Fixing the stuff you have, with stuff you have?

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Tirediron

Tirediron

Seasoned HillBilly
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
Messages
2,188
Location
Rural western Canada, Sunrise side of the Rockies
My 20 + year old GM dually wants a bank 2 oxygen sensor, so of course no one has the exact right one in stock. I get looking around and Bosch makes a universal sensor, Did little research and found out that most Gm , similar vintage sensors are the same, just different plugs. I have a little later parts truck, so I decided to salvage one off of it, took the fork lift out to pull it out of its, spot, tires are up should be simple, nope found the only top soil on the place and buried the fork lift. Went and got the dually and my springy 1 1/2" tow rope , hit the end of it a few times, not so effective. So next step is get the Peterbilt winch tractor (40 ton hydraulic winch) fart around getting enough cable out to be effective. then drag the pete toward the fork lift, not funny, reset, block the wheels And drag the forklift out, move it out of the way, pull parts truck out, put the Pete away. continue with the plan, lift front of parts truck with fork lift (why it got involved in the first place) block up truck remove sensors (2 cause I was there anyway). Still got to see if any of the plugs match, if not I will get around that. Long story, but when the supply chain fails as it is how are you planning to cope?
 
ingenuity and resourcefullness will win the day; I have replaced O2 sensors that wouldnt come out by buying a bung fitting from a muffler shop and drilling a hole in the pipe and welding in the bung. Also works well on motorcycles where they replace the stock pipes with some loud pipes that dont come with the sensor hole.
I also have welders I can run off my generators for fabbing parts. and for the really hard times my hammers, pliers, files and anvil will probably still work.
 
I tell people i am not mechanically inclined.
I know how to fix somethings, but rather not let some people know that.
Then those people(youngest daughter in law and her family) would want me to fix things for nothing for them.
So now I just tell people I am not mechanically inclined.
Then go fix whatever what I was working on to start with.
But I no longer pull parts from automobiles, semi trucks by myself.
In case something falls on me.
My Dad made sure each of his three daughters could pull an engine, do oil changes etc.
And my Mom made sure my brother could cook, do laundry and sew a button on.
I always try to fix my possessions rather then replacing.
 
There was a time I had the resources & need to do that (and no money):(.
Graft the carburetor from a Ford inline 6-cylinder onto a model-A John Deere 2-cylinder? Done that, and it worked great! :p
I still have the skills and can make stuff work in a pinch, but....
I have advanced today, and found that most problems can be fixed with, money :thumbs:.
 
Tirediron said:
My 20 + year old GM dually wants a bank 2 oxygen sensor, so of course no one has the exact right one in stock. I get looking around and Bosch makes a universal sensor, Did little research and found out that most Gm , similar vintage sensors are the same, just different plugs. I have a little later parts truck, so I decided to salvage one off of it, took the fork lift out to pull it out of its, spot, tires are up should be simple, nope found the only top soil on the place and buried the fork lift. Went and got the dually and my springy 1 1/2" tow rope , hit the end of it a few times, not so effective. So next step is get the Peterbilt winch tractor (40 ton hydraulic winch) fart around getting enough cable out to be effective. then drag the pete toward the fork lift, not funny, reset, block the wheels And drag the forklift out, move it out of the way, pull parts truck out, put the Pete away. continue with the plan, lift front of parts truck with fork lift (why it got involved in the first place) block up truck remove sensors (2 cause I was there anyway). Still got to see if any of the plugs match, if not I will get around that. Long story, but when the supply chain fails as it is how are you planning to cope?
Click to expand...
Wowsa! Reminds me of the time I winched out an old Mack dump truck that was stuck in the muk. A bulldozer wouldn't pull it out, but I had an old Chevy truck with a winch, and access to a welding/fab shop with pulleys. I fashioned-up some pulley blocks, one with old automotive v-belt pulleys. I parked the truck against a tree, attached the pulley blocks to other trees and pulled out the Mack truck without a problem.

Anyway, anything with 02 sensors is too new for my tastes, but I still have vehicles with them. :facepalm:
Fortunately there's plenty of scrap yards around here with parts I'd need if they aren't available new.
 
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Tirediron said:
My 20 + year old GM dually wants a bank 2 oxygen sensor, so of course no one has the exact right one in stock. I get looking around and Bosch makes a universal sensor, Did little research and found out that most Gm , similar vintage sensors are the same, just different plugs. I have a little later parts truck, so I decided to salvage one off of it, took the fork lift out to pull it out of its, spot, tires are up should be simple, nope found the only top soil on the place and buried the fork lift. Went and got the dually and my springy 1 1/2" tow rope , hit the end of it a few times, not so effective. So next step is get the Peterbilt winch tractor (40 ton hydraulic winch) fart around getting enough cable out to be effective. then drag the pete toward the fork lift, not funny, reset, block the wheels And drag the forklift out, move it out of the way, pull parts truck out, put the Pete away. continue with the plan, lift front of parts truck with fork lift (why it got involved in the first place) block up truck remove sensors (2 cause I was there anyway). Still got to see if any of the plugs match, if not I will get around that. Long story, but when the supply chain fails as it is how are you planning to cope?
Click to expand...
Health will let me down
But I am like you, make anything work using what ever is at hand

My moto
I can fix it if it's broke
Or broke it if it's fixed
 
Supervisor42 said:
There was a time I had the resources & need to do that (and no money):(.
Graft the carburetor from a Ford inline 6-cylinder onto a model-A John Deere 2-cylinder? Done that, and it worked great! :p
I still have the skills and can make stuff work in a pinch, but....
I have advanced today, and found that most problems can be fixed with, money :thumbs:.
Click to expand...
I rebuilt a double barrel Holley with a spring from Bic pen and a float from a completely different carburetor. love me some red neck tech!
 
I didn't go too far off the rails, but getting the old sensor out of my dually was a bit of a challenge, it was seized pretty hard in the bung, perhaps antiseize wasn't handy when it went in. I had to cut the wires so I could get a box end on it , tapped the end of the wrench fairly hard, no go , got out my cutting torch heated the bung, ran out of acetylene , still no go, changed bottles got it hotter, still no go. then the big muscle on the left side of my back decided to cramp up, took a break, wiped the painful area with hydrogen peroxide 3%, and took apple cider vinegar, seemed to help some, then my buddy showed up to get some parts samples, came back in relaxed my back for a while. decided to cut the sensor off so that I could get a 6 point socket on it. of course the rechargeable recip saw only cut for a minute, get the corded saw cut and used a bit of violence to make things happen. gently put the socket on ,right, and got a breaker bar, still no go, got a stupid long breaker bar, several grunts later , mild cooperation , 1/8 of a turn out, back in, out a bit more repeat add infinitum , finally got it to go 2 clicks on a ratchet. get it out, threads are galled, find a tap, clean threads, then make up a jumper harness so that my salvage sensor will connect, put it all in the truck, back cramps again come in have a coffee write a 12 page story, still have to zip tie the jumper harness and put tools away. 1/2 a day for something that should have taken 1/2 an hour.
 
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The first rule of the backyard engineer is if you can't burn it or compost it, stash it.

The second rule is, that if it has mass, it has value.

The third rule is when the significant other gripes about your shop, Point out the fact the sewing room would make a nice storage room and take them out for dinner.

The fourth rule is, he with the biggest scrap pile wins.

The fifth rule is worn-out files and bottle caps ALWAYS go in the top drawer!

The sixth rule is anything aluminum or copper can be turned into fast cash when that new deer rifle or zero-turn mower beckons!

The seventh rule is never to straighten up anything, you'll never find that thing you need ever again!

The eighth rule is, that if you don't have a coffee can full of markers, pencils, and soapstone, you're not trying.

The ninth rule is you should have several rolls of various kinds of tape within reach of your main work area at all times.

And rule ten is to keep a bottle of whiskey in your medical kit right next to your special hammer, said hammer has a name and always hangs "RIGHT HERE!"
 
Magus said:
The first rule of the backyard engineer is if you can't burn it or compost it, stash it.

The second rule is, that if it has mass, it has value.

The third rule is when the significant other gripes about your shop, Point out the fact the sewing room would make a nice storage room and take them out for dinner.

The fourth rule is, he with the biggest scrap pile wins.

The fifth rule is worn-out files and bottle caps ALWAYS go in the top drawer!

The sixth rule is anything aluminum or copper can be turned into fast cash when that new deer rifle or zero-turn mower beckons!

The seventh rule is never to straighten up anything, you'll never find that thing you need ever again!

The eighth rule is, that if you don't have a coffee can full of markers, pencils, and soapstone, you're not trying.

The ninth rule is you should have several rolls of various kinds of tape within reach of your main work area at all times.

And rule ten is to keep a bottle of whiskey in your medical kit right next to your special hammer, said hammer has a name and always hangs "RIGHT HERE!"
Click to expand...
Rule 10
THOR!!!!!!!
 
My favorite removal way is to beat around it and around it from the sides you can get to, weld an estate/yard sale tight fit socket to it with the wire feed, heat a little in three small spots around it, then back it out or break it off and cut-punch it out.

anything with an open center, you can use a wire feed with a small wire to weld a small bead line on three sides inside the barrel and it will loosen it up to hand tight most times, same on an inside bearing race that is hard to get a puller on just run a bead on the inside of the race and it will drop out most time when it cools an the weld shrinks.

I started welding with gas and even used some coat hanger fillers HEHEHEH.
 
Supervisor42 said:
There was a time I had the resources & need to do that (and no money):(.
Graft the carburetor from a Ford inline 6-cylinder onto a model-A John Deere 2-cylinder? Done that, and it worked great! :p
I still have the skills and can make stuff work in a pinch, but....
I have advanced today, and found that most problems can be fixed with, money :thumbs:.
Click to expand...
The above is no easy task, the only thing they have in common is the basic theory of operation, a down draft carb mated to a cross drarft manifold, and the linkages etc quite an accomplishment especially if you made the A aircleaner work with it
 
I test used the truck:
And the "Hack" worked very nicely, back in the day we called them modifications but hey gotta keep the idiocrasy up
 
Tirediron said:
I didn't go too far off the rails, but getting the old sensor out of my dually was a bit of a challenge, it was seized pretty hard in the bung, perhaps antiseize wasn't handy when it went in. I had to cut the wires so I could get a box end on it , tapped the end of the wrench fairly hard, no go , got out my cutting torch heated the bung, ran out of acetylene , still no go, changed bottles got it hotter, still no go. then the big muscle on the left side of my back decided to cramp up, took a break, wiped the painful area with hydrogen peroxide 3%, and took apple cider vinegar, seemed to help some, then my buddy showed up to get some parts samples, came back in relaxed my back for a while. decided to cut the sensor off so that I could get a 6 point socket on it. of course the rechargeable recip saw only cut for a minute, get the corded saw cut and used a bit of violence to make things happen. gently put the socket on ,right, and got a breaker bar, still no go, got a stupid long breaker bar, several grunts later , mild cooperation , 1/8 of a turn out, back in, out a bit more repeat add infinitum , finally got it to go 2 clicks on a ratchet. get it out, threads are galled, find a tap, clean threads, then make up a jumper harness so that my salvage sensor will connect, put it all in the truck, back cramps again come in have a coffee write a 12 page story, still have to zip tie the jumper harness and put tools away. 1/2 a day for something that should have taken 1/2 an hour.
Click to expand...
Yup, sounds about right. I have a 2019 F150 my fear is some inane sensor goes bad and it's three months to get a new one. Under factory warranty until '26, then I'm getting an old school truck with roll up windows and manual hubs that I can toss rocks in the bed and not worry about it.
 
Skinwalker said:
By stupidifying my machines. Why run everything through a computer when it could be done with 12v down a wire.
Click to expand...
I have to agree the simpler the system the easier to keep it running.
 
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