Another Bothersome Task

It's been two seasons, so as usual, the riding mower needs new blade spindles. In a perfect world, they'd last for a decade, but the world isn't perfect, and with sealed bearings, they will fail after the hard use they receive every season. Each season requires two blade replacements due to the tough Bahia, what we call Pine Ridge Sand, and two acres each cutting. 

I ordered the replacements, which are a little different. The bearings will have grease fittings, which means keeping the spindles greased will theoretically prolong the life of the bearing. We'll see, but even if they only last two seasons, I'll be be ahead. OEM parts are four times as expensive, last only two years, and they probably buy them from the same manufacturer I do. 

So, they arrived. The old spindles, which were exact matches of the OEM spindles, were done. Out of three, only one spun freely, but trying to save it was a fruitless effort, since the bolts were self-tapping and broke off when the spindle was removed. 

The new spindles were threaded, and bolting them on was easy. I put a few shots of grease in the zert just to insure there was grease. After cutting an acre of grass, I'm satisfied. Time will tell how long they last, but considering the cost of buying OEM parts, I could change them every season and still come out ahead.

It Happens, But Not Often

A relative called to ask about their water well yesterday evening. They said they had low pressure today, and wondered why. I told them I would have a look, and went to examine the well. 

When I arrived, they pointed to the ground around the well, and stated it looked like it was leaking below the discharge line to the tank. I noticed the well wasn't running, and there was no pressure. Since we just had a heavy shower, and an examination of the points on the pressure switch showed it should be running,  I told them I would go for my multi-meter and check the voltage. 

After I returned, I checked the voltage at the switch. There was none, so I went to the breaker box. There was no voltage on the load side of the breaker, so I flipped it off, turned it back on, and checked again. Still no voltage. I flipped the breaker a few more times, but it didn't have a sharp click when flipped. So, since it was so late, and finding a breaker would mean a long trip to a box store, I told them I would pull it in the morning and find a replacement. 

I found the breaker this morning, replaced it, and checked the well for operation. It pressured up, so they have water again. As far as the low pressure they had, it was the tank emptying, and the air bladder allowed a little pressure before the pressure went to zero.

It's rare to have a breaker fail, but with the thunderstorm yesterday, we had a power blip, which probably killed the old breaker. It's a Square D, and not the Homeline series. They usually last a long time, but some don't; especially if they're used as a switch on a circuit that usually isn't turned off.

Changing a Carburetor

After dealing with removing a fuel tank, cleaning the tank, changing the filter, and putting everything back together, my efforts were a failure. My four-wheeler was still dying, and now became really hard to start. I had to do more. I had good spark, but I still needed to check the coil to determine if it was weak.

I checked the coil. The ohm reading indicated it was good. That left removing the carburetor and either rebuilding it, or replacing it. This led me to looking at the price of a new carburetor, or a rebuild kit. 

The manufacturer price for the carburetor was $450. A look at Amazon found a rebuild kit for $33, or a replacement carburetor for $32 delivered to my doorstep. I crossed my fingers, after reading reviews, and ordered the carburetor. The next step was the arduous task of removing fenders, the fuel tank, the air filter housing and finally: the carburetor.  

The carburetor was delayed in arrival, but finally arrived late Monday morning. Installing it was the reverse of removing it. I finally reached the point I could check the operation around 6:00 pm. It ran like a champ, so I started replacing all the parts required to complete the assembly. I finished right before dark, put up my tools, and breathed a sigh of relief. 

So, I have to give the engineers credit for designing the machine. The details required to design it, insure the operation, have all the parts either manufactured, or bought, and mass producing the machine is an accomplishment. The task is way beyond my expertise, and I'm impressed. 

Scrapes and Bruises

I wrote a longer post about some mechanical problems, but it didn't fit my mood, nor explain some complex issues. To cut it short, two problems developed: one was the replacing of a blade clutch that cut a belt on a riding lawnmower, and the other was the replacing of a fuel filter on a four wheeler. The blade clutch is done, but I'm not completely sure about the four wheeler. I removed the tank, found almost a complete clog in the fuel valve, put it all back together, and it still had some running issues. I'll change the plug and hope I don't have to rebuild the carburetor. 

I don't have detailed repair manuals. I usually will find a parts diagram, which is an exploded view of different components, and parts numbers. It can be tedious to decipher and makes me feel like a NTSB investigator examining the parts of a crashed jet. That, and the part number, when given to a dealer, results in a price that most people would call ransom. I understand they need to make some money, but when a part has to be ordered, and you can find the same thing online at a substantially lower price, you realize their markup, and sometimes it is beyond reasonable. 

Anyway, today I might fiddle with the four wheeler, or not. My back hurts from scurrying around under things and finding muscles I put in storage decades ago. That, and it's been in the 90's with 700% humidity. Those conditions mean you have to snorkel in hot water, without a mask to keep the salt water from your eyes. Adding some direct sun, for me, means covering myself with a hoodie to avoid more skin cancer. Although it's not a crises, some might think so, and anxiety will rear its ugly head. 

....and I have to add my hands, and arms, look like I've been in a claw-hammer fight with a three armed Ninja. I think engineers deliberately add extra torque on bolts to insure you smash you hand into something when the bolt finally comes loose. That, and some extra sharp edges to catch some skin when you reach into a tight area.