New England B.S. Thread

Praying for no rain.... Big block party in town and I have my kids.... Something to do other than a movie or them being lounge lizards. Lol

Ah, the life of a divorced dad.

 

I went down to Dennis yesterday and as soon as we got on cape the clouds broke and sun was out. Nice down here today too

 

Just started raining on island, glad I got the truck buttoned up before getting soaked...

Finally tackled the dreaded 1st gen. steering wheel slop issue... its been saved in my bookmarks for years, decided it was time. The mod is to tack weld a sleeve joint on the steering shaft that develops a minute amount of play over 14 yrs of steering. But when that tiny bit of play translates down into the steering assembly/tires.. you end up feeling like a drunken sailor above 40 mph and anything off pavement and the wheel rattles like a coin jar! All details I've gotten used to but, seeing as the fix seemed simple enough, why not

The GF and I are heading up to Portland, Me tomorrow for the week, so highway driving will be the real test

Thanks to @Darth_Yota for laying down two masterful tacks!

 

So iv been thinking of a name for my boat...

still havnt done that one.

 

Just got home from the 9-11 event at the SH. Very emotional when they read all the names of Mass residents that died. The ringing of the bell sent chills

 

About 15 years ago I used to work for Timken in Watertown CT as an Engineer building steering columns for mainly the big 3 but also Mercedes. Now I don't have direct experience on that particular column but if it's a slider that you've welded then you may have created a potential safety issue. The columns are designed to collapse in an accident to keep you from being poked in the chest. It's even worse with an air bag as the bag is inflating while the column is coming at you resulting in a much higher force on your head. No one wakes up in the morning with the intention of getting into an accident but they do happen. I might consider epoxy to stiffen any play but a spot weld could jam the slider upon impact. Just a friendly heads up.

 

I always went for the H6s. They didn't seem to have any of the issues of the 4s and they could actually get out of their own way. Had an '04 and '08. The '04 was my favorite vehicle next to the Tacoma. The build quality on those 2nd gens was very good.

I find the few issues Subarus have to be just bizarre. My sister has an '03 H4 and lost an A/C belt the other day. I looked at it and found the crank pulley was working its way closer to the motor and had eaten through the timing belt cover. Swapped the pulley just in time as the old one was just starting to graze a timing belt idler or tensioner. The original pulley has a good deal of rubber behind it that was starting to break down and cause the thing to work its way closer to the motor. Never seen anything like that before, but upon searching apparently it was pretty common for those motors. Still need to get her a new timing belt cover, but at least it's okay for now.

 

Thats why its tack welded and not beaded all the way around, the tacks will shear under the force of an accident.

Seeing as though I have no sway bar, a lift and oversized tires that put me way out of spec for safe COG of these trucks originally, wheel spacers that put significant wear on the LBJ's/bearings that could cause the wheel to fold under the truck @ 70 mph, wiring for aftermarket cooling fans/ off road lights that I potentially might have wired wrong causing an explosive fire.... basically my whole truck is a "safety issue" at all times

That being said, I appreciate the heads up

 

It didn't come named already? What name are you thinking?

 

My uncle's last sail boat was named 'blow me'. It was spelled out in flags so it wasn't obvious.

 

That's pretty funny. Iv been telling the girlfriend I'm going to name it Tremors after the move and she hates it. It's almost fun, he'll I may just keep it.

 

Hey guys. Next Sunday at a local farmers market in Blackstone they are having a tractor/truck/car and motorcycle show along with a DJ and of course the farmers market itself. I am not affiliated with it in any way but I think it would be really cool if you guys could come and we could do it as a small type of meet. Bring the whole family as it is a farmers market after all but they go beyond that with fresh hot food from the grill, local made jams/jellys/spices, local artists and one guy was selling the beef jerky that he made and he was giving away samples. I went today with my family and bought local corn, squash and we even bought a roast from a guy from a local farm/ranch.



Link; http://www.danielsfarmstead.org/

Please let me what you guys think

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Sunday the 25th?

 

15 years...
Jesus doesn't time fly. I was sitting in history when the first plane hit and one of the teachers from a neighboring classroom said that there had been an accident in NYC, a plane had just hit one of the twin towers. My teacher (who, as it turns out was a retired naval aviator) replied that if they'd hit a building in the middle of NYC that it was no accident, that it was deliberate. He turned the TV on and we were sitting there completely spellbound when the second plane hit. He turned and looked at us and said that we'd be at war with whoever had done this before the year was out.

Thanks! The GF is already calling it the beer can, so I need to hurry and think of something more dignified to start calling it before that one sticks, lol.

Lol, yeah, sorry... I test drove a pair of '16 Tacos and I just was...I guess underwhelmed.

But yeah, that's where the sales guy put it. Salespeople can't drive; they're talkers, haha! So far parking hasn't been a problem, but I'm not really looking forward to the first parallel parking attempt.

So far it's an awesome motor. It's got a ton of sack if you step on it (The grey truck I test drove with the 2.7 burned rubber through first gear and then chirped the tires on the shift to second), but yesterday when I was just cruising along it was averaging almost 26mpg's (according to the instant-readout, which has to be taken with a grain of salt). I'm borrowing my uncle's bass boat next weekend, so we'll see how she does with towing.

As for longevity, Since it's a fairly new motor I erred on the side of caution & bought the extended powertrain coverage so I'm good until 2023 or 100k, whichever comes first. That'll at least improve my odds of being covered if the engine uses all of that boost to shit a head gasket, lol.

So far the only thing I'm on the fence about is that when you unlock it pretty much every single light on the truck turns on (short of the headlights and fogs). Front markers, mirror markers, mirror-mounted puddle lamps, taillights, plate lights, bed lights, interior light, map lights, dash lights, every single button/switch inside... Reminds me of a spaceship getting ready to take launch. I haven't decided yet if I think it looks cool, or dorky, haha!

 

No the Sunday before. It's the the 18th

 

Let me know how it tows! How heavy is the boat? That's what I'm really curious about, how the little 2.7 does with a trailer.

 

The camper has twin LP tanks now!

 

I might be interested depending on my jet-lag...

 

Placing an order with Diode Dynamics (www.diodedynamics.com) this week - anyone need anything? Let me know!
@mach1man001 - I gotchu