DanD

Get use to seeing or hearing more about these notices; yes PST is gone but the collection offices and auditors are still going strong. It’s an attempt to collect on as much of the taxes that has slipped through the cracks in the system. Especially now because it’s the last kick at the can they’re going to get, before the PST offices are closed for good. Here at the shop I had the privilege of a PST audit last month; everything went well and the auditor only found a few discrepancies. At the end of the audit and after this guy turned back into a human; we talked for a bit about what an auditor’s mandates are. He didn’t get into to many details but (according to him) they are told to find something and they’re to keep looking until they do. Once a certain percentage of unpaid taxes are found, compared to your sales; they can then end the audit. Dan.

I’d say put the $10 towards a case of beer; because he’s likely going to get thirsty pulling that engine down or out. Confirm that the issue is a leaking valve and then have the heads redone; these 3.8lts didn’t get the nickname of “iron horse” for nothing, the bottom ends are all but bullet proof. Dan.

In 2004 they (GM) only offered the 3.8Lt in the Grand Prix; either a VIN code 2 or 4; the 4 code being the supercharged engine. Yea asked my youngest tech here about the different length pushrods in the 3.1. He has a bent valve sitting on the shelf at the computer station here in the shop; as a reminder. LOL Both of the 3.8Lt engines use the same length pushrods for intake & exhaust. Dan.

By this they have already confirmed where the compression leakage is. That is if they did the leakage test with the suspect cylinders at TDC of their compression stroke? Dan.

Did he have the heads pressure/vacuum tested when they were off? Depending on how hot the cylinder head(s) got when the gaskets failed; there’s a good chance that a couple of the valves have became warped. The valve head will actually become out of round and the exhaust valves are more prone to it. The exhaust valves on a properly running engine, run very close to red hot; when a head gasket blows, the coolant entering the combustion chamber will quench the valves causing them to warp. Why it seems to run ok off idle is because inertia is helping things to smooth out; but at idle all 6 slugs have to be contributing for the engine to run smooth. I’d say that he’ll be busy this long weekend pulling the heads and then sending them in for a valve grind. If he does pull the heads again; tell him not to even think of reusing any of the new gaskets he’s just installed. Especially the head gaskets they use a crush method in the composition of the gasket that only works once to seal the combustion chamber. Dan.

If there’s room; I wouldn’t even bother with a heli-coil; plus the wall thickness of the lower unit may not be thick enough to hold a heli-coil? Get a threading tap and a replacement bolt/screw, one or two sizes larger in diameter. Tap new threads in the stripped out hole and stick the replacement bolt in; along with a sealing washer. After that I would have the lower end pressure tested to confirm that there are no other leaks allowing water in. Dan.

Another place that is owned by Castle Vacation parks is Hidden Valley Family campground; it’s just outside of Normandale and Turkey point. http://hvcamp.com/ This will be our 12th year there and we still enjoy going down every weekend. The park was originally a Boy Scout camp that was converted to a trailer park a number of years ago. Castle bought it about 4 years ago and has made some improvements to the facilities. Swimming pool, games room, rec hall, Saturday wagon rides and all kinds of group activities. The park backs onto the Turkey Point Provincial park and there are all kinds of hiking trails. A 5-10 minute walk gets you to the Normandale pier where you can throw out a line and there’s a small beach for swimming. Then there’s Turkey point itself, that has all the small beach village attractions along with a great beach for the kids. Turkey Point marina has a very good launch ($20.00 last year ouch) that gets you out onto Long Point bay; that your 16 foot tinny would be quite comfortable in. Oh yea there’s also Turkey point golf course; I don’t golf but a bunch of our friends down at the park do and they say its pretty good for a provincially owned; its only about a 2-3 minute drive. The only thing I’m not a fan of is that Castle will not allow you to bring in your own trailer. It must be purchased through them; as in an existing trailer in the park or a brand new one purchased through Castle. Come check it out; I’m on sunset drive third trailer from the end on the right hand side. After May 1st that is. Dan.

My 04 Honda 40 four stroke; is a miserable thing to start, if I haven’t used it for a couple or 3 days. Like you said it would almost kill the battery(s) with all its farting and snorting until it got running on all three cylinders. Had it back a couple of times while under warrantee and the only solution I/we’ve found was to drain the carbs after the days fishing was done and I wasn’t going to use it the next day. When I go to start it the next time I pump the primer until the carbs are refilled, hit the key and she fires first time every time. I believe in this case with my motor, it’s the small amount of fuel in the carb’s float bowls (less then an ounce in all three carbs combined) that is exposed to the atmosphere is going stale; due to the ethanol content in the fuel. Dan.

Aftermarket rims, on a Vette; that’s sacrilege!!!! If you’re going too do that you may as well have saved the money on the Burb and put a hitch on the Vette. Oh man aftermarket rims what a shame, what a shame. Oh by the way the truck and the rims look great; you’ll love the Suburban. It’ll be like driving your living room couch and storage shed down the road; plus having all the ponies to get the work done of pulling the boat. Congratulation on the buy(s). Dan. PS- My 86 Vette is still wearing her original rims and she looks quite proud in them.

That was the whole point of my other post; make the meat illegal and then start dishing out the fines with no mercy. That would stop all the Bull of we thought they would be dead by the time we got here; yea right you did. That’s why they used a tanker rather then a refrigerated truck; one that can be easily emptied of water before the boarder and refilled after the crossing. Dan.

That’s where the problem is, these “cultural group(s)” are creating the demand for fresh carp and like anything else, someone is going to try and fill that demand; if there’s a buck to be made. The only way to slow the enviable infestation of these fish is to make the possession and or sale (dead or alive) illegal in Canada; no more “fresh dead” at the markets. Unless they are in a can on the grocery store’s imported shelf; they should be made illegal for consumption in Canada period! Get caught with this fish in any form, other then processed and you pay the penalties. Wherever these cultures acquired the taste for these fish, they likely still sell them in their home land. Dan.

Glad that things seem to be working out for what could have been (and still might be) a really tough thing to get off your back. That being said; this cop must have an ego the size of King Kong’s. With today’s wealth of information, at anyone’s finger tips (internet) where you can easily find, legal documented means of combating someone like this; he still tries to brow beat you? He’s either very full of himself or has mental issues; thinking you’d cower and take his crap? For him too even try this, he should had been forced to have a sociological evaluation performed; he needs professional help! Will a person like this stop or will he just pick his next victim a little more carefully? Someone that he feels doesn’t have the resources and can hold that person under his thumb; as too fuel his ego? Scary stuff when someone in police uniform and supposedly trusted, invades your life for personal means; whatever they be? Dan.

Like some else here has already said; fish huts and sleds have been sharing the ice for many years. The wooden seasonal huts haven’t changed much over the years; but the sleds sure have. Back in the 60’s & 70’s a sled was considered a fast machine, if it could hit 50 or 60 mph and that be flat out, with a five mile run (if the motor didn’t blow trying LOL); today’s sleds, that’s barely off idle. There aint enough reflective tape in the world; if the person driving the sled hasn’t a clue or doesn’t care that he’s endangering himself or the people around him. Don’t the club sponsored snowmobile trails have speed limits and rules that need to be followed; why is the ice a free for all? Yes things can still happen at lower speeds; but you have one heck of a lot more reaction time. A sled when driven by an idiot on the hard water, is no different then that same idiot driving a jet ski on the soft water; just not as many huts to hit. LOL Dan.

If anyone might have the parts in stock; it’ll be these guys. Lazar Sales/Cutters Choice 1717 Oxford St E, London, ON N5V 2Z5 519-452-0501 Have the VIN/model# for the engine ready when you call them. But you living in or around Delhi and with all the small engines used on the tobacco farms; you’d think someone local to you would have all that you needed? There's probably thousands of the old two man priming machines lying around; retro one of those motors? Dan.

There’s probably some down falls with this idea; don’t know the legalities or your camp’s layout; too make this feasible? But with your resources and your manufacturing skills; why not build a 100 or more gallon fuel tank/trailer with some form of floatation? Haul the thing from home, behind the truck; when you get to the lake, launch the trailer and tow it to your camp behind the boat. A manual or electric transfer pump; a few yards of hose to reach the airplane; then you can throw your gas cans away. Dan. Just to add another thought, forget the floatation for the trailer; there’s an ice road up there now isn’t there?

With that amount of “smoke” that (too me) looks more like steam; could be the thermostat stuck closed or the impeller wiped out of it and the motor is overheating? Didn’t hear any knocking and it did crank & restart on the few attempts that were shown in the video. Lack of oil and that much smoke; I don’t know if it would turn over, let alone restart? Dan. Just watched the vid again and the tell tail spit hole has water coming out of it so the impeller is OK; maybe just a stuck thermostat; if this particular motor has one?

To tell you the truth that’s what I use to use was the flex shaft from a dermal, a battery operated drill and a 3/8 drill bit. Click the drill on steady and use the side of the drill bit; the spirals (floots?) of the bit will catch the scales and scrape them right off. But man the scales would be everywhere; had to wear safety glasses. LOL Dan.

On line at Bass Pro. http://www.basspro.com/Bear-Paw®-Electric-Scaler/product/77700/-925947 Dan.

I’ve been doing the same as Governator’s “standard” method; but I scale them first & leave the shin on. I know everyone thinks it’s a pain to scale them, let alone the mess; but I think they taste better and well worth the effort. Plus I’ve just bought an electric scaler that works great. It doesn’t rip the skin of the fish at all and the shield helps to keep the scales from flying all over the place. One or two passes with the arbor and the scales are gone; almost as fast as skinning the fillet but with no waste. I don’t know why this thing works as good as it does; the teeth on the arbor are covered in what looks like plastic. You can hold it against your hand and it does nothing as in cut or scrape; but it sure does remove the scales easily. Plus once they’re scaled they fillet twice as easy; not having to cut through the scales. Dan.

I just ordered an item (“Bear Paw” electric scaler) from BPS two weeks ago and it showed up here with Canada post (Priority Post). No extra charges were applied other then the shipping ($23.50) and the HST ($19.30) that was shown on the ordering page of the Web site. Not as big as a trolling motor; it came in a box twice the size & about the same weight of a Toronto phone book. Dan.

That’s my point exactly, about the fuel shut off valve; full tank, empty carb, no contaminated/stale fuel sitting in the carbs float bowl. Dan.

Here’s my two cents on this; keep tanks full and sealed; carburetors empty. On injected model engines, just keep tanks full and sealed; fuel injection fuel rails are not vented like carbureted engines are. There is an in-line check valve that keeps a solid column for fuel between pump & injectors; the air cannot get at the fuel. Most (not all) toys & equipment will likely have a fuel shut off valve to the carb(s); if not install one. When you’re done using whatever, turn the fuel off; run the motor until stalled or manually drain the carb’s float bowl (if there’s a drain valve/screw) Older equipment used to always have some form of manual vent valve for the tanks; make sure they’re closed when storing. Most new(er) equipment have self venting caps or valves; replace it with a manual vent or have a second cap for storage purposes; that you’ve permanently sealed. A sealed tank will all but stop evaporation and moisture contamination of the fuel; with a proper dose of stabilizer will keep the fuel’s volatility up to a usable level. Just remember not to fill the tank to the brim; leave a bit of room for expansion and contraction; during temperature changes. It’s Mother Nature fiddling with the fuel that causes it to go “bad”; keep her away from it; as much as possible and it will have much longer shelf life. Dan.

If this is a manufacturer’s (Ford’s) extended warrantee then you’re likely OK buying it; without having too many issues with claims. The only down fall is; you’re committed to going to the dealer for anything that is covered. If it is a third party warrantee company be very careful; read and understand all the exceptions in the policy. I had to deal with some of these third party companies for my customers and like what was said above, there is a loop hole for them to crawl through for many things. That being said and if you do decide to purchase a policy, make sure things like gaskets, emissions & electronics are covered, right alone with the powertrain coverage. A lot of times when there’s an engine failure, it’s due to a gasket that had failed first. If the insurance company’s adjuster/appraiser can confirm that the engine damage was due to a gasket; they’ll deny the claim. Also check into what the insurer’s maintenance schedule is like. As in what they want from you, to prove that the vehicle was being looked after by you. I had this one person that had missed a basic servicing (oil change) by about a thousand kilometers. They had the servicing done when they realized they were over due and then had a couple of others done after that on the proper intervals. A year or so later the transmission went out of their mini van (Chrysler Surprise Surprise LOL) and the insurance denied the claim due to the one over due servicing. I tried arguing the fact; what does an engine oil change have to do with the transmission? They agreed nothing; but the customer broke the contract by not following the maintenance schedule. So go into this with both eyes wide open and don’t believe everything the sales person tells you; as too what this policy will do for you. They make commission off of that sale as well. Dan.

Are these sardines smoked, preserved in oil or are they “fresh” raw with no additives? Dan.

Now that’s an invitation I’d be crazy not to take up on; I’ll look for your plane and make sure the cooler is well stocked. LOL We’ll be staying at Ket-Chun-Eny Lodge; last week of June (June 25-July1) cabin #1 wherever that is. LOL If the lady (Jeannie) that I’ve spoken with on the phone is anything like the lodge itself; we should be in good hands. She has been very accommodating; when we first spoke; she only had the apartment type room above the main lodge. She then called back (days later) saying they had a cancelation for a cottage/cabin and it fit the time frame we have between my brother’s chemo treatments. We had already booked the room and she didn’t need to do that for us. While talking with her, I asked if it be worth bringing the riggers; well it was like opening flood gates of places to try. Places I have no idea of where she’s talking about; I’ve never been to the lake; other then driving by it on Hwy11. It sure does make you feel good about going to a place where it seems the people running it still like people. We’ve all likely gone to places where the operator’s vocabulary begins and ends with a grunt. LOL Dan.