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  1. 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...
  2. 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...
  3. 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.
  4. 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...
  5. 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...
  6. 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...
  7. harringtondav

    DIY rub rail repair

    2017 I had a loosing encounter with a Miss river channel marker. About 12" of my '96 Larson's NLA rub rail was shattered. The insert was fine. Tocco metals carried a close profile, but not close enough for a partial match around the bow. Full boat rub rail and way too much insert was to cost...
  8. harringtondav

    How's this for ugly?

    Alpha 2 Coupler yoke from my pal's Rinker. The splines are twisted at the aft edge of the coupler. Bright wear mark - thinking coupler nose contact. Galling wear mark in the location of the gimbal brg shaft seal. Jet black gimbal bearing surface. Cliff's notes: 2016 Replaced gimbal brg and...
  9. harringtondav

    Tan water after softener regeneration

    This has been an "on and off" issue for years. It's back again. McClean/Fleck mechanical timer. I rebuilt the valve body and replaced the resin +- 10 yrs ago. Not much change. I increased the final rinse time by a few minutes. Still tan water. I use RE (rust eliminating) salt. I guess it works...
  10. harringtondav

    Alpha II trim cyl. upper pivot shaft vexes me

    Since day one I've had to drive out that long shaft at the top of the trim cyls. out when pulling the drive. It's a handful. The shaft always hangs up in the opposite cyl. shaft bore. I try backing that cyl with my hip, etc. Same cluster when I reinstall it. Any suggestions? My pal's pushes out...
  11. harringtondav

    Any stickies for an Alpha II removal stand?

    My 4.3 is winterized, and my back isn't improving. I'll be pulling the drive before it gets too cold. I'm planning to build a removal/storage stand on my favorite $11 Harbor Freight four wheel furniture cart. But before I reinvent the wheel I'd like to see how others have already done it. Any...
  12. harringtondav

    How bad will this turn out?

    Last week I helped my bud winterize his 42' Bluewater Coastal Cruiser. The marina took care of the rest.....until yesterday. Apparently a fork truck bumped into a jack stand, or the boat itself. The marina is bringing in their insurance assessor. Anyone care to compile a damage report guess...
  13. harringtondav

    How to improve marine VHF SWR?

    When we bought our boat 22 yrs. ago, before cell phone coverage improved to today's stds, I bought a Shakespeare SE2510 VHF radio. I wasn't transmitting clearly, or at all according to my boating friends. I sent it back to Shakespeare who returned it as OK. I bought a SWR meter, and the ratio...
  14. harringtondav

    In IA it's over in mid Oct.

    Helping my bud decommission his 42' Bluewater for winter. 9th time now. Winterize two engines, generator, water heater, A/C, head, and a heavy custom cover. $5k/yr for the slip, travel hoist and blocks. Seven months months in the water. But he's popular in the summer with his big family...
  15. harringtondav

    OAT + Ethylene Glycol screw up

    I didn't know about OAT coolants until I read about them in a Merc. Sterndrive post. And after I topped off my OAT sealed reservoir system in my '16 Cherokee 2.4L with the Ethylene Glycol. I had a warranty coolant hose leak. Maybe 12-16 oz. in the car's 6-8 qt (?) OAT system. Yep, it said OAT...
  16. harringtondav

    For any Moderator....

    What is the best way to properly size an image or file for attaching to a forum post/reply/pm? My scans and phone pics. seem to always tilt. My cumbersome work around is to paste it into a Word document. There has to be a better way. Thanks.
  17. harringtondav

    Reed switch fuel sender.

    I'm helping my bud shake down a nonfunctional fuel gage and we determined the sender is bad. I changed from a float arm to a Moeller reed switch and it works great, so I suggested he get one. My 9" tank took an 8" sender per Moeller. Their design keeps the float 1" off the bottom of the tank...
  18. harringtondav

    Back flushing '93 Merc 75 hp?

    This is on behalf of my neighbneighbor. He dug mud and lost his witness water pee stream. He installed a new impeller, but still has no stream. I suspect a clogged cooling jacket. Muffs won't clear it. Is there a flush port in his powerhead?
  19. harringtondav

    Dead man lanyard connection?

    My lanyard has been in my seat pocket for nearly 22 yrs. IA DNR will now fine me for operating solo w/o it. Not a bad idea anyway. I can shim a gear set to zero, but I'll be darned if l can remember how to hook up @ the kill switch. Any pics or help?
  20. harringtondav

    Forum question: Sent Messages

    I've noticed that many of my sent private messages don't show up in my "Sent" folder. I use the @ - contributor name. I can understand why some may be hiding behind the couch when I message, but I want to be sure I'm following the correct process. (??)
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