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My Niece’s car died

I am so happy that my daughter and her cousin are growing closer. My Niece has come to trust my daughter’s car knowledge. When my niece’s car died, she went into action and reached out. She described the problem, and we quickly figured that it was the alternator to blame.

The Part

This time, my niece had done some leg work ahead. She did the right thing and had the battery tested and found that it was okay. She then reached out to grandpa and they worked through ordering the part online. This was an unexpected surprise. Ordering parts can be the least fun part of the job. Anyway, there was a nice and new alternator waiting for us to pickup on the way to the repair.

The Weather

We had gone for a couple weeks with the weather being pleasant and conducive to outdoor car repairs. Today was not our lucky day. The weather outside was pretty cold to be laying on the pavement and turning cold wrenches. We called in assistance from my brother. He has done more alternators than I have and is invaluable when it comes to backyard repairs.

The repair

We got up early and drove down to pick up the alternator and meet my niece where the car had finally stopped. Luckily it was in her parking lot so we knew they were home safe. Popping the hood began the process with a mild disappointment. This alternator was not right out in the open, but buried down near the bottom. We jacked up the car and removed the plastic covers. From here it was a pleasant surprise that the belt had a proper solution for tension and removal. Even though it took a few hours to get everything replaced, this was mostly due to the cold. We took turns in the cabin of the truck warming our hands and feet so we could continue. To finalize the repair, we did have to shim the battery terminal so the connection was solid.

The Symptoms

Greetings! We had an issue with the electric power steering in my Malibu. This was a new one for me and I felt a bit nervous taking it on. The Symptoms,were that we got a “Power Steering” error on the dashboard radio and the steering wheel would erratically vibrate. After a moment or two, the power steering finally would stop working. We could steer, but it was difficult.

The Parts

Once we figured out that this was an electric power steering system we had to go about finding the parts. This was a bit of a challenge. After spending some time researching the symptoms, I came to the conclusion that there were 3 parts involved and all 3 could be the culprit. I found a few videos for the process, but they were not complete or specific to my make and model. Combining my efforts to find the training video with my search for the parts, I stumbled across a vendor who was selling the whole assembly. With all 3 parts in the same jumble, I now had the assurance I wanted for the full repair.

The Process

We ordered the assembly and now it was down to the business of executing the process. The weather took a turn for the worse and got too cold. We waited it out for a couple weeks until the sun decided to show up and make it so the process was less tortuous. Our new mechanic is the perfect size to complete the task of swapping this Electric Power Steering assembly. We spent the first few steps looking over the electrical connections and assuring we would disconnect them and reconnect them as needed. We then moved on to removing the steering wheel itself and assuring the shaft stayed aligned. I forgot to mention that if the steering wheel got turned, we would then face the need for a code scanner capable of calibrating the new electric sensor. All in all, we had great success.

Back to the bug! The History

It has been a long time coming, but, we are finally getting back to the main project. Back to the bug! I hope that you enjoy the pictures. Several months ago, we found that the beetle engine was full of metal shavings. BUMMER! After some deliberation, we decided to buy a new engine and install it in the bug. Seeing as how this is an “Auto stick” beetle, so, we had to find a builder familiar with this technology. The reality is this transmission is a mix between a manual and an automatic. The history is a bit fascinating. We located a builder who would not only build the engine, but, he would ship it to us. This was a good thing because the builder is on the west coast. The new engine arrived and we loaded it onto the truck and took it to school.

Back to the bug! The accident

The new engine was well built, and, it was nice and shiny. Our little mechanic was excited and ready to do the install. The students pitched in and removed the old engine and they were well on the way to getting the beetle on the road. Boom there was a crash! A nice teen tragedy landed right on the new engine. A basic brake job left unfinished led to the destruction of our new custom built engine. The facility did the right thing and replaced the engine, and, we were back to bug once again.

The Blessing

Even though the beetle engine was replaced, we were now left trying to find a way to install the engine without benefit of the facility, the instructor, or any additional help from the students. During a karate class for my son, quite by chance, we ran into a wonderful blessing! One of his teachers happened to be a beetle restoration enthusiast.

Things left to do

We got the engine in. Our little mechanic also replaced the starter motor on her own. This makes 3 started motor posts on this one page. Whew! We still have to deal with the A.T.F. (Automatic Transmission Fluid) hydraulic hoses. Of course, there are not Volkswagen part numbers for these, and, they are not readily available for purchase. After some research, I was able to locate some detailed descriptions (no pictures), and, I was able to find a company that states they have hoses available that fit all of this type transmission. There are 3 hoses in total and I was able to locate and purchase 2 of the 3. Once the 3rd becomes available, we will be reconnecting and making more progress! Enjoy the read and the photos!

Good evening! I must admit that I did not know what door check links were. Now that I have figured it out I am glad. Door Checks are the little things in the car door that keeps the door open when the car is parked. When these wear out, your shins pay the price. Me and my now certified and graduated little mechanic needed to change oil today and we decided to change the door check links as well.

Sourcing the parts

I did not expect these to be so difficult to find and purchase. Well, the part numbers were relatively easy to locate, but the physical parts are very much unavailable. I searched for weeks to find these and when I did, it was more expensive to purchase that the more common replacements for other model cars. Sourcing the parts was the most difficult part of the whole job. Typically, these are widely available for an average of 18-25 dollars. There are also a variety of manufacturers that supply them. I finally located a website that had a list of 9 different part numbers, but, none of them were available for order. I finally found a couple different sources. I had to order them 1 at a time as they were not available in pairs. I was able to get 1 new and 1 used.

The Work

With the correct parts in hand, we moved on to The Work. We had to remove the inner door panels and this was the most difficult part of the job. Once we got all of the wires disconnected and the plastic retainers loose, changing the door checks was the easiest part. My little mechanic has tiny hands, so getting the links in an out of the doors was an easy experience. We did try to do front brakes as well, but, the parts I ordered did not fit. That will be another day. Stay tuned, We will be returning to the 1792 Super beetle tomorrow if all goes well!

Gracious good morning! We have been knee deep in tires for the past couple months. Last year, I bought a manual tire changer from my local discount tool store. To be honest, it was not a good one. While it does get the job done, it has required seemingly endless additions and modifications to either complete tasks, or repair the device after light use.

The Tire Machine

I bought a cheap tire changer. We tried it while bolted to ply wood. It did not take long to realize this was bad, and we jumped directly to drilling holes and properly bolting this down. The method the tool used to secure the wheel was the big issue. It took 2 uses for the “Star” piece to fail. The next problem was the pry tool. The tool while usable, was not as secure and safe. We had a couple tires with glued on plastic covers. The Star piece was insufficient. We drilled holes in the plate and bolted the wheel on. There was also a pin on the plate to attempt to universalize the tool. It also failed after a few uses. The holes and bolts led to pin removal. The Bead breaker failed after a few uses. Yes, there is a pattern here. weak steal.

The fixes for the Tire machine

We did try to fix the bead breaker with no success. The cheap steal still failed. We had to buy a bead breaking tool. It is a better design, but still not enough to make this easy. We have successfully used the new tool 15 tires and it still works. The machine had a flat pry bar for peeling the old tire off. We found that the pry bar is a problem and many people have devised replacement solutions. We went with a duck bill. This tool promises to both peel off the old, and peel on the new tire. Peeling off has been smooth sailing, peeling back on, has not yet worked for us. Luckily we have been able to mount all of the tires with a good set of irons.

The Jobs

To date, we have replaced single tires filled with nails and screws. A full set on a Hyundai, a full set on a Honda H-RV, a Full set on a Prius, 2 tires on an Explorer, and 12 random tires for a friend who does racing and off road driving. The Honda was a big learning curve. We had a situation where the tire would not set on the bead due to the way it was stored at the warehouse. No matter what we did, we could not coax this rubber onto the wheel. It was exhausting and frustrating.

Blower Resistor

Gracious good afternoon! I know it has been a while since the last post. I hope this one will keep us rolling in the right direction. Today’s problem was a bit on the fun side. I noticed when I had any of my internal climate controls on, the blower only worked when it was full blast. This was caused by a bad Blower Resistor like the one shown above. It does not look like much, but when you have this problem, it can make trouble. This little guy can make it so your cabin temperature is no longer adjustable, and since it only works on the highest setting, it can be noisy enough to drown out the music.

Replacing the part

By a wonderful coincidence, our mechanic in training just happens to be studying electrical problems in school. I Absolutely love it when things line up like this. So, Step one was to get the plastic cover off. The offending part was under the passenger side dash behind the glove box. The cover just had some of the friction pinch connectors to hold it in. We did take out two small bolts in error before we discovered the snap in connectors. No biggie, we just put them back where we got them. After removing the cover, replacing the resistor was pretty easy. It had two more 7/32 bolts holding it on and a plug with a finger release on it. Luckily the replacement we ordered fit nicely. Before we put everything back together, we tested to make sure everything worked. Since the old part made a rattle noise, we wanted to be sure that the rattle was gone and we did not need to order a blower motor as well before putting the covers back to save work later. Great news, no need to order more parts. It was also a wonderful day to be out working with my favorite mechanic on a beautiful fall afternoon. Have a great week folks!

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I was driving home the other night and noticed that since it was dark outside, I was having low visibility. Clear headlights are a good thing! I was shocked at how cloudy these had become, so I ordered some clear headlights online (https://www.carparts.com/) and was surprised at the ease of the job and how inexpensive this fix was.

Been a while

I know it has been a while since my last post. Winter comes with its own challenges. Here at https://dwits.biz it is my hope to stay with this for the long haul. I am glad for the few folks who continue to read for as long as you care to participate. My sincere thanks to any of you who continue to visit even though it has been a while.

The Work (Clear headlights)

Without further adieu, down to The Work. We had several tasks to complete today. What a nice day to work on the vehicles together and outside. Task number 1 was changing the tire on the front passenger side. Winter time, I had bought 4 tires on line and decided to try my hand at manual tire changes. This was not as bad as I anticipated. It is tough work, but not out of my realm. I spent a little less than $100 on a manual tire change tool and balancing tool which both have saved enough to pay for themselves. For the tire changer, definitely bolt this to the floor. Stability makes this easier. To be clear, I would not do this on larger tires. The small car I have only uses 13 inch tires. Task number 2 was to tighten up the arm rest in the old truck. Fortunately, last year, I purchased the T50 star head tool and left it in the truck. Once again planning has made things simpler. Those 2 tasks completed in short order, and we move on to the main Task number 3. This task was to replaced the cloudy headlights. Having done this many years ago, I was hesitant. This time, the job went super smooth and fast. 2 bolts and 3 electric plugs and all was well. Clear headlights once again gave the car a new face and, more importantly, I can see!

Another Starter

Well, we had another starter motor die on us. This time, it was on the Hyundai. The supply chain woes are affecting all of us. We had to wait 4 days for shipping. It was not helpful that this is a manual transmission and the manufacturer only had 1 in stock the whole country. Aftermarket parts are not always desirable, but in this case, we had little option.

Let’s get it started

We had an adventure with the motor mounted to the top side instead of the bottom. Me and my daughter made quick work of it. The biggest issue we had was the old one was pretty oily and slick. A little bit of soap and this was not terrible to deal with. Having a second set of smaller hands was extremely helpful. Of course the previous owner had used a new bolt on one of the sides, which made it slightly more difficult to get the threads started. I was also glad to not have to jack up the car and crawl around underneath.

Old cars

I noticed several things on this vehicle. We recently had the motor replaced by a smaller shop. I think they did a fine job. I can tell though that the savings appears in some of the little things. These are not critical to the running of the car. The air box was supposed to have 3 bolts. One of them rusted. so instead of fixing this, they left it out. Again, this not a big deal. Also, the bolt issue on the motor itself. The threads were slightly different, but not so much that prevented me from fixing the problem. When dealing with old cars, this stuff happens. We fought with the location of the mounting bolts a bit. The machines in charge of bolt locations did a great job hiding them. We did have to dismantle a couple bits and bobs to get through it. All in all, this was a pretty easy job. Have a great evening!

Getting a handle on things is what I am calling this one due to the plethora of handles Me and my daughter (our budding mechanic) just replaced. By now, if you have read any of the old posts, you know that my luck is just my luck. My dad’s name is not Murphy, but it very well could have been. We have older cars. That just comes with normal problems. We expect to be careful with things and to put in some extra time doing minor repairs. In this case, it is if both vehicles were following the grand conductor of the hit song “The ballad of the broken handles”.

The Truck

I came home from work the other day and noticed something strange on the kitchen counter. It was a long skinny black plastic piece that was in pieces from the truck. After a moment, I knew it was the inside handle of my old truck. Upon our next encounter, I asked,”So, which door was it?” I got a lovely story in return about the driver’s side door and how the handle just popped off that morning. Being one car down already, this was exactly the wrong news. Oh well, off to the wide wide world of web to, not only find the part, but watch a few videos to see if this is something we can tackle on our own. Sure enough it was, so I ordered what we needed (a nice upgrade from plastic to metal) and the price was excellent.

The Car

Round about the same week, both the passenger handle and the driver handle on the outside of the car broke internally. Same old song and dance. There were no upgrades to be had, but, I was able to find a factory branded set of outside handles for the car. Just in time, here comes the rain. After we scouted for a new Ark filled with all the little animals, we finally got a nice day, some time to do the work, and some sunshine.

The Work

We decided that since only one handle on the truck was in need and the replacement process only included one bolt that held the handle on, we should start with the truck. Of course the inter-web videos all made it look so much easier than it was. We ended up removing the inner door cover so we could easily get to the bolt. Thread locker gel made removal a bit challenging, but not impossible. As always, the first one takes 30 minutes, the next one took 5. For the sake of pacifying old Murphy, we went ahead and replaced both handles on the truck. It really went smoother than expected, so with the extra time, we tore into the car. This was a bit more challenging. Luckily the socket size was the same for every bolt. Also, the videos must have been on older models, because we found that the manufacturer left access holes for this job.

The interesting twist

We did have an interesting little issue where the bolt was ever so slightly too short to re-install. A quick old phone guy trick helped out. We took a tiny bit of wire and made a little clump. Then inserted this into the socket to allow the bolt to stick out just enough to get the threads to reach the hole. All of the handles on those two old vehicles are now in working order. I am so proud of my girl and how she was able to figure it out and fix all the things.

If you can believe it, My disposal got jammed up by a flying bolt. This is just too funny not to share. The other night, I was making some hot tea. We have a whistling kettle. The tops fit tight so the pressure can build and make the noise. There is a small nut and bolt that holds on the handle and it was a bit loose. Just my luck! I pull the top and everything flies out and falls apart. Every little bit was located with the exception of that last bolt. Too tired to keep going, I left it alone and went to bed. In the morning I started doing my dishes and found that my disposal was jammed up. Fixing this was an adventure I did not want to start that morning. I left it for a few days until another time.

As I thought more about this, it occurred to me that it might be that little bolt stuck in there. Sure enough, it turned out like a Seinfeld episode. That little bolt found itself free from its resting place and magically decided to fly over my head, across the kitchen, and right down the drain! Flashlight and wrench in hand, I went to work. I wiggled the disposal free and my little cursed screw jumped out and showed itself proudly. I hope you have more fun reading this, than I had experiencing it. Have a great Day!