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  1. harringtondav

    Alpha 1 Gen 2 Lower Seals

    The top bar is an 'H' bar from a universal puller kit with its lead screw. Its jaws weren't long enough, so I made up the lower 'H' bar adapter to accept my slide hammer jaws. The screws are to provide reach. SHCS or long carriage bolts work. A heat gun/paint stripper may be needed to soften...
  2. harringtondav

    Bellows Install

    I forgot one special tool you'll need to remove the bell housing if you're planning on replacing the shift cable bellows, which I recommend. It can cause more leaks than the drive shaft bellows. $15 if you shop for it. It's a perfect 12 point match for hinge pin removal. I've read that a square...
  3. harringtondav

    And this is why we do our maintenance.

    Last week was March-like warm, so I finally built my outdrive cart/stand. I had to back the trailer tires on a pair of 2 xs to get the boat 3" up so drive would clear the garage floor. My sore old back thanks to all who showed me examples of their carts. Good news is alignment is good. Bad...
  4. harringtondav

    Bellows Install

    The bellows expander tool can be found for <$30. The only other special tool needed is the drive shaft bellows retaining ring driver. $25. $55 is a bargain vs. the shop charges. You'll have to remove the upper shift shaft to use the expander tool. This may take a little heat to remove the screw.
  5. harringtondav

    Not a bad way to go...

    Australian Shepard. Misnomer since he's an American breed. Developed by Basque shepherds who migrated from Australia to California sheep ranches in the late 1800 - early 1900s. Great herders, wonderful loyal, smart pets, as long as you can keep up with their energy. He's one of several Collie...
  6. harringtondav

    Not a bad way to go...

    This showed up on my FB feed. I think I could do this, as long as I knew someone would take on my faithful Aussie Zeke at the end. https://www.nola.com/news/2019/01/af...HiU8KM5YtWSPis
  7. harringtondav

    What is your winter weather like?

    2018 was the record for precip. in east central IA. I need a max. 12' river gage level (Normal + 3') to put my rail boat lift back in the Miss. This was year 4 of 7 that I had to wait 'til Jul to get it in. Late Jul this year. Hardly worth the effort since it comes out mid-late Sept. I'm...
  8. harringtondav

    Vaping vs. smoking

    If you're a smoker this may interest you. My 29 yr old son has smoked cigarettes for 10 yrs. Wife and I wish he would quit, but since I burn 3-4 robusto stogies/day (Bill Clinton style: Don't inhale) I have to choose my words carefully. Last Summer the heads of AMA, FDA, American Cancer...
  9. harringtondav

    When do tire size differences cause problems?

    I've been lucky and wear out tires four at a time. My two kids, not so lucky. Each have lost one tire from a set of half worn tires and replaced with a new tire. My worry is rotating the newer tire to the drive axle and overworking the differential bevel pinions/shafts from two different size...
  10. harringtondav

    Rant: Water slobs.

    This is a complaint w/o a solution. AKA a whine. Thinking about the next boating season and my largest gripe: water slobs. Our summer place is on a Miss river slough 200 meters above the end of a no-wake marker. The slough is maybe 75 yards wide With a 40 yard channel. We constantly see boaters...
  11. harringtondav

    Poor man's pressure brake bleeder

    I replaced my '99 Durango's master cylinder trying to get to the bottom of the brake pedal going nearly to the bottom. (earlier post). Even after bleeding the cylinder prior to assembly, I had plenty of air in the system. And the wife and her right foot were out of town for a few days. After...
  12. harringtondav

    Simple fire retardant for oily auto exhaust manifold?

    I recently flubbed and spilled most of a quart of engine oil on my Durango's 318 valve cover, intake and exhaust manifold. I cleaned up what I could and parked it beside the garage. In that short time the exhaust system was smoking heavily from the oil residue. I'm concerned it could catch fire...
  13. harringtondav

    Alpha 1 Gen 2 Lower Seals

    Here is my home made carrier puller.
  14. harringtondav

    980 hours on engines - compression test

    You'll still need something to "master" the bore gauge to zero at the spec. cyl bore size. An inexpensive digital caliper will get you w/in .001" to .0005". https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-digital-caliper-63711.html Set it to your bore size and lock the slide. Then rock the bore gauge in the...
  15. harringtondav

    Removing Mercruiser 4.3L

    Apparently people have better luck with that than I did. Three of four of my lags twisted off. Two of four in my pal's boat. I had no luck excavating the stumps. So I built two aluminum mount plates with tapped holes to secure the front mounts, and two clearance holes that held everything down...
  16. harringtondav

    20 yr old starter R&R. Test of age and perserverance

    '99 Durango's starter was telling me it was feeling poorly. So a 20% off Advance Auto online order and I had my reman Carquest $98 starter. Five - seven solenoid clicks w/fingers crossed and I was up on the ramps. The front diff. skid plate buzzed right off. I had it off before and gooped up the...
  17. harringtondav

    Another life rite of passage.......

    I'm off UHC insurance at midnight, then tomorrow on Medicare...plus supplement plans. Next is to live a looong life.
  18. harringtondav

    Causes for excessive brake pedal travel?

    '99 Durango. East central IA rust bucket, but it runs well and is a solid tow vehicle. The brake pedal travels farther than when new to grab. It holds OK with no leak down, but is a little too close to bottom for comfort. I previously replaced all rusted out brake lines, and bled them well, I...
  19. harringtondav

    High idle hunting and back firing on FrankenDeere snowblower

    Years ago I replaced the Tecumseh 5 hp Sno King engine on my snowblower with an 8 hp Tecumseh. It took some work to get the governor and linkage to maintain power and high idle under load. Problem is when I'm at no-load high idle the engine starts to hunt and surge, backfiring between surges...
  20. harringtondav

    Goodby until March 2019

    Shut down our Miss. river place for the winter today. Winterizing a house is similar to a stern drive. Purge water 100%, RV antifreeze in the drains and toilets. -20 deg winters. I'm not which would hurt the mo$t, cracked block or frozen pipes. The river is currently 4'+ over the safe level for...
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