Just when I get a back injury work decides it's time to bring back overtime. Excellent timing guys. Plus I haven't been able to ride the bike in two weeks do to it. But it's getting better slowly. But now I have to mow the damn grass tonight because it hasn't been touched in two weeks with lots of rain. I hate mowing grass.
Stefan
MegaDork
4/21/17 5:23 p.m.
Robbie wrote:
Java is the neediest software running on over 3 billion devices. Seriously, not even iTunes needs that many updates.
Try managing it in a large corporation and keeping track of all of the poorly written applications that only work with specific versions and apply a layer of crap where this large corporation is also in the banking industry.
Yeah, it's a huge piece of E36 M3.
Had too pull the wheels back off my car, couldnt limp it until tuesday with the slightly too big front tires. It tryed to eat a fender lip today!
wae
Dork
4/21/17 7:13 p.m.
At the exact moment that I grabbed my multimeter to head outside to try to start troubleshooting the trailer wiring on the car, the rain started. Guess I'll have to troubleshoot this beer bottle instead!
In reply to wae:
There's probably too much beer in it, that's usually the problem. You should remove it, then check the rest of your fridge as well. I better go check mine too.
That moment when you're making measurements to see if the Watts link will clear the rearend that you've been working on off-and-on for the best part of two years, and since you dropped that nice aluminum diff center with the awesome gears and the Detroit Locker with fancy lightweight springs and the Thunderbird pinion flange that you had cut down to work with the Daytona pinion support and mate up with a Mazda driveshaft, you think "Hey, while I have the pumpkin in, why don't I have those nice awesome custom-length axles I had made up with Mazda ends dropped in place so I can see what it looks like?"
And you realize that the guy who sold you the rearend that started it all lied, and you had 31 spline axles made but you have a 28 spline Locker.
Argh.
Now searching for where I can find replacement side gears/dogs for a Locker. I probably could get a spool for far less money, and save on unsprung weight, or jump ship and install a Torsen because I'm funny that way, but I'm too stubborn to do that...
So, apparently AutozReilyVance cheap Chineese-made front wheel bearings do not tolerate -2 camber, 1+ gee cornoring, and high brake temps very well. I've killed 3 of them in the last 11 months. Time for Timken!
Knurled
MegaDork
4/22/17 12:14 p.m.
Rant: I am a moron.
The REASON why I went to the trouble of putting together a 3.25" case 9 inch, is because this is what NASCAR and a million other circle-track setups use, and differentials are a dime a dozen on eBay.
I just found a whole bunch of scalloped/lightweight diffs that would be exactly what I want, for under $200 shipped. ( Example )
Which still hurts, but it's better than $150 a pop for replacement gears, or $100ish for a spool that would still leave me with poor low-speed turn-in, a problem I was hoping a Locker would solve.
NickD
SuperDork
4/23/17 7:12 a.m.
My first autocross of the season got cancelled because the track we run at is changing hands.
Working 4 hours OT on the front of my shift ain't bad but 4 over into daylight ain't my bag. 8 a.m. is my beer time.
Wife had the baby at a bridal shower for a few hours yesterday, so I got some car time. It was cold and rainy but I got out there anyway with my EZ-up, and got SO CLOSE to getting my Miata back in action. Defeated by a catalytic converter bolt that's only been on there for ~1k miles. Then i realized I didn't have the right size gaskets for the exhaust anyway - so I have to go try and find one that will fit a Flyin Miata high flow cat today.
To top it off, today I'm sore from muscling around diffs all day.
Cold and misting rain made autocross less than enjoyable. Add on the bad slip that afflicted my car on the drive to the venue (5 degrees toe out anyone?) meant that I never got settled or comfortable enough to really get the best performance possible.
If you're welding something down inside a piece of machinery, make sure your auto darkening helmet has line of sight from the sensor to the arc, or you will get flashed like I did.
Wall-e
MegaDork
4/23/17 8:25 p.m.
I have an in law that's awaiting sentencing and will probably be doing six months as a guest of the county. I have been less than sympathetic to his plight but some people commented that perhaps I should be a better person and maybe a bit supportive of him. I tried but it seems mailing him a soap on a rope, a coupon to self defense classes, and asking if he could make a set of vanity plates for the wife's car just make me more of a prick.
Condemned house across the street finally got torn down, now every racoon is looking for a new home. My minor soffit problem is now an issue. I dont do heights, cant wait to see what this is going to cost me!
so the new laptop I bought a two weeks ago is a dud. A few days ago it crashed, then it was fine for hours. the next day it crashed again.. than again an hour later. Now it is crashing every 5 to 10 minutes and lost all my settings.
It's going back to newegg tomorrow for my money back
The Costco return policy is great.
Unless you work for Costco, then you're berkeleying out of luck.
Won't be buying electronics from work anymore, that's for damn sure.
WilD
Dork
4/24/17 7:44 a.m.
I ordered the wrong battery for my motorcycle. Model number one letter different. I initially couldn't believe I could make such a mistake, but when I see the price difference, it becomes obvious that's why I clicked on the wrong thing. Now I need to ship this brick back and wait for the right one to come...
I hate ethanol in gas. With my back surgery last year my daughter was mowing the yard. I'm normally really good about running things out of gas and draining them, but being laid up i never through of it. 30 mins of effing around with the mower on Saturday and I pull the carb off. Totally jammed up with green jelly from the gar. Got an overhaul kit and soaked the parts in mineral spirits over night. The damn jet/nut at the bottom of the float bowl is still jammed full of E36 M3. Get a tiny wire (cut from a wire brush) to poke it out and it breaks off stuck in there. crap, gotta get a new one of those, but nowhere open on Sunday so the lawn never got cut.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
Unless you bought that mower back in the 80's, the blame for your issue is squarely with the maker of the mower. Ethanol has been in fuel SO long that they should have been robust to it for the last 20 years. The idea that they are not robust to the most common fuel blend in this country is astounding to me.
I hate that lawn equipment makers blame the fuel for THEIR lack of robustness. We'd never, ever, ever get away with that excuse.
mtn
MegaDork
4/24/17 9:29 a.m.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
I hate ethanol in gas. With my back surgery last year my daughter was mowing the yard. I'm normally really good about running things out of gas and draining them, but being laid up i never through of it. 30 mins of effing around with the mower on Saturday and I pull the carb off. Totally jammed up with green jelly from the gar. Got an overhaul kit and soaked the parts in mineral spirits over night. The damn jet/nut at the bottom of the float bowl is still jammed full of E36 M3. Get a tiny wire (cut from a wire brush) to poke it out and it breaks off stuck in there. crap, gotta get a new one of those, but nowhere open on Sunday so the lawn never got cut.
This is why I bought an old-school rotary push mower. I was so tired of futzing around with the damn carbs and bad gas on these engines that I just said eff it and got one that didn't use any gas. My next step is a battery powered one, but I want to give those a few more years to become cheaper and better.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
I hate ethanol in gas. With my back surgery last year my daughter was mowing the yard. I'm normally really good about running things out of gas and draining them, but being laid up i never through of it. 30 mins of effing around with the mower on Saturday and I pull the carb off. Totally jammed up with green jelly from the gar. Got an overhaul kit and soaked the parts in mineral spirits over night. The damn jet/nut at the bottom of the float bowl is still jammed full of E36 M3. Get a tiny wire (cut from a wire brush) to poke it out and it breaks off stuck in there. crap, gotta get a new one of those, but nowhere open on Sunday so the lawn never got cut.
Just like the carb-fed DMC, when I get gas for the mower I always dump the appropriate amount of ethanol-treatment/stabilizer in the gas can. Granted I have a newer mower (~5 years old) but I've never had a problem with it starting right up even after it's sat over the winter.
I broke my glass Hulkamainia mug. It was 34 yeara old.
Ashyukun wrote:
Just like the carb-fed DMC, when I get gas for the mower I always dump the appropriate amount of ethanol-treatment/stabilizer in the gas can. Granted I have a newer mower (~5 years old) but I've never had a problem with it starting right up even after it's sat over the winter.
Yup, this is less than two years old. It's my fault, I was an invalid last fall and my 16 year old (then 15) daughter has no idea about ethanol and gas. Not her fault.
Follow-up to my previous rant:
I got the exhaust all reconnected, so all I need to do is check nuts/bolts, check the fluid level in the diff and bolt the wheels back on. I would have been able to do that all this morning and drive the car in to enjoy this wonderful 70 degree day, but the baby didn't sleep AT ALL last night so the wife and I were both zombies this morning.
I need more coffee.