DanD

I’m sorry but they don’t actually give you anything for your old alternator; that money is call a return on the core charge; that you paid out when you purchased the replacement unit. It’s like the beer bottle deposit, built into the price; return the alternator and you get your core/deposit back. When that happens all at the same time; as in you buy the unit, have them install it and you pay your bill; they like to make it look like they’re giving you that money for the unit; but they’re actually just giving it back. Also Canadian tire does not have their own rebuilding division; they buy their units from a number of different remanufacturers; depending on who won Crappies contract, this year, month or day; in other word whoever’s the cheapest. Now I’m not saying that’s always a bad thing; but there’s a reason their nickname is Crappy Tire; it’s always a crapshoot that what you buy from them is any good. Dan.

According too “Mitchell OnDemand” which is an automotive repair information and flat rate time estimator provider. It says .6 of an hour to test the charging system & .6 of an hour to remove & replace an alternator. So that would be 1.2 hours X whatever the door rate is of the dealership or independent repair facility. Which could range anywhere from $70-$120. per-hour. The alternator would depend on whether it was a 90amp (manual transmission) or 100amp (automatic transmission); with a price ranging from $250.00 - $425.00 list price. The dealership’s replacement alternator will likely only have a 1 year warrantee. Most quality aftermarket suppliers will come with either a 2 year or possibly even lifetime warrantee. If by chance you’re considering a used unit, be very careful that it is a numbers matching alternator. Just because it will physically fit; doesn’t mean that it is electrically/electronically the same and if its not, could do damage to the controller (Engine management computer). One last note; just because there’s a warning light on or the battery has gone dead while driving; doesn’t necessarily mean the alternator is at fault; have the system tested before any parts are purchased or installed. An alternator will not function unless it receives a command from the controller and I’m sorry but we’re not the car’s controllers anymore; the computer(s) and all of its wiring is. Dan.

I think a down rigger release, as the line holder; would work great for this set up? Dan.

If you’re planning on climbing the Dunn River Falls; I’d suggest having a pair of closed toed water shoes or a pair of old runners, that you don’t mind getting wet. The rocks would be pretty hard on bare feet and I’m not sure they’ll allow you to climb with bare feet? It’s a fairly easy climb and a fun way to cool off on a hot day; can’t remember much else about the tour; but we had a blast, acting like kids during the climb. Carful of the “jungle juice” that’s offered on the bus or the road side stands. It’ll get you hammered pretty quick (probably why I can’t remember the whole tour?); but you’ll also be doing the Jamaican shuffle to the nearest facilities; been there done that, worse case of bubble belly I’ve ever had. Dan.

Yea I have battery operated stat at the shop; it has the 24 Volt DC power switch for the gas valve relay; but the battery runs the stat’s clock, timer and presets. There’s no low battery warning function (dumb) and when the battery takes a crap, the furnace will stay in whatever mode it was in, when the battery did shut down. Very poor system but I’m renting the building and that’s what the property manager installed and I’m not paying to up grade it. You’re 100% right here Joey; I change all my battery operated devices batteries with the time changes, twice a year; I wouldn’t remember otherwise. And it’s not that my memory is getting worse as I get older; there’s just more things to remember; that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Dan.

I don’t think the mixture is all that far off in carbs 1 through 3; the fourth was a bit on the lean side and was definitely the one causing the slight misfire at idle. After we richened it up by the ¼ turn, the misfire disappeared. So I would just start from where they are and play the juggling act between the mixture & idle screws. Dan.

Now that you’ve got the manometer working and have the carbs balanced idle screw wise it should be a simple back and forth adjustment between main/master idle screw & mixture screws of each carb. Like what we were talking,1/4 turn on a mixture and wait for a change; if idle increases, another 1/8 -1/4 turn, in the same direction. If idle stays the same or decreases on the initial turn in; turn screw out to original position and then 1/4 more out and wait for idle change. If no idle change in either direction put screw back to original clock position. If there was an idle increase in whichever direction continue in that direction with 1/8 – 1/4 turns until there is no change in idle and then back that last 1/8 or 1/4 turn. If there was a big change in one of the carbs mixture; you may need to start over again with balancing the carbs using the individual idles screws. Once they are rebalanced then recheck the mixture settings again; like we talked yesterday make small adjustments one at a time and then sit back and wait for a reaction. Maybe forget about having that sip of beer between adjustments; that may not be all that good of an idea, depending on how many adjustments you make? One last thought because you’re using ATF in the meter; when you’ve got the carbs all set, crack the throttle hard. That’ll suck the manometer dry and well-ah you’ve just fogged the engine. LOL Dan.

Did you get a chance to try the motor out on the water, after the mixture adjustments? Dan.

The trap may need to be left baited and untouched for a few days; so the human sent dissipates; before the coon will attempt entering it. What I’ve used for bait along with fruit are a couple of eggs; one set in the trap whole and the other cracked open in a bowl set on the trip. After a couple of days of the egg ripening, the coon won’t be able to help himself and go have a taste. If by chance she does trap the thing; try calling a local independent animal control company or if you can find a number from a licensed trapper and tell them the situation. They may haul it away for free (or for the pelt); even if they charge a fee for this, it'll be cheeper then a fine or the bugger coming back? Dan.

12 gauge and a shell filled with course table salt; we use to do that when we found nests in the tobacco kilns. It would mar the paint a bit but not hurt the wood soffit of the building. I know it’s your house; so make up two shells and take a pot shot at something you don’t care about first and check it out? Dan.

My suggestion would be to take the truck(s) into any local repair facility and have them checked over. If mechanically (engine/drivetrain) and structurally, the shop gives you a thumbs up; have the shop go through it/them for a safety inspection. If you live in an emission testing area; go to www.driveclean.com and check out the truck’s test history; it’s free one of the few things from the government that is. You’ll need the VIN# and it will (or is supposed to) give you the last three test results. If they are fail or conditional passes; you know you’ll be spending money to get them to pass and they must pass for a transfer of ownership. It’s about the only way (unless you can do this yourself?) that you’ll get a better understanding of what you’re purchasing. Yes you’ll end up spending a few bucks at the garage; but its better then buying and then finding out that they are going to be money pits? I run a garage and I beg my customers to bring any previously enjoyed vehicle in for a general inspection before buying. Most times for a regular customer, I don’t even charge them for the basic checks. Not trying to be a hero or anything; but the way I look at it is; if they buy a decent vehicle they won’t mind so much spending money to fix it up. But if it’s a create, nobodies happy; they’re spending good money for bad and I have to work on junk that belongs to a pissed-off owner. Dan.

It’s not just the transom but the bow that’s also going to take a beating. Max horse power also means limiting the boats speed and the amount of pounding the bow will have to take. Believe me I’ve been there; when I stuck a 40 on a12 footer. Man did she come up on plain in a hurry and all was going well, until I hit about a 2 foot wave dead on and then the boat got real directional all of a sudden? I mean the thing would dive in the direction you were attempting to go to; didn’t dare sneeze or you be going the opposite direction. Didn’t know what happened until I loaded the boat back on the trailer. You know how the bow usually bellies out from the centre line; well this one was now bellied in; I mean it looked like a highway snow plow the V type. I don’t think anyone could have bent it in more precisely then what that wave and speed did. It also took one heck of a lot of pounding to get it somewhat back in shape; let alone welding in webbing to hold it there. Dan.

Yea I think that today’s Marathons are not as tolerant towards the abuse that trailer tires are subjected to. I’ve seen a fair amount of sidewall issues (bulges) and tread separation; but again was the tire properly inflated and if so was the trailer overloaded? So maybe yes they do fail more often then the older Marathons; but no worse then any other tire of the same design. There’s one other thing that a lot of people don't think of when their fairly new trailer tire fails and they're condemning the tire. Trailer tires are not V rated racing tires; they were not designed to be dragged down the 401 at 140K per-hour. We’ve all likely seen it; you’ll be doing a buck 20 and then out of nowhere, Mario will pass you (dragging a trailer) as if you’re standing still. Dan.

The Chinese Marathon tires are not as good as the older US made (they were all but bullet proof); but they are still a decent trailer tire. The only issues my customers have had was when they didn’t do this. Dan.

I agree 100% that it is not the owner/operator of the gas station that is to be blamed; but for different reasons and I'm talking at a branded (Shell, Sunoco, Petro & Imperial) sites. It’s the oil company that is delegating the price that he/she MUST set the pumps to. 90% of the company op. gas station's owner/operators are forced to be consignment agents and are told where to put the street price. When I ran my site, we would get a call from price management, three or four times a day with a price move. We would take the readings on the pumps, change the price and then call in the readings, along with tank dip measurements of inventory. My commission was based on approx 1.5 cents for reg. and 2.2 cents per liter for premium; regardless of street price; I made my money on volume not pricing. I’ve been out of the gas station business for a few years now; but I've been told that with today’s technology and satellite communications; the companies don’t need the site operator to change pricing or check actual inventory. It can all be done from some office somewhere with a push of a button; taking the operator even further away from pricing. No more calling a bunch of friends, telling them to make a dash for the pumps before the price increase. Dan.

That happened to my wife about 30 years ago; as she was sliding off the side of the boat in about 20 feet off water, she got her bathing suit bottom caught on a snap dome. Of course she couldn’t touch bottom and was left hanging there until we in the boat could stop laughing long enough to lift her back in. When the thong came out as few years later; I told her she should sue the company, because she invented it that day out on the boat. Every time I think of that day, the song from CCR comes to mind; but instead of Bad Moon A Rising, it’s MAD Moon. Boy was she pissed at me for not helping sooner/faster; but how could I? I was on the floor of the boat laughing so hard I couldn’t stand, let along lift her back in???? Dan.

Living in the Delhi area and with tobacco harvest in full swing; for the interim hit up the farmers for a job? With that course that you’ve taken; you could be a benefit to the farmer with all the automated machinery that they use now? Things like the automatic priming machines for example; they’re in constant need of repair and maintenance. Not like when I was a kid on the tobacco farm, where the only thing that was automatic was the fact that you knew sooner or later the primer (person picking the tobacco) in the horse row was going to get stepped on and or knocked over by the horse. LOL I still know a number of tobacco farmers and they all have the same complaint; they can’t get local people to work on the farm. Dan.

Wayne Thanks for the reply and you know about my brother Morris and what he’s going through; but this is our older brother John. Healthy as a horse and things never seem to affect him emotionally. Oh man today showed me a whole new man; he’s never been one to show his feelings; but today with his guard down he showed me blood is defiantly thicker then water. Fishing today was an excuse to talk about things we were never able to before today. Dan.

Sorry no pictures just, a short report from Long Point Bay, Lake Erie. Last night (Thursday night) my older brother called me at my trailer (I was there for the week) and asked if I wanted to go for some perch fishing out on the bay? I jumped at the chance to go out on his 28 foot Chaparral, believe me if the boat had wheels it would be like fishing from a limo. The weather last night didn’t make for good fishing the next day; thunder storms over night in our area but what the hell lets go. We weren’t disappointed (boating wise) the weather this morning was perfect; no wind and the bay was as flat as pancake. We get to our first spot (the Bluffs) and landed some nice sized perch (12-14” long) and then it died off after a couple hours. We then went to a couple other spots and found a few more; but far from a limit for either of us. At the end of our day we were happy with our catch; nothing to brag about but we caught fish. Now my main reason for this post; I GOT TO SPEND A DAY WITH MY OLDER BROTHER; JUST HIM AND ME!!!!!!!!!!!! It may sound selfish on my part but this was the first time since it can’t remember that we were on, a one to one basis. No other family or friends just me and him and boy did we talk. All I’m saying is that at my age of 51 and my brother at 15 years my senior; he’s still my hero! Dan.

Terry Hopefully you ripped the camp’s operator a new one when you returned. I don’t remember what outfit you went with; but if they promoted this as a fly-in only, isn’t that false advertising? This is the second thread here that has brought this to light for me. Solopaddler’s “\FamilyTrip------” where Mike said after some research he found that the lake was assessable via a 15 minute ATV ride, from the main drive to camp. Not that your or Solopaddler’s fishing trip was a bad trip or anything; but my idea of a fly-in is. You ain’t getting there without hours or even days of bush whacking? Like anything else, buyers beware and thanks to you guy for showing/teaching me not to be so naïve and checking into things like this closer. As for the CO sting; they’re people too; some smart some not so much. Two guys running out of the bush? How’d they know you wouldn’t pull a Burt Reynold’s with a bow and arrow? Dan.

The Joys of electronics; Vance is likely spot on that there wasn’t enough power left in the battery to power up the ECU (Computer) As for running the engine for 10 minutes and the battery still being very weak. The charging coils likely only put out 10 – 20 amps, depending on rpm. That would take better then an hour at a fairly high rpm to bring the battery to a usable level and run the electronics during starting. To prove this out, try pull starting the motor with a charged battery? Don’t ask me how a newer manual start motor that doesn’t use an external battery or have a charging system get around this; maybe they still use magneto for voltage and a basic ignition module? Dan.

I also have to agree with the guys that Dorman goes sell decent products. But when I went to their web site, I didn’t see a listing for an integral converter manifold assembly for the D16Y8 engine code that all Civic EX came with? Dan.

Aftermarket Manifold with Integral Catalytic Converter The pricing doesn't look bad; no idea on the quality of the converter? Why is it you need/want a manifold; cracked, broken or bad Cat? These front cats on Hondas rarely go bad; unless the engine has been running poorly for a long time. Converters don't die of natural causes; they are murdered. LOL Dan.

I would defiantly go with the external tank; my 3hp kicker has the built-in and it’s not fun filling the tank, while leaning over the transom when there’s a chop on the water. Plus with both motors being 4 strokes, all you’ll need to do is tee into the main motors fuel line. Dan.

Tell me the year make and model vehicle this is and I’ll see if I have a wiring diagram for the exterior lighting and post it for you. Dan.