Jeep Repairs, Part 2

I got started again on that sheared off bolt after church.  My first attempt was to cut a notch in the end sticking out to try to use a screwdriver bit to get it out.  That was not to be the case as the tabs just kept shearing off whenever I twisted.  So I took the throttle body off and drilled in a little to get an easy-out in there.  It worked, to an extent, but all that would happen is I’d get a couple tenths of a millimeter at a time and eventually I couldn’t go any deeper, so I just drilled the rest of the bolt out and ran a self tapping metal screw in.  The new sensor’s in and working fine.  Now I’ve got to drive it enough for the ECU to reset the check engine light.

Jeep Repairs, Part 1

I’ve been having some issues with the Jeep not running right, all traced back to the throttle position sensor going bad, so I pulled it off today to replace it with the shiny new one I picked up yesterday.  Unfortunately, one of the two bolts had a different idea and sheared off, leaving about a 1/4″ nub sticking out of it’s hole in the throttle body.  I could not persuade it to move, so I’m going to take a break and tackle it later.  Thankfully I’ve got a second vehicle to get around on…

Monastery Trip Recap

I got down to Holy Archangels Monastery later on in the morning on Thursday, got settled in, and found Fr. Michael, who put me to work disassembling some scaffolding on the side of one of the buildings.  After that we worked on installing some electrical conduit and various other odd jobs.  Liturgy was at 6:00 AM so we tended to be asleep early, which was fine by me.  I got some reading in as well, plus plenty of prayer time, before I left on Saturday.  I’m glad I spent some time there, it was just what I needed to recharge.

Replacing The RT’s Battery

Thanks to an insane weekend I didn’t get to replace the battery on the RT until now.  After removing the tupperware and left side air intake snorkle, it just slid out.  No muss, no fuss.  The connections bolted up to the new one and I got the heated gear pigtail installed while I was at it.  After buttoning everything back up I did the Motronic throttle position sensor reset and turned it over.  It was night and day difference, the starter didn’t sound like it was working hard at all.  Now I’m almost ready for the winter riding season and am definitely ready for the ride down to the monastery…

The Living Room Has Flooring

The guys came by a little late, thus making me miss the Cakewrecks signing, but the flooring’s in.  It looks awesome, now I’ve got to get everything moved back in to the room and wire up the surround sound and the A/V stuff.  The upstairs is almost done, all that’s left is to tile the floor in the bathroom, but that’s a spring project.  I’m so burned out from home improvements that it’s time for a long break.  This adventure will begin again in 2010.

Thanks Brute Squad

The brute squad descended on the house today and between all of us got the living room painted (walls, ceiling, and trim) as well as the same for the hallway, plus the electrical outlets and switches swapped out, and the carpet has been removed from the stairs.  Thanks folks, I owe you big!