What are you doing today? [Part II]

[BrianF]

Yesterday I managed to get the Polaris Magnum all back together. It went well except for my simpleton self forgot to install a brake rotor before installing the hub. Not a big deal but annoying that you cant fix stupid.

These old Polaris' used a magnetic Hilliard clutch in each hub, sounds great and works well except, thats over 200$ for seals and speedi sleaves per side. Thankfully the 4 taper bearings per side were still good. Myntorque wrench does not go low enough for the torque sequence but I have missed around with similar stuff over the years with my Neanderthal hands before.

One thing I remembered to do was a wheel alignment. When we got the machine, it pulled to the side and its alignment looked like Steve Buscemi meme where his eyes are going everywhere. I had kind of fixed that years ago but she was toe in, causing it to wander at speed. She now has a slight toe out and handles like a new quad. No staged pictures, as you guys would just hound me.

Finished off the day with ribs and New York strips.

 

[Mooseman]

Me and Mrs Moose have been in North Bay since Saturday help our son and family move into their newly bought house.

Today, Attending Remembrance Day ceremonies in North Bay since we're not in Ottawa for it. I'm used to ceremonies done outdoors at a cenotaph but here they do it in an arena instead of their cenotaph. Probably gets too cold here to be standing outside for over an hour.

 

[BrianF]

We didn't go to a service this year, would have been perfect. It ended up +10c. I have been to services that were -20 as well.

There is this little community I used to work in, many years ago. They did another amazing job putting on an indoor service. One of the best I have ever been to or taken part of.

Today I had to get ahead on vehicle maintenance. Shitty Blue went in the shop for its winter tires. Greased up a few things and checked the rear drums. Lots of dust from the new shoes but found the driver side cylinder leaking again. Tomorrow I'll snag a hone for it and possibly new seals. Not going to try and replace it.... way too much could and will go wrong.... also put in the old O2 sensor and it appears the heater code for it is gone. Ill see if Napa will exchange the sensor.

Then my daughters Escape. Tires aired up and rotatated. Things Greased. Quick crack of all the bleeders and fluids check.

Hoping to get that Trailblazer in for the same this week..... would love to tackle the ball joints before im back to work.

 

[BrianF]

Finally took the Polaris Magnum out for a good burn today. Several miles put on today and night. Slight vibration when the front wheels engage. Brought it back in and found some glitter in the hub oil and play in the bearings. I reset the preload and put in some 0w30 since it was laying around. Out came some ATF mixed with #0 grease from assembly.

After another quick burn, the bearings are still good. I love quadding but I really have the itch to go sledding. Our forecast keeps changing as we were supposed to get dumped on early next week..

 

[mrrsm]

Just performing The Annual Sussin Family Christmas Light Show walk through, courtesy Andrew Camarata right around this time of the year,,, Go ahead FramePack,,, Make an AI one like THIS One that actually comes to us from The REAL World...I DARE Ya!

 

[BrianF]

Well gents, had a nice project to tinker on. A friend has a 2005 Polaris Trail 550 fan cool that had minimal use over the last few years. Bought it new but it had sat so it was hard to start, poor to no idle and the electric start quit.

Its a twin carb but easy enough to work on. Found some algae in the bowls, the pilots were blocked and deposits in the passages. Easy to clean up and baseline set the slides and idle screws. Got it running and set the idle speed. Not bad.

Greased/oiled up all chassis, steering points and jackshaft bearings. Set chain tension and put in fresh synthetic ATF in the case. There was lots of wear material in the magnet.

Did continuity checks through the electrical system. The ignition switch was good, there was power to the starter solenoid on crank but no click or continuity on the main terminals. Ok so a new solenoid was picked up. I was removing the old one and forgot to check the solenoid ground as it is through the body. Well shit, no ground to chassis or negative terminal. Then I found a broke and frayed wire hidden underneath. Well, it had ground to the solenoid. I crimped a new ground wire and Bob is your uncle. Fired right up.

I took it for a good rip and lowered the idle at operating temp. Runs pretty good. But I must say, glad it was a Polaris and not a Yamaha.....

 

[BrianF]

Put 22 miles on today. The powder was deep, got stuck a couple times but still had fun. We drove to town, of course everything was closed but people thought it was pretty cool to see the old iron out.

 

[Mooseman]

I took it for a good rip and lowered the idle at operating temp. Runs pretty good. But I must say, glad it was a Polaris and not a Yamaha.....

What's wrong with Yamaha? Or do you mean Yamaton? It's true they are heavy to get unstuck.

Yesterday was a half-day at work. By 11:30, the building was a ghost town. Went to Costco Business (the regular Costco is a zoo) to pick a few things for Christmas dinner the next day.

Today was the usual prep for people coming over (aka: getting whipped by Mrs. Moose to pick up shit around the house). Also helped getting the 20 Lbs turkey prepped and in the oven. Way too big for the number of people. People, drinks, food, more drinks, lots of talk and fun, pictures. Good times by all.

Now just sitting, relaxing and having a glass of whisky. Tomorrow we get to repeat but ay the BIL's.

 

[BrianF]

@Mooseman my comment is twofold: while this Polaris is a heavy girl to move around, the Yamahas are heavier and after seeing the complexity of them through your posts, much happier with this simpler sled.

But of course, its back in the shop. He put about 30km on it before it bogged down and left him stranded. So it barely fires, bogs and dies.

And the saga continues....

 

[xavierny25]

Not today but 3 days ago my wife got a new daily driver.
It's a 2025 Hyundai Palisade calligraphy night edition. Wow, The amount of tech in this thing is crazy.

The Voy will remain in the driveway till we figure out what to do with it in the spring. We would rather part it out then hand it over to a dealer. She still runs great and has a fair amount of new parts, but rusting out pretty bad on the passenger side frame rail. I guess 18yrs and 280k miles will do that.

 

[Matt]

Not today but 3 days ago my wife got a new daily driver.View attachment 118270View attachment 118271View attachment 118272
It's a 2025 Hyundai Palisade calligraphy night edition. Wow, The amount of tech in this thing is crazy.

The Voy will remain in the driveway till we figure out what to do with it in the spring. We would rather part it out then hand it over to a dealer. She still runs great and has a fair amount of new parts, but rusting out pretty bad on the passenger side frame rail. I guess 18yrs and 280k miles will do that.

I'm seriously waiting for the Telluride Hybrid to come in for 2027. 35mpg combined is awesome for something that large.

 

[xavierny25]

I'm seriously waiting for the Telluride Hybrid to come in for 2027. 35mpg combined is awesome for something that large.

I just looked it up and those numbers are super impressive. It being the first with that set up I'd wait a little till they work out all the kinks. It's the same reason we went with the 2025 and not the new 2026 with its new face lift and added goodies.

 

[BrianF]

I dug deeper on the Polaris sled and found the issue.... not good.

Couldn't get it to pop at all. Compression is at 100psi mag side and 80 pto side. Not good. No signs on the plugs that it was running lean and the piston tops appeared equally black.

While cranking it over I noticed fuel reversion come out the pto side carb. Its a reed valves so that ain't good. I looked in and found the answer. Piston skirt was broken with the reed collecting chunks of it.

 

[BrianF]

Oh, on a side note, yesterday was a calm -30c in the morning. Cleared some snow and today, we had a wild temperature shift. Warmed up to above freezing. I went for a ride but the conditions were bad. Regardless, was still a good ride.

 

[BrianF]

Got some teardown done on the sled. Mag side jug has slight scuffing and what appears to be rust remnants. Pto piston is toast. Broke the reed cage as well. Took lots to clean it out.

The good, well, the cylinders are in great shape, they are cast iron lined and will clean up with a hone. The pistons are on order from a local shop and top end gaskets in stock. Ill have to order the reeds as well.

 

[Mooseman]

And hence why I switched to 4 stroke engines . I feel for ya though. I used to have the same problem with my old Safari 377 and a 2 smoke GT 550. BRP: Bring Rings and Pistons! One cause was the introduction of ethanol in gas that blew holes in my pistons. Check your gas and adjust your carbs. And the ethanol percentage has been going up.

Quebec ethanol content

Something to keep in mind if you ride in Quebec. I know that our 4 strokes are made to run on 10% ethanol so maybe 12% may not be so bad but for 2 strokes, this could kill them!

ty4stroke.com

And if you do want to switch to the blue side...

 

[mrrsm]

From around 3 AM to around 5 AM... I made my Wife's Favorite Tuna Salad Combo and after she woke up, I surprised her with the idea that she would NOT have to cook for us later in the day. She reacted by making THIS while I was off on an errand to the local UPS Store.

Now THIS was a Lovely Surprise and One of My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE Meals!

 

[BrianF]

Finished my rotation up north, deep in the tree line. Came home and got the Polaris 550 buttoned up. Did a light break in last night, was a bit boggy but ran ok near the end. Went to park it and it coughed and died. Didn't restart so I rolled it in for the night to cool. Today I will check cylinder and head torque, compression and spark.

As well, my wife and I decided that my fleet of aged out garbage needed an upgrade. While up north we had our week of -40, which created some no starts. So we picked up a used 2020 Ram 1500 Hemi and a 2021 Jeep GC L limited. I guess we can get some newer vehicles every 20 years.

 

[xavierny25]

Scheduled some shop time and space at my brother's place to do an oil change on the Palisade. The weather out has been brutal to even think about doing this in my driveway.

 

[BrianF]

So I got the Polaris all back together and running pretty damn good.

As I was ending the initial break in run the other day, it bogged down and died with it unable to restart. Compression was good, 100 pto side (still has a slight scratch in cylinder) ans 105 mag side. Found the smoking gun, chunk of garbage got stuck in the pto side spark plug electrode. This killed the cylinder and drug the other one down. It flooded the pto side.

New plugs, blew the cylinder out and it is up and running. Set the idle and put several miles on, varying the speed, throttle and avoiding full throttle. She is running strong and currently has 100:1 in the tank with the plugs looking real nice.

Ill be happy to have this out of the shop and onto the next project....

 

[Mooseman]

Been trying to get some sled time with the snow we've got. Friday two seeks ago, I had booked off work to go riding with the guy whose Venture Lite I fixed but I wound up getting sick instead (stomach flu) and I was sick all weekend. Then, took a mental health sick day on Thur to try for another ride. Met up with buddy at a restaurant about halfway but he calls me and his sled stalled and won't crank. Went to meet him and got it started with a booster pack. It ran but it was losing battery power. Decided to ride it to my place to try and find out what's happening.

At first we thought it was a bad battery but it took a charge and tested OK. Then I thought maybe the - battery cable was loose (didn't notice if I had loosened it prior to disconnecting it because buddy talks a lot). So put the battery charger on it and left it until full today.

So today it starts up fine and seems to be charging. So we set off to ride. Did some KM, went for lunch, rode some more, then we stopped for a break and it did the same slow crank. Boosted it and it started. So there's obviously something going on. We hightail it back to my place again, battery is weak again. Check the running voltage, barely above 12V. We start checking the voltage regulator. I had a spare and swapped it out, same. Then the stator. Check the 3 legs and resistances are within spec. Check them for shorts to ground and they all show a very slight resistance to ground (should be open). Check AC output of each leg, 2 had 35V and one had 29V. They should all be the same. So I determine that the stator is dying. It still is able to supply some power but not enough. I did find something that could have contributed to its demise. A rear passenger hand warmer element was damaged, possibly shorting to ground and it was turned on. Turn it off and voltage jumps a little to 12.3V. Disconnect the halogen headlights and it jumps to 12.6-12.7V. So the stator is putting out some power at least. Decide to charge up the battery, button it up and he would ride it back home. Also replaced the halogens with a set of LED bulbs I had but wasn't using. I followed him to the last intersection from the main trail. He made it back fine and he called me to let me know the battery did have 12.7V. He'd like to have me eventually replace the stator but just like anything else on Yamaha sleds, it's a bitch of a job. Will be a spring/summer project.

I'm going riding again tomorrow, by MYSELF!

 

[BrianF]

Got our Jeep back from the dealer yesterday. Needed some update to the 4x4 and seems to be fine. Then some uconnect issue surfaced. Back it goes Friday. Minor PIA but it sure is a nice driving wagon.

Today I put a few miles on. Its overcast but hovering around 0c. Took the Evinrude on a nice trail ride and saw the sights. I have them jetted for -20c so today, while running great, it left a nice smudge down the trails. While I never spotted one, there are numerous fresh moose tracks.

 

[azswiss]

Fixed a flat tire on my wife's XC70. Nice little roofing nail! All good now.

 

[TJBaker57]

Fixed a flat tire on my wife's XC70. Nice little roofing nail! All good now.

I once heard air pissing out of a tire on my Yukon as I exited the vehicle. Brought the tire/wheel to a local western auto. They called me later to say they could find no leak. I went and got it and told them I would be back after marking the leak. They even immersed the tire/wheel in a tank and found nothing.

I soaped it up good and like them I found nothing,,,,, until I released the pressure way down to single digits. Then I could flex the tread and there it was. A small slice that was closed by pressure unless the weight of the vehicle stressed that area.

It could not be repaired well enough to be anything but spare duty but I wouldn't even trust it for that. You never know how far from civilization you will need the spare.

 

[sashainwy]

Chipping away at it. Whole front end's getting done.

 

[flyboy2610]

Chipping away at it. Whole front end's getting done.
View attachment 118567

Did that to my '04 TB EXT and the wife's '06 TB. It's a job but it's worth it!

 

[mrrsm]

A while back... I was listening to my favorite "Ace Of Base" Tune... and had a Flash of Inspiration about the problem of reminding "The Lil' Woman" to order in her *Stuff* and my "Base" Consumables by clipping off the Key Box Ends (once) and leaving these reminders at her Desk Top Keyboard so they won't get overlooked... and now, I no longer have to remind her about them,

This is just a sample of the Reminder Pile she keeps handy that I just pick out and place as needed. THIS Idea has worked out so well!

"She... Who MUST Be Obeyed"....Rumpole of The Bailey

 

[dhanger]

"She... Who MUST Be Obeyed"....Rumpole of The Bailey

I casually read your post with amusement and approval; as I was about to move on I just barely caught your P.S. and was suddenly immersed in nostalgia. Rumpole of the Bailey was one of my favorite British series long, long ago. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[azswiss]

Another day, another tire repair. This time it is a 4mm hex key in one of the jeep tires.

 

[BrianF]

Nothing much. Finished my block of shifts at work. We switched things around so I was home before dark. Its a bit cold but much better than anticipated, so, that means a sled ride. The new snow we got is light powder so its rough riding in the open fields. Regardless, was still fun and spotted piles of moose tracks.

 

[BrianF]

Well boys, hope everyone is doing well and surviving the winter. Hoping we just got past the worst of winter (knock on wood). We were floating -30one week, melting the next and flip flopping all along. This past weekend, -24 blew in and today we are to hit +10c. The 2 week forecast looks favorable.

We made a few more automotive changes along the way. We sold our old 2005 Grand Caravan and Shitty Blue. The van was just in the way so I cleaned it up and my wife had it gone at a profit in hours. Same with the car. First guy to view the car made a deal but needed to talk with his wife first. A couple hours later someone gave us a great offer and its gone. Other than 3/4 of a year for insurance, we covered the purchase and all the repairs made plus some extra. Sad to see that POS go.

We decided that its smarter to just put miles on the Trailblazer as its pushing 20 years of ownership with us, still runs great and if the weather is to bad to drive it, you shouldn't be on the road. We are considering a couple options with our daughter's Escape. Might sell or possibly a beater for me. You see, this week we are slated to pick up another used truck. Got a 2020 Ram 1500 classic crew cab, 5.7 , 4x4, with 83,000km.

My oldest daughter has a bunch of things going on and at times, a truck would be the smartest option for her. She will need to trailer a horse here and there for further rodeo queen obligations, cattle penning and if she makes it to university, wants to take part in the riding team. She is not getting my wife's truck nor the diesel.

We test drove it two weeks ago, even had her drive it. Great truck but before the dealer would let it go, it needed some tires, tail light and some other trivial stuff. We told our kid we couldn't get it in the end and we would look another time. She works hard and will help put money towards it.

I put in for a promotion at work and might not need a commuter car as much, if thats the case, we will sell the Escape. Part of the issue is that the main lot at my current office is in the hood and lots of rubbies, shitties, walkers and scrouts pass through. I dont want to park a nice vehicle there, mind you I have not had any issues.......

 

[movietvet]

I do work in my driveway and stay pretty busy between the approx 25 customers that I have. Scheduled a CARB adjustment for a 1977 Chevy K10 350 tomorrow. Yes, I still remember how to do that.

Thursday scheduled a 2005 Tahoe LS to be here for a water on d/s floor problem.

Friday scheduled a 1986 Nissan 720 pickup for a v/c gasket and inspection for other needs.

At 73, I still do just fine.....for now.

Other forums I belong to have a GARAGE section for stories and pics of things like this. That is why I posted this here.

 

[azswiss]

Routine checkup & maintenance on the AC units (heat pumps). Cleaned the filters and checked all the run caps (compressor, external blower). Going to be 102F today, 106F tomorrow & 107F on Friday. That's 30F above normal! Ooph!

 

[dhanger]

Pool temp is up to 75F today, usually in the low-mid 60's this time of year. Usually not ready to jump in until late April!

 

[Mooseman]

My pool temp is -5c and ice covered

Not much going on today; work, home, dinner, reading up on you guys...

 

[BrianF]

No pictures yet but we picked up our new to us 2020 Ram 1500 classic today. Runs pretty slick. My daughter is beyond the moon happy but more importantly, she is learning that with hard work you can have nice things.

Right now, besides trying to get over whatever sickness I have, I am picking up some 2" suction and discharge hose. We have a trash pump going as a few paddocks are under water. The ground is still frozen but with recent melts, we have quite a lot of dirty water to move.

 

[dhanger]

My TB was due for an oil change so with the recent discussions about Valvoline R&P I decided to go with that. I had also been considering for some time doing an ACDelco TEC as well and had bought some a while back.

Before doing the oil I removed spark plugs from a couple of cylinders and stuck an endoscope in to see whether it was really worth my time for the TEC. Wasn't a real high end scope so it was a bit difficult to get really good views but I didn't see any real excessive carbon deposits. The piston tops appeared to have at least a small percentage of bare metal and valves didn't look like there was any significant buildup. I don't know if it was my imagination but it looked like there was still a faint amount of crosshatch on the cylinder walls. I'm not a rebuilder by any stretch so I don't know if that's even feasible for 196K miles or maybe that's not uncommon. I did a compression check a year ago and got 180-190 across the board. So, I decided to forego the TEC this time and concentrate on what the new oil might do for me.

I also collected a sample of oil for analysis, first time ever for this engine. Wanted to establish a baseline for future analysis. If anybody is interested I'll post results when they come in. My wife and I are both retired now and we are confirmed homebodies so my annual mileage is down to about 8,000 so it will be at least 4 months before the next oil change and analysis.

 

[movietvet]

My TB was due for an oil change so with the recent discussions about Valvoline R&P I decided to go with that. I had also been considering for some time doing an ACDelco TEC as well and had bought some a while back.

Before doing the oil I removed spark plugs from a couple of cylinders and stuck an endoscope in to see whether it was really worth my time for the TEC. Wasn't a real high end scope so it was a bit difficult to get really good views but I didn't see any real excessive carbon deposits. The piston tops appeared to have at least a small percentage of bare metal and valves didn't look like there was any significant buildup. I don't know if it was my imagination but it looked like there was still a faint amount of crosshatch on the cylinder walls. I'm not a rebuilder by any stretch so I don't know if that's even feasible for 196K miles or maybe that's not uncommon. I did a compression check a year ago and got 180-190 across the board. So, I decided to forego the TEC this time and concentrate on what the new oil might do for me.

I also collected a sample of oil for analysis, first time ever for this engine. Wanted to establish a baseline for future analysis. If anybody is interested I'll post results when they come in. My wife and I are both retired now and we are confirmed homebodies so my annual mileage is down to about 8,000 so it will be at least 4 months before the next oil change and analysis.

OK, I'll bite. What is an AC Delco TEC? I likely know but can't get the TEC figured out.

Not unusual to see the cross hatch. I have seen it with even higher mileage.

Where are you sending the oil for analysis? Lake Speed Jr., The Oil Geek, does oil analysis with very concise and detailed information. Look them up at Speediagnostix.com

 

[Mooseman]

OK, I'll bite. What is an AC Delco TEC? I likely know but can't get the TEC figured out.

ACDelco Top Engine Cleaner. It was discussed so much in the past, we have a whole section in the FAQ about it:

Using ACDelco Top Engine Cleaner

Carbon cleaning the 4.2L
Using TEC
Questions and using TEC

 

[dhanger]

Where are you sending the oil for analysis? Lake Speed Jr., The Oil Geek, does oil analysis with very concise and detailed information. Look them up at Speediagnostix.com

Blackstone Labs. I don't recall where I got their name, undoubtedly here on this forum.