So, I have been pumping out some work from my garage in the last week. Now, none of this would be considered "custom creations", but it is paying work that someone needs done. And word is, I'm the guy who knows how to do it.
Customer #1. Brought me a 2005 Sportster that had been dropped out of a pickup truck, in an attempted stealing. Dudes a cop and grabbed his gun to chase after them. They stepped on the gas, and the bike fell out of the truck. The bike had a few dents and dings. Nothing major, but the guy had a box full of new parts and needed a little help installing. So I installed new drag pipes, apes, Arlen Ness hand controls, new chrome switch housings, new cables and brake line, re-routed the wiring to reach, and installed a solo seat.
After Dudes bike was ready to pick up, he called to say that his blinkers, running lights, and cruise weren't working on his Roadglide. I told him to drop it off and I'd take a look. So he came by, swapped bikes and left me with another project. I tracked it down to an aftermarket wiring module that was suppose to make the blinkers flash along with the brake light being activated. Cheap aftermarket parts blew the brake light/cruise fuse. I pulled the aftermarket crap, pulled the aftermarket LED blinkers out, put stock bulbs and a new fuse and everything was better. Plus, he had a new brakelight that needed installed. LED, but good quality, super bright and has selectable flash patterns for when it gets activated. Pretty slick. Took it for a test ride and everything worked good.
Customer #2. Late 90's Ford Minivan needed new tie rods. Nothing fancy, but why is it that you just about need a special wrech to get to everything on these vehicles. The clearances are so damn tight that I was all banged up by the time I was done. I measured the length of the old ones, and made sure that the new ones were the same. Trying to make sure they were good until they got to the shop for a proper computer alignment.
Customer #3. 2005 Toyota 4Runner needed a new timing belt. And while I was in there, might as well replace the waterpump too. Boy, is there a lot of stuff to get out of the way before actually getting to the belt. Radiator had to come out. A/C pump needed to be moved out of the way. Fan and shroud had to come out. Water pump was super easy, once everything was out of the way. Also replaced the tensioner roller, and the upper roller between cams. Pretty straight forward, but took ALL DAY. Damn! But she went back together, and worked good.
Customer #4. My Mom's 2000 Monte Carlo. Had a mysterious leak of watery/oily mix dripping and constantly needing to fill up coolant level. Turns out there is a weep hole on the underside of the waterpump shaft, to let you know when your pump is about to go completely out. The fluid was running down the engine, collecting on the road grime and leaving a nasty spot on the pavement. Again, waterpump is an inexpensive part, but always in a horrible location. Coolant resevoir and powersteering pump had to come out and then I still only had 8" of room to work between inner fenderwell and engine. Big downside to these front wheel drive, transverse mounted engines. So much crammed into a tight spot. New waterpump went in, everything else back together, new coolant...no leak. Hooray.
The second problem she had was that here blinkers weren't working. She would have to hold the hazard light button with the blinker lever, just to get them to work. The hazard light button includes the relay and I figured thats where the problem was. Another $35 for a new switch/relay, plus I had to pull the entire dash off just to get to it. So far so good. Blinkers seem to be working properly.
No pretty pictures on this post. Just been busy busy. Doin' Work, Son!
