Fixit Log

[Sclass]

Fixed my power seat switch in my car.

While mucking about in my door last week trying to fix my locks I damaged my power seat toggle switch. This is a little piece of plastic that is unobtanium now. I managed to take it apart and find the broken plastic piece inside.

In prior years I’d broken it but I managed to glue a stem back on the broken stump of the lever. This time there was no lever left. I tried epoxy and thin brass rod stock but it just fatigued at the glue joint under stress. I had to start over. The part is unavailable and worse, since MB decided to hardwire these switches in the doors without plugs they need to be soldered into the wiring harness. Ten connections. So I was very motivated to fix this thing.

There is an updated part that can be found online but it requires gutting the wiring harness and buying a bunch of other button caps and beauty panels that just happen to be unobtanium too. So backed into a corner I designed this switch.

I posted the description on Thingiverse with photos. I was thinking of selling it to other collectors but I realized it is too fiddly a part and it’ll be a tech support nightmare. Customers will likely mess up the repair and then bother me. Not worth a few dollars for selling a plastic part. So up to Thingiverse it goes. Free download for the remaining crazies who drive and maintain these cars.

Now I can recline my seat.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6878044

[theanimal]

I'm visiting family and borrowed my mom's car to get a free piece of furniture off marketplace. I wasn't as careful as I should've been in unloading it and ended up scratching up a good portion of her rear bumper. The scratches were minor but she was very upset by it (rightfully so) and said she was going to take it to a shop to get fixed. I thought that was silly and when she was gone took a go at it myself. I was skeptical about the proposed means of scratch removal i read about online. Most sites recommended buffing them out with just a damp a microfiber cloth and whitening toothpaste. But sure enough, within seconds the first scratches started diminishing. 30 min and a couple passes later, it's close to as good as new. With just $0.25 of toothpaste and elbow grease. Amazing! Saved the hassle of a trip to the body shop and I figure around $200.

[thef0x]

Oven igniter burned out -- this oven keeps burning through igniters. An easy fix to replace the igniter for $17: unscrew it, remove wire coupling nuts (idk what these are called), install new one, rewire, test and done.



I had paperwork from the previous owner about the oven and in order to make sure I was using the right OEM part, I found the manual and in it, I saw a bill from the previous owner for "oven repair". $417!

They charged $300 for labor and $117 for the part. What a scam.

It blows my mind that folks don't google these issues to see the scope of repair requirements. The answer was the first result in the SERP and took 15 minutes.

[Sclass]

Awesome save. I recall changing a similar ignitor in a gas dryer long ago. Saved a visit from the appliance repairman. This is a perfect example of parts markup I talk about in car repair. The serviceman will take a $17 part and mark it up to $117. Then they charge hundreds of dollars an hour for labor. If they can get away with it.

I once met a parts salesman at a BMW dealership who claimed he made $250k a year with a high school degree. He was technically a salesman and he got to keep a percentage of all profits he made over retail price. So he routinely marked up parts prices 100%-200% depending on how clueless he felt the customer was about replacement part prices on service work performed at the dealership. That’s why online parts houses charge 20% what you pay at a dealership parts counter. It’s not like I’m getting a great discount online, I’m not paying 5x fake markup. Yes folks, this is a thing and people are laughing all the way to the bank.

I’ve met a few of these guys over the years and they are accustomed to taking money from uniformed white collar types who feel they’re above understanding the cost of a loose nut behind the wheel.

I just laugh at all those personal finance pundits who say skip the $5 coffee and avocado toast. They never say to watch YouTube and spin a screwdriver clockwise to skip the $300/hr repairman. We pay that guy in post tax earnings.

[dranudin]

That’s why online parts houses charge 20% what you pay at a dealership parts counter. It’s not like I’m getting a great discount online, I’m not paying 5x fake markup. Yes folks, this is a thing and people are laughing all the way to the bank.

Can confirm. My mother had her car checkup done this week. They charged 32,71€ for an air filter. The last one , that I bought online, cost me 6,45€. That is pretty much exactly 500%. This is why I usually do car repair myself, if possible .

[jacob]

Since I'm developing the reputation as a mrfixit, I was "gifted" a broken robovac. Turns out that I just had to remove a pingpong-ball-sized amount of hair from the axle of the roller. When I told DW, she said that this was a very common fix when the people at the offices she was working with requested a new vacuum, because the old one was broken.

On a side-note, I wonder how much extra/unintended business long-haired people generate in terms of "broken" vacuums, plugged drains, shampoo, ...

[chenda]

Fixed my power seat switch in my car.

Sclass do you know anything about repairing the interior upholstery on the dashboard of a Mercedes ? I damaged my sister's car over Christmas (long story) and I suspect a authorised dealership will charge £1000s to repair/replace.

[Sclass]

Depends on the car Chenda. Also depends on how you repair the damage.

It can cost $1000s to remove a dash then more to replace it or repair it. It is several hours of labor to get it out and back in.

The guys restoring vintage Mercedes dashboards will remove them from the car which takes about four hours of work on one of my cars. Then they fill the cracks (assuming your damage is a crack) with soft plastic adhesive filler. Then they will wrap the dash I either vinyl covering or leather. They then reinstall. This is a few days of work. So you can see how it can turn into $1000s at normal shop rates.

There is a poor man’s fix I have on one of my Mercedes. It has a “dash cap” which is a thin vacuum formed shell that you place on top of your dash and double stick tape in place. They cost around $200 in the US and look okay. The prior owner of my car installed one and it looks better than cracks.

Personally I would be tempted to just drive the car as is. My cars are likely only worth $5000 max. If I paid $3000 for a new dash it would be mindless.

Last option is you can take your car to an upholstery shop and ask about vinyl repair. This is kind of an artisans job. They will fill in the damage with filler and coat the dash with paint or dye. Depending on how it is done or how the cracks formed the damage can show through in time. This is done without removing the dash. It’s usually performed by an old guy with a little spatula and paint brush. Find a “trimmer” in your parts and they may be able to do this kind of repair for less than the dealer. The lifetime of the repair depends on the artisan’s skill or process.

Is it a modern car? What kind of damage?

I’ve seen some old cars owned by hippies that just have cool stickers plastered over dash cracks. Your sister may not appreciate it. There is also the possibility vinyl wrapping the dash. Find a shop that does wraps and see if they’ll cover damage with flat black vinyl.

Like this:

[chenda]

Depends on the car Chenda. Also depends on how you repair the damage.

Sorry Sclass I missed your reply. Thanks, thats very useful. Its a Mercedes A class, the damage is above the glovebox and is on two separate sections of the interior.

I have found a man who does interior repairs and thinks he can repair at least some of the damage, so I will see what he says.

[loutfard]

I sharpened the cutting knives in our kitchen a few days ago using ego's ceramic surface trick. My wife was impressed with the renewed sharpness of our knives, but less so with the cut in here thumb. Luckily, it was only superficial.

A few weeks ago, I scored some serious fixit points by unclogging the completely clogged bathtub drain with just a piece of electrical wire I bent a little hook on. Pulled out a hair ball. Properly finished the job by dropping in some soda crystals and pouring vinegar over them. I was especially happy I did not just run out and buy any specialised tooling or liquids like I would have done before. Trusting my brain and researching this first paid off handsomely.

Last week, unclogging the kitchen sink took zero mental effort and almost no physical one. Saving money is just a minor side effect of being able to fix things around one's own home. The autonomy and the confidence in one's abilities that comes with that are much more important.

[jaymi]

I *attempted* to fix a slow tire leak on my jetta. Thought it’d be simple 5 min job after watching a couple yt vids showing the tire plug kit fix. Got the kit from auto parts shop & started work in the shop parking lot.

The nail was in the tire’s groove and when pulling it, turns out it was slightly angled into the tread. So I labored a while at trying to ream the puncture for more space to insert the plug. Couldn’t press through maybe because of the angle and nearly jacked up my hand putting all my weight into the tool. So it almost went flat before I put the nail back. Turned out to be a humbling experience where I quickly turned to the nearby tire shop for assistance.

$50 later, I think there were a couple lessons learned and possible different approach that could have finished the job. The only plus to giving in to the specialist was I saved losing the whole day to recovering from my first mistake: working in the lot. Second mistake not having a tire inflator or any other tools on hand. So I think if I were at my brother’s garage, where I’ve previously worked, I could have drilled the puncture after accepting the ream tool wasn’t working. And then had the plug would have fit. Thoughts?

I guess better to try the diy than just going straight to the tire shop, but definitely not the ideal outcome.

[theanimal]

I took my car into the shop in the fall to get some new tires mounted on the rims. While I was there, they told me that my rear brakes had 10% life on them and there was some rust on the front rotors. They recommended replacing both front and back pads/rotors and quoted me $1300!

I had replaced the front pads and rotors a year or so earlier and had kept the rear, as they had little wear. I figured time was up and filed away the idea of swapping out the rear components as something to do when I got a chance. Well today was that day. I took the first set of pads off and couldn’t help but shake my head. There was still 40-50% life left. “Ok” I thought, “maybe the other side is really bare and that’s what they meant by 10%.” But nope. They were the exact same as the first set. The rotors were rusty and due for a replacement so I swapped those and the pads out, before putting everything back together.

I was kind of surprised. After their diagnosis and a few more months of wear I fully expected the pads to be about completely worn down. I’m glad to have some skills and not be beholden to shops like that.

Total cost came out to around $180 in parts, saving me some $500 in labor. I got Duralast pads and rotors too , so it should be the last time I buy new ones for this car.

Oh and the rust on the front rotors they mentioned? It was just from lack of use, sitting uncovered on our gravel driveway during the rainy season. Once our driving picked up again, the rust went away. I learned that one from @sclass

“The more you know, the less you pay”

[Sclass]

@animal good job. Kept the crooked mechanic out of your pocket

[ffj]

@theanimal

I was quoted $1200 for new rotors and pads a couple years ago. I thought he was joking. When he said he wasn't I picked up the car, went to an auto parts store, spent less than $200 on four new rotors and pads, and asked a friend to show me how to change these out. Took us a couple hours just because he was teaching me. I bought my friend a nice meal for his efforts but he was happy to help regardless.

I got on a kick on watching disgruntled "service technicians" at these dealerships and they are not happy as every task is paid the same regardless of how much time it takes. And with the complexity of new cars and trucks and manufacturers adding proprietary analysis these guys are getting squeezed hard. Plus they buy their own tools. I'm still not paying ridiculous prices for simple work however, no matter how much I sympathize with them.

[Sclass]

Getting back in the swing of things. Things still break in my home. There’s no rest. My garage door spring broke on one of my roll up doors. I heard something like a gunshot in my garage yesterday but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Today I discovered I couldn’t open the door. It was really heavy without the spring and I had to operate it manually and prop it up to get my car out of the garage.

I managed to take the spring off. Tossed the broken piece and screwed the end fitting on the broken end of the spring. Luckily only 10% of the spring broke off so I was able to use 90% of the remaining spring. The door has more lift to it because the spring stiffness has gone up proportionately with the shortened length but it was a free fix. It lifts faster but ends up with about the same final tension when open.

Not my door but it broke like this. There was a little stub on the end that I just discarded. I transplanted the end cap to the bigger remaining piece. I tensioned it up with 10% fewer turns than a full size spring.

[jacob]

Speaking of springs, I'm looking for something like https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Thrustm ... B0D97WF4JK This really doesn't seem like something that should cost $15. However, my google-fu fails me. I don't know how to find a specific spring in terms of length, width, and spring constant.

[matchewed]

McMaster-Carr would be my go to if Amazon seems too pricey.
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/sprin ... loop-ends/

[Sclass]

Those springs are easy to make on your drill press or lathe. An old machinist at HP Labs showed me how one day when I needed a custom spring. I bet there are good YouTube videos.

[jacob]

Those springs are easy to make on your drill press or lathe.

*Mind blown* I somehow presumed that springs had to be very carefully hardened/tempered to be properly "springy", so I never even bothered to look for a DIY solution.

This is the way: https://www.instructables.com/Make-your ... n-seconds/

[Gilberto de Piento]

Everyone please get educated on garage door springs before working on them. Be very careful. There is a lot of stored energy in the springs. Danger of getting maimed / killed if things are not done correctly.