Link Logs

DAY ONE:

Today I worked with Bob Davoust at Village Auto Care. It was mostly just kind of a day of orientation. I shadowed him as he did the day's work. We test drove a couple of cars and then did an inspection on them. Also we changed the oil, transfer case fluid, and the transmission fluid in one vehicle and then just change the oil in another. I learn about a few different types of engines today and also that the cam shaft can be in different places in the engine. For tomorrow I am hoping to figure out exactly what I am going to do for my project because I do not yet have an engine.


DAY TWO:

Today was a little less orientation and a little more work. I replaced the rear shocks on a Toyota Tacoma and then went through an inspection on it. I also helped out on a few other cars. Then around lunch time, we put my jeep on the lift and I went through an inspection on it. After going through the checklist, we found a couple of different things that I could fix for my project, (because I have yet to find an engine). By tomorrow I am hoping to narrow down the choices for a project so that I can maybe get started or at least figure out what parts I need to get in order to make those certain repairs.


DAY THREE:

Today I read up on U-joints and Pinion Seals so that I could replace them on my jeep. After I did a little reading on them I searched for the parts online at Napa Auto Parts and O'reilly Auto Parts. We ordered the parts and got them by the end of the day. Towards the end of the day, I began to take apart an old broken engine. I got most of it broken down but did not completely finish. I will be pushing that aside for now because tomorrow I am going to replace the front U-joint in the rear drive shaft of my jeep, as well as the pinion seal in the rear axle. Driving my jeep in tomorrow hoping I can drive it home to.


DAY FOUR:

I started off the day today going back over how U-joints work and how to take them apart, and also how to replace a pinion seal. After that I pulled my jeep into the middle of the shop and jacked it up and put it on some jack stands. When I had my jeep up in the air, I began to disassemble the rear drive shaft. Once I got that out, I pulled out the bad U-joint and replaced it with the new one. Before I could put the drive shaft back in, I had to remove the old pinion seal from the rear transfer case and replace it with a new one. Once I put the drive shaft back in, we put it on the lift and added some more gear oil because of what was lost when I pulled out the drive shaft. It was a success and nothing fell off on my way home. I think that tomorrow I am going to continue taking apart the spare engine and do some more shadowing of Bob and Kurt.


DAY FIVE:

Today I watched over Bob and Kurt as they worked on a number of different cars. Then we took a couple cars for test drives. After helping out with a few cars near the end of the day, I continued taking apart the spare engine. I worked on stripping down the engine for the last hour or so of the day. For Monday I am hoping to get the timing chain off that engine. Also start some research on what may be wrong with the drivers side window in my jeep. Then maybe figure out why some of the lights in the instrument panel are not coming on.


DAY SIX:

I shadowed Bob and Kurt again today as they worked on numerous cars. I then helped Kurt take one of the cars to Firestone to get an alignment (because Village Auto Care does not do alignments). The second half of the day I continued taking apart the engine. I was able to get both of the Cam Shafts out; along with the oil pan, and the timing chains. Tomorrow I am going to start working on the front window on the drivers side of my jeep. I am hoping that I will be able to fix the window without buying new parts. Also tomorrow I am going to interview my mentor.


DAY SEVEN:

For the first half of the day today, I continued to take apart the engine and finished taking it apart except for the pistons that were stuck. I am letting them soak over night and then will try to push them out tomorrow. The second half of the day I worked on the window that would not roll down in my jeep. It looks like I am going to need a new window motor, so I am not sure if that's something that I am going to fix. I also tried working on my stereo because my sub woofers are not working. For that I think that I am going to need a new radio. I was not able to interview my mentor as we did not have time for it. Tomorrow I will be looking at my transmission mount and possibly replacing it. I also am going to do the interview tomorrow.


DAY EIGHT:

Today I started off with some more shadowing. I then watched Kurt do a smoke test to check for an exhaust leak in a Mitsubishi. After that I brought my jeep into the shop and put it on jack stands. I was looking at the transmission mount because there was a screw that was almost falling out. It looked as though I was going to need a new mount so we ordered one online at Napa. So after lunch I went to put the new part in but after a closer look, we realized that nothing was broken and that all I needed to do was tighten that screw. So we sent the part back and then tightened the screw and it was good as new. We were still unable to do the interview because the shop has been really busy and we just haven't found time. We are going to shoot for getting it done tomorrow.


DAY NINE:

I started today off with a visit from my Chemistry teacher Steve. I showed him all around the shop and let him in on what I had been doing throughout my 2 weeks. Steve also dropped his car off for Bob to work on. After lunch I finally got the interview in with Bob, it went really well and Bob liked my questions.  I don't really have anything planed for tomorrow so we'll just have to see how it goes.


DAY TEN:

Today I did something that I have always been interested in and wondered how hard it was to do. I help Kurt put a lift kit on a FJ Cruiser. It ended up taking all day long. It was very interesting to see how it all goes together. I realized that it is not as easy as the product manufacturers make it out to be. I was working with a professional mechanic and it still took us all day. I'm glad that I got the experience and know how much time and effort goes into a project like that. I've had a great 2 weeks so far and hoping that the 3rd is just as good. I have a couple last projects planned for next week. I am planning on replacing the right u-joint in my front axle and then drain most of my fluids and put in new. Next week should be good.


DAY ELEVEN:

I started the day off by ordering the u-joint that I need to replace in my axle. I then proceeded to take off my wheel and then the brake caliper. After I got those off, I pulled off the rotor and began taking apart the hub assembly. This took a little more effort because the assembly was stuck, I tried using the slide hammer but wasn't having any luck. We decided to use the air hammer and that worked very well. With that removed, the right axle shaft easily slid out. The u-joint was stuck good in the axle shaft, not even the air hammer could punch it out. What we ended up doing, was taking it over to the hydraulic press, and pressing out the joint. Once that was out and I began putting the new joint in, I ran into a problem. The joint that we bought was not the right size, it was to small. We then measured the size of it and order the right part. Everything got put back together and I was able to drive my jeep home and it is still driving.


DAY TWELVE:

Today was a pretty good day, I started off the day by helping Kurt take a car over to Firestone to get an alignment. After we got back, I watched him replace a radiator. I then helped Bob take a car to a different auto shop so that it could get a new catalytic converter. When I got back, I watched a little bit while Kurt did a value spring adjustment on a vehicle. At that same time, I was replacing the oil and oil filter in my jeep. When all that was over, I helped run Bob back to Firestone to pick up the car that we dropped off earlier in the day. Tomorrow I am planning on purchasing one upper and one lower ball joint to replace on the drivers side in my jeep. We have a pretty busy day, so I am not sure if we will be able to actually do the swap but I'm going to try.


DAY THIRTEEN:

The day started off really well but didn't end on a very good note. I began the day by taking apart the left front axle assembly just as I did 2 days ago. I then continued on and pulled off the steering knuckle assembly. After that I pressed out the upper and lower ball joints with the ball joint press. I then took a break to take Bob to get the car that we had dropped off to get the new catalytic converter. I came back after lunch and began pressing in the new ball joints. I got them pressed in with the same tool that I used to get them out. Once I got the steering knuckle back in place, I started trying to take the u-joint out of the axle shaft. I was using the hydraulic press to knock the joint loose, but the joint got positioned funny and when I began pushing down, the axle shaft broke. So the last hour and a half I searched for a new axle shaft without much luck. We are still waiting for a person to call us back but I am not sure if I will be able to bring my jeep to exhibition.