missing it about 1am on Saturday.

did take a walk in the field however and enjoy the beautiful array of stars. Being well away from city lights the stars seemed much brighter than at home. The milky way looked like a huge cloud in the sky.

At 6:30 am I gathered up some pylons from the equipment trailer and carried my road closed sign to the top of the hill. I made it back down in time for the workers meeting which was more about putting people into their correct positions that training this year.

It seemed to take longer than usual tot get every body in place and all the equipment distributed around to the various corners. Janice and Jennifer ended up monitoring start and traffic in and out of side road 111.

I made sure the road was secured at the top with a Jackson County Deputy monitoring it and took up a position just past the finish. I could see turns 11 and twelve from there.

I had relatively little to do. I just monitored the radio net and confirmed that the road was in fact still secure between each set of runs. There were only a couple of red flag incidents neither of which required me to respond. And we have no unexpected visitors coming in from the woods this year either.

Saturday was a long day with racing continuing right up to the 5 pm closing time. The races seemed to be enjoying the hill and getting plenty of runs. The local FM radio broadcast was missing this year so I did not keep up with times.

The organizers had a nice pizza dinner and I won a nice shirt in the worker prize drawing. I lay down in the tent intending to get up and join the bon fire. However, I fell asleep and stayed that way until morning.

Sunday morning was just as cool. I think it was 39 degrees. We got the workers in place much quicker and had the course ready to race before eight. However, the Fire Trucks and Wreckers decided to wait to come based on their experience from the day before. So we all waited on them to show up.

I got to make a fun run up the hill as the big trucks were getting into place. Unfortunately I was past the timing lights when I started so I did not get a time. It was still fun to run the Jeep up the mountain knowing the road was closed and I could use all of it.

Again the day ran without incident. The drivers got as many runs as they wanted. In fact they were all out of tires fuel or energy by 2:30pm. We shut down early due to lack of cars wanting to run.

We cleaned up the course quickly and headed down the mountain. We gathered up the tent and camping supplies and said our goodbyes It was good to see folks that I see only once a year.

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How to Replace a Toilet Float Valve.

How to Replace a Toilet Float Valve.

If your toilet is filling slowly or overfilling, it may be time for a new float valve. If you have one that still has a ball on the end of a long arm, it is defiantly time to upgrade.

Begin by shutting off the water supply. Hopefully there is a valve on the floor by the toilet. If not, you may have to cut off the water supply to the whole house. In the worst case, you may have to cut off the supply at the meter, but be aware that most utility companies don’t like you messing with their equipment.

Remove the lid form the tank and set it aside in a safe place. Open the flapper valve and drain out as much water as possible. Use a towel or two to soak up the rest of the water. Note that any water you leave in the tank will run out on the floor when you remove the old fill valve.

Unscrew the supply tube from the fill valve. An adjustable wrench or small pipe wrench should work for this task. You can usually leave the tube connected to the valve at the floor.

Unscrew the lock nut from the valve assembly. Older ones will have an actual nut while newer ones will have a plastic ring. It is OK to break the plastic if necessary to get it off. If it is stubborn and will not unscrew, use a hammer and screwdriver to tap it a few turns.

Lift the old float assembly out of the tank. Clean the area around the hole in the bottom of the tank. Make sure there is a sealing gasket or ring on the new float assembly. Slip it in the hole in the bottom of the tank and line up the rubber tube so that it can connect to the center overflow tube.

Put the hold down nut in pale and tighten it so that the valve will not move around. Reattach the water supply tube. Some new float valves have a mechanical reset to keep then from cycling excessively. If your new n has such a device, attach the chain clip to the flusher lever so that the mechanism trips when the handle is flipped.

Turn on the water and check for leaks. The tank will begin to fill. If not, check the trip on the mechanical reset device. Check the water level when the valve closes to make sure it is at the correct height marked on the back of the tank. Adjust the float if necessary.

Once the level is set, give the toilet a test flush. The tank should start to refill as soon as the water starts to drain. The little tube should direct a stream of water to the overflow to help sweep the bowl.

If the water does not flow, the reset may not be triggering properly. Adjust the chain as necessary. Once the tank refills, check for leaks again. Tighten the pipe fittings as need to correct the leaks.

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How to Replace a Bathroom Sink Faucet

How to Replace a Bathroom Sink Faucet DIY

Years ago, if you had a leaking faucet, you went to the hard ware store and got some rubber washers and maybe a new faucet seat. You disassembled the knobs and installed a new seat and washer. Now days, I just replace the whole unit.

Normally you will be working inside a cabinet. Do yourself a favor and make sure every thing is removed form the cabinet so you can move around and get the wrenches in the proper position. Lying on the corner of the cabinet bottom can be very uncomfortable so use some towels to pad the edge or use a work mat.

To remove the old faucet, begin by shutting off the water. Hopefully, there are valves under the counter that shut off the water to just that fixture. If not, you may have to cut off water to the whole house. In the worst case, you may have to shut off the water at the meter. Just be aware that most utility companies don’t like you messing with their equipment. Some are pickier than others about it.

With the water off, open both knobs to let off the residual pressure. The fitting at the faucet is normally ½“ pipe. If there is room, you can use an adjustable wrench to unscrew the feeder tube from the faucet. In most cases, you can leave it attached to the valve at the bottom.

Next remove the hold down washers. These are normally plastic and thread on the valve body stems. Sometimes you can use a large pair of pliers to catch the tabs and turn them off. If they are stuck, like most seem to be, use a hammer and a screwdriver to tap on one of the tabs until it turns. Don’t worry about breaking it if you are replacing the unit. The new one will have new washers.

If this is a bathroom faucet, there will likely be a drain lift. Loosen the clamp screw and lift the plunger out of the fixture. Then lift the old fixture out of the sink.

Clean the area where the old fixture was. Then set the new fixture in place using the new gasket if included.

Put the new hold down washers in place and tighten them until the fixture will not move around in the sink. Slip the drain plunger down the hole and connect it to the drain operating lever. Tighten the screw.

Inspect the water supply tubes and the gaskets that the top. Replace if necessary. Tighten the supply lines on the fixture firmly but not so tight as to damage the plastic threads on the fixture.

Slowly open the water valves and check for leaks. If any are found shut off the water and check the tightness of the connections. If they are tight and still leak, replace the washers or the entire tube assembly. Normally the bottom is 3.8 compression fitting and the top is ½” pipe.

Once you are satisfied there are no leaks, open the faucet knobs slowly to let the air out. The pipes may bounce around as the air purges so check for leaks again after the water runs smooth and clear.

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