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Comment by Kevin F Smith on April 3, 2019 at 10:48pm

LOL!  I wish Jack!  I'm 50 now, and feeling every year.  But it has to be done!  I'm too old to be working this hard, and too poor to hire other folk to work this hard...lol!

Kev

Comment by Jack Wasmuth on April 3, 2019 at 10:07pm

Kevin, you must be a young buck to get all that done in one day. It would take me at least a week at my age. Good on ya.

Comment by Kevin F Smith on April 3, 2019 at 9:55pm

WOW I got a lot done today!

First thing this morning I took down our pavilion tent and packed down everything from the tent...and brought it back to the RV, staged to load up on Saturday.

Then I finished ALL the cable runs for the solar project and the inverter.  I put the wires from each solar panel through sun-proof conduit, attached the conduit to the waterproof junction box on the roof, glued down the conduit (although I did use some cable clamps and stainless screws on the ends to keep the conduit tight and straight), sealed the open ends of the conduit where the MC-4 connectors come out under the solar panels, attached all the wires to bus blocks I bought just for the junction box (which I lined with plywood), and added zip ties to the 4 gauge cables where they come down into the fridge compartment, and then sealed the hole I drilled in the floor for the cables with silicone.

Additionally, I ran an RJ-12 six wire telephone cable from the compartment where the Morningstar Tristar MPPT 60 charge controller lives, to the space under the fridge that houses my Magnatek converter.  It will attach to a remote monitor and control panel for the charge controller, which I will install tomorrow.  Right next to it, I will also be installing a 12 volt digital meter to keep an eye on my battery voltage.

And then I sacrificed my RV 30 amp extension cord, and ran it from my power/sewer compartment, to the compartment that houses the charge controller and the Dimensions pure sine wave inverter.  Tomorrow I'll install the 30 amp RV plug and gang box and cover in the power/sewer compartment, so that all I have to do is plug the RV power cord into that outlet when we are running on battery power and solar.

After that, I added cable clamps and zip ties to all of my wire runs, and battened everything down.

Finally, running on almost empty, I finished stringing the latest run of catapults, and stained them, leaving them on the stain rack to dry.

It was a long and busy day, with a few more very long and busy days to follow! 

I took a shower, put on my jammies, and that is it for today!!!

Whew am I beat!



Kev

Comment by Kevin F Smith on April 2, 2019 at 10:24pm

I managed to get the wires all cut for the solar panels today...10 gauge to the junction box on the roof with the proper MC-4 solar connectors. I soldered the connections for full conductivity. So the wiring for all 4 panels are all laid out.

I also made a waterproof junction box, with 2 bus connectors, and installed and glued it to the roof. There are 4 waterproof conduit cable fitments on the junction box as well...and wires exposed to sunlight will go through conduit rated for outdoor sunlight.

For my previous solar project on our 1989 Holiday Rambler, it was cheaper to get 10 gauge extension cords from Harbor Freight and cut them down to size. For whatever reason, even a 50 foot 10 gauge extension cord from Harbor Freight is now 80 bucks...on sale!!!

I ended up buying 10 gauge wire and 1/2 inch conduit to protect the wires from the sun for a fraction of that price. It didn't used to be that way.

2 brand new Trojan deep cycle 6 volt golf cart batteries will be delivered on Thursday, for 110 bucks each. Brand new. We went with 6 volt flooded for the economy and watt hours, so when I expand the battery bank, I will have to build a box for them and vent them...the AGM batteries were TWICE the price for substantially less amp hours.

Tomorrow morning, early, I'll be taking down our pavilion tent and bringing it all back to camp, staged to load up for travel.

And then working on the solar project some more.

And I still have to do a huge run of catapults before we leave on Sunday.

Fun fun fun!!!

Kev

Comment by Kevin F Smith on April 2, 2019 at 10:57am

The Arizona Renaissance Festival is officially ended, and we will be back on the road, this time to a small fair in Utah, on Sunday.

Lots to do before we leave!

I have to finish wiring in the solar panel system, inverter, and install the new batteries, pack down and stow our pavilion tent and stock, finish a big run of catapults, pack down and stow the workshop, pack down and stow our porch furniture, wash the pups, shampoo the carpets in the RV...and hit the road.

Lots to do!

Kev

Comment by Jimco_W001 on March 30, 2019 at 12:15pm

Good for you Kevin.  Check out LUBE GUARD transmission additive. Rebuild shops put this in for good measure.

Comment by Kevin F Smith on March 30, 2019 at 11:01am

IT LIVES!!!  LOL!

Kev

Comment by Kevin F Smith on March 30, 2019 at 1:32am

I am a very happy camper, and very proud of myself...lol!  I know a lot of you guys are ace mechanics...but to me, installing an automatic transmission successfully is a HUGE milestone!

I drove it all over this evening to run errands (since I didn't finish up until 3pm this afternoon...I had to get groceries and stuff for our last weekend at the Arizona Renfaire)...and so far, it is running great!  Shifts are crisp and clean, and all seems well.  Not a sign of dripping fluid or leaks.  

SWEET!!!  

Clean-up sucked, as usual.  Wiping down tools, getting everything put away, etc.  The most onerous job of any project.

But I did it!!!  And it works!!!

Our Toad is back on the road, and road worthy!!!

Kev

Comment by Kevin F Smith on March 30, 2019 at 1:32am

VICTORY!!!



I did it!!!



I successfully installed an automatic transmission for the first time in my 50 years on this planet, and it works!!!



Not only does it work, but the high speed vibration is GONE on the Jeep!!!

The bellhousing must have been cracked for a while, possibly since I acquired this Jeep around 2 years ago.  Now there is no hesitation, the shifts are WAY smoother (after I adjusted the kickdown linkage and dialed in the shift cable and transfer case linkage).  There is no longer any high speed "vroom...vrum" vibrations which I thought was the drive shafts!  SWEET!!!

Kev

Comment by Kevin F Smith on March 28, 2019 at 9:33pm

WOW that was a lot of work!  

The used transmission is installed!  Thank God my buddy Will was over in my workshop building catapults...because having him help get the transmission on the scrapwood cradle I made for transmission on his rolling jack was incredibly helpful.  I probably could have gotten it up there myself, but having a big strong 28 year old help made it so much easier!  He also helped me get it all lined up and bolted in place before he went back to work on the catapults.

Almost everything is done.  All the wiring and breather tubes and cables and linkages are reinstalled neatly, the dipstick tube and dipstick are back in place, the torque converter bolts are installed, the torque converter cover plate is back in place, the crossmember is installed, etc.

It did take me almost 2 hours to get the exhaust flange studs out of the header flange (which I had to cut in order to get the exhaust header pipe off...and I had to grind and drill and hammer and torch and grind some more and hammer some more...and finally they came out.  

There is still a little left to do tomorrow:

-I have to install the starter, and find a nut and bolt to replace the one that was missing.

-I have to install the exhaust, and also find bolts and nuts to replace the studs I had to remove from the header flange.

-I have to grease and install the driveshafts.

-I have to drain any remaining fluid out of the transmission.

-I have to add the right amount of ATF-4+ (Dexron compatible) to the transmission and transfer case.

-I have to hook the battery back up.

-And then I have to cross my fingers and pray that it runs and drives and that the transmission I just installed is good.  And then I have to take it for a test drive, and possibly have to adjust the shift cable, etc.

So if all goes well and I don't have any issues tomorrow, and if I get an early start (which I will), I should have it back up and running by noon!  Woohoo!

WOW am I sore and tired!  Transmission are hard! 

Kev

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