Fixit Log

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
white belt
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by white belt »

I finally got around to attempting to fix my bike and discovered the culprit is a broken spoke. I was able to remove the spoke without removing the wheel and tire, so maybe that means I can install the new one using the existing nipple which would save a few steps. I just need to source a 14G 263mm spoke from a local bike shop.

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

Fixed my LG washer today. It’s a very modern machine controlled by a big electronic control board. The board is dipped in potting compound so it isn’t easy to fix it at the component level.

The machine is surprisingly simple inside due to the complexity being confined to the circuit board.

It had an OE error. Then a dr error. Had to do with no draining. I could hear the pump humming but it wasn’t draining. I assumed this meant the pump was getting power so that meant the controller was ok as well as the wiring. I didn’t bother to measure the voltage but it was getting pretty hot so I figured it was getting plenty of power.

Pulled the pump and noticed the impeller had some resistance to it. Sometimes it jammed. Ordered another pump from Amazon and it arrived in one day with Prime Shipping. Installed in twenty minutes. Easy DIY job. Just pull off the access panel on the back and unscrew three bolts to release the old pump. Installation is reverse as they say.

The machine drains again. According to online info and YouTube this pump lasts 4-6 years. It is a really small magnetic pump. Much smaller than the pumps in older machines.

I took it apart and it looks like it self destructed inside. It was full of black particle stuff. Non ferrous. Jammed up the small clearances. Perhaps I’ll clean it up, reassemble and test. If it works I’ll keep it for the next four year cycle. I bought my washer 6 years ago come to think of it. The pump cost me $85 which isn’t bad but it would have been great if I could have fixed it for free by cleaning it out.

davtheram12
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by davtheram12 »

Sclass wrote:
Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:45 pm
Fixed my LG washer today.
Nice work! I've had the opportunity to fix my in-laws washer and decided against it. Disassembling the whole thing to get to a squeaky bearing would have been a pain. How time consuming of a process was your repair?

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

Just a few minutes. There is a YouTube video. The pump is behind an access panel on the back. It took a lot longer to diagnose the problem. It was intermittent.

After I had replaced the pump I tried to repair the original. I decided it wasn’t coming apart so I decided to break it up to see where it failed. Turned out a rubber seal under the impeller cracked and the bearing got wet. Then it self destructed. It would intermittently freeze up.

I bet they all fail this way on my model. Looks like a lot of machines use this magnetic pump.

In the process I decided to disassemble the top console to look at the electronics. It was easy to access as well.

The tub bearings look like a pain to get to. I figure the chassis has to come apart and the belt needs to be released. If the bearing went out on that machine that means it’s pretty old. Those bearings can take a beating.

Married2aSwabian
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Married2aSwabian »

Well, I just made a very non-ERE purchase - snow tires. I’m just not willing to compromise on a few things: good shoes are one and safe tires another. So, the 2010 Honda Odyssey that we bought in Aug. had a set of snows with it (without separate rims), but they looked like you could get maybe one more winter out of them, so I decided to get new. I ended up going to Tirerack and getting a set of the least expensive steel wheels they had and Firestone snows as a package. The whole thing cost $935 mounted, bal, delivered. As I was going to the salvage and then tire shop to get rid of the old ones (which cost me $12 more!), I realized that I should have checked the salvage yard for the steel wheels.

I’m a bit ignorant when it comes to how a salvage yard works, so any input would be appreciated! Do you just call or go there to check if they have vehicle you need and then do you work out a price ahead of time for the component(s)? Do they provide access to the vehicle for a certain amount of time for the buyer to get parts off? Assuming it’s best to stay away from any electronic or safety related components?

With two older Honda’s that are fairly common (2007 CRV and the Ody) it seems like the way to go to keep them running, especially when I have more time next year.

Oh yeah, at the salvage yard, the guy checked the date code and told me the tires were 10 years old! Good thing I decided to replace. Also, when I got there, it was busy, so I couldn’t park by the office - instead, I parked by a bunch of salvage vehicles that had just come in…bad idea! :lol: Guy in a pickup driving by sees me and goes, “I wouldn’t leave it there if I were you.”. I got back in to move it and immediately a huge fork truck with giant forks comes around the corner looking for the next vehicle to take back to the yard!

davtheram12
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by davtheram12 »

Married2aSwabian wrote:
Wed Oct 13, 2021 7:49 am
I’m a bit ignorant when it comes to how a salvage yard works, so any input would be appreciated! Do you just call or go there to check if they have vehicle you need and then do you work out a price ahead of time for the component(s)? Do they provide access to the vehicle for a certain amount of time for the buyer to get parts off? Assuming it’s best to stay away from any electronic or safety related components?
I used to visit salvage yards at least 2-3x per month when I was ~18-21 years old. Best place to find a great deal on OEM parts. Each salvage yard runs a little differently. Some allow you to pay an entrance fee (usually $2-$5), bring in your own tools and pull the desired parts. You'll take said parts and head to the front cashier's desk where they will give you a quote. Most legitimate places will have a set price list on nearly every type of part you can buy from a car. So if a steel hood costs $75, it'll stay $75 across every manufacture. Certain exceptions apply.

Some of the privately owned salvage yards will run things a little differently. Prices will vary depending on rarity and condition of the part. They also won't allow costumers to pull the part themselves. It's a good way to prevent unnecessary damage to the cars but it's not my favorite way to approach sourcing replacement parts.

Some salvage yards will have a website where you can check the condition of their inventory. I've learned that they aren't always up to date but it is a little better than going in blindly.

Electrical components can be hit and miss. Most salvage yards do not allow returns or exchanges on electrical components because of their high failure rate. Safety components (eg seat belts, airbags, etc) are generally not advised but I know some who are comfortable purchasing those types of items.

At the end of the day, salvage yards are a great place for saving money. Sometimes parts are discontinued, rare and in some cases new (totalled vehicles after getting maintenance done). You can easily save 70-90% off msrp.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

At the yards around me you call or email and ask if they have the part. Then they tell you if they have it, condition, and how much it costs. If you want the part they pull it and you stop by to pick it up. You are not allowed in the yard with the cars. Times have changed.

There are a lot of used car parts on ebay. I needed a taillight a couple of years ago and a used OEM part was cheaper shipped from ebay than at local yard.

I'd always check online for price on new parts before buying anything used. I've had salvage yards ask for more than a new part would be from an online dealer. A lot of new OEM parts are available online. Prices are often much better than at the local dealer parts counter. Google something like "Subaru parts" and you will get a ton of dealerships selling online.

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

I drive two 40 year old cars and it is really hard finding new parts for them. I go to the self serve type junkyards in California LKQ Pick Your Part and Pick and Pull. They don’t get many diesel Mercedes in but if you get on their alert list they’ll tell you when they get a fresh heap to pull parts from.

I’ve noticed a very interesting practice lately around my 40 year old Mercedes cars. Many of the replacement parts have recently become discontinued at Mercedes. It was actually amazing they offered parts for 30 year old cars. They’ve now cut us off. There are a bunch of young guys (self labeled as “The Stackers”) with FB pages, eBay and Etsy stores gathering up all the discontinued parts at the self serve junkyards and selling them for 10x what they pay. Sometimes 20x. And they’re getting it according to completed auction searches. They know all the parts that are commonly replaced and they just pick those from the junkyards. I often see these kids harvesting the cars when I go there. There is sometimes a little subtle confrontation over who gets what when we want the same thing. These guys know what moves on eBay. They also have some crude processes for refurbishing the parts to squeeze more value from them (polish, glue, solder etc.). I suspect they’re doing in the thousands of dollars a month in side hustle looking at their listings. Hey, it’s a free country and it’s their weekends.

It’s actually interesting how enterprising young people are coping with flat wage growth and increasing living costs.

Married2aSwabian
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Married2aSwabian »

Thanks Sclass, Gilberto and davtheram12 for your input! I’ll definitely check out salvage, eBay, CL etc for parts next time.

Yeah, now that you mention it, Sclass, there was a group of kids at the yard I went to who couldn’t have been older than 17. Maybe they were local “Stackers”!

Hey, at 10 - 20x markup I will pay closer attention to what they’re buying next time. ;) Sounds like a pretty lucrative gig!

If there’s something specific you need for your Mercedes, let me know as we have many connections over in Stuttgart….Amazing how every other person you meet there works for Daimler. Maybe they’d have an idea on parts for older diesels. I know I’ve seen some of those 80s era models cruising around forever…probably have 500,000 + miles on them. :)

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Is etsy becoming and ebay clone? I didn't know people sold car parts there.

I used to do a lot of work for a small business that had cornered the market on parts (before the internet was common) for an obscure vintage product with a strong fan base. It was interesting and made money but cames with hassles. Would be easier now through eBay, web site, etc. Product was complicated so the parts would be challenging to clone, tons of part numbers each with low volume.

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

Yes, they are selling on Etsy. I was surprised to learn that too. I expected to find crocheted caps there but I’m finding remanufactured and reimagined parts there. These kids know what is breaking and they are either refurbishing old parts or making new equivalents from raw materials.

The justification for some of the pricing in their listing is “this part cost $X when it was last sold at Mercedes so I’ll offer it for $X to you.” And Mercedes parts are notoriously high priced. So yes, for some control relays, switch panels, gauges, mirrors or sun visors they are getting a 10x if not 20x markup. The higher markups occur on the ultra rare parts like those specific to convertibles or station wagons. It’s actually quite impressive. Thanks to Facebook I can see who these guys are. I was expecting a bunch of crusty old guys smoking cigars but it’s young hipsters who collect cars that were made before they were born.

Pretty cool. Browsing around other makes It seems there is a community around a lot of other makes and models. They work enough on the cars then they figure out what breaks, what is discontinued, and what is available at the self service junkyards. Then they pick and stack.

Married2aSwabian
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Married2aSwabian »

…and on to the next fixit task. Our 2006 Kenmore Elite Oasis (great marketing) gas dryer isn’t getting the job done. DW likes to line dry clothes often, but sometimes we need the machine, too. It runs and blower seems to work OK - airflow is good. It heats some, but not enough as DW says it takes far too long to dry. I found the wiring diagram and service troubleshooting guide in the control panel. First thing I did was clear out any lint and checked exhaust duct all the way through. That was fine. I took front panel with door assy off. I made up a jumper for the door switch and ran it w front panel removed. Blower / motor assy seems to work fine. Igniter and burner seem to start up fine but then shut down after 30 sec. Need to check tomorrow for defective dampness sensor or thermostat w multimeter.
The service guide shows how you’re supposed to be able to enter diagnostic mode on the controller as a first step to chk fault codes, but it wouldn’t work. DW says she’s never seen a code show up. Hmmm

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

Sounds tough.

I think your thermostat is reading too low and making the machine shut off prematurely. You need to measure the temperature and compare it to some known good values. Put an oven thermometer in a jacket pocket and run a load. I bet it thinks the drum is hotter than it actually is and shuts down.

The dryness sensor can usually be over ridden by doing a timed load instead of a auto dry load. Have you tried this? I replaced two dryness sensor boards on my old Maytag. I reverse engineered the board and found out it was getting static zapped by the charged up clothes in the dryer. The engineers had put in some protection diodes but they only had a finite number of zaps till they would fry. Then the amps on the board would be exposed to the sparks and fry. I never came up with a fix…a little outside my expertise. I just kept ordering dryness boards. The failure was the machine always read “damp” and never stopped.

Maybe it is possible as you have hypothesized that the machine thinks the clothes are dry and stops. I think it would be good to verify the machine is indeed getting hot and works on timed dry.

Married2aSwabian
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Married2aSwabian »

Thanks much, Sclass, for the advice. Sounds like you know your way around these appliances! I’d be doing good to reverse engineer the lint trap. :lol: DW says that the lack of drying is same whether on timed dry (no dryness sensor input) or auto mode. Still need to do more troubleshooting and check temp during drying.

With winter coming, we’ve been in full “get the yard cleaned up and tree brush clearing” mode. We live in the woods, with some older oaks near the house that have branches over the roof. Today tree guy came to take one down and prune others back. He’s an old guy (like me) mid to late 50s, so wanted to use bucket truck instead of climbing. We have very Sandy soil and truck got stuck trying to back out. He had to get a tow truck to come and use winch to get him out. ;( To save money (around $2000) we also told him to just drop the branches and tree and we’ll use our chainsaws to clean everything up…also great firewood for heating once seasoned. So now there is ANOTHER project to work on. Funny thing is, last night DW both just said that the yard looks better than it ever has since we moved in over three years ago. Now it looks like a war zone. :D

ducknald_don
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by ducknald_don »

Married2aSwabian wrote:
Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:54 pm
He’s an old guy (like me) mid to late 50s
That's not very old :lol:

Married2aSwabian
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Married2aSwabian »

Sclass wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:41 pm
I think your thermostat is reading too low and making the machine shut off prematurely. You need to measure the temperature and compare it to some known good values. Put an oven thermometer in a jacket pocket and run a load. I bet it thinks the drum is hotter than it actually is and shuts down.
Finally getting around to troubleshooting our dryer again and did this test last night. It did heat again, but shut off prematurely. Thermometer showed 95 degrees after about 20 minutes on timed dry / high temp.
There are some good YouTube videos out there to assist in troubleshooting to component level. Next step is to take front panel off again and check continuity of thermostat, exhaust thermistor, to check if failed, right?
My machine service manual indicates that I have to take the drum out to get at some of these…
Thanks again for your help, Sclass.

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

95 F or C?

I guess either would be bad. Something is wrong. Taking out the drum isn’t hard on most machines. You need to open the back and slip the belt off. Make sure to unplug it first.

I took my moms entire dryer apart to move it into the basement. My recollection was the drum came out easily. I downloaded some diagrams online that made it really easy. Take a lot of photos as you disassemble so you know how it goes back together.

Good luck.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I've been wanting a robot vacuum for a little while. I know it runs counter to the ethos here (it's not really my thing either) but there is some logic to the decision. Anyway, I picked up a roomba series 500 (third gen) from craigslist for free. I want to give iRobot credit for making a gadget that is about 10 years old and is not only still working but is also very repairable. It came with a recently replaced battery but replacing the battery would be as easy as removing a few screws. I'm working on replacing the tires that are worn down to the wheels. The tires require unscrewing three screws each to get the drive assembly out, peeling the old tire off, and sliding on the new one ($6 a pair on amazon - tons of other parts are on there too). The bottom brushes and side brush appear to be similarly easy to swap out. Anyway, get yourself a free broom off the curb and sweep manually but if that won't work for some reason it has been fun to keep the roomba out of the landfill a little longer and watch it drive around picking up dust and dirt. :lol:

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Sclass
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Sclass »

The fact that the tires are worn out is a good sign. Sounds like the original owner got a lot of use out of it.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Fixit Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

It's very important to keep y'all up to speed on the roomba saga so I want you to know that yesterday I realized the side brush was not spinning. I removed a few screws and took the assembly out. I needed a tri wing security bit (had one thanks to a cheap harbor freight kit I've had for years) to get it apart. The gears were packed with fine dust that was preventing it from spinning. A few minutes of cleaning it out and it works again!

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