Archive through January 23, 2004

[wcompton]

Quite off topic, yet pretty darn neat IMHO.

Went eagle watching about a 4 blocks from my house, below the dam it's open and the bald eagles are making the most of it, as close as my wife and I could count there were 35 and more in the area, plus whatever were flying around above town.

note the little white heads in trees, the river is lined with these guys!

close as they'd get to someone with a camera

 

[roundy fendered cubs rule!]

Pretty Cool Wyatt.
Last year in the local paper someone said they saw one about 2-3 miles from where I live. (Indiana) But I never saw one here.
The Original is getting closer!!!

 

[aaytay]

Jeff-
Good work!

Now get that muffler and 10hp tank off so you can make the hood fit!

Kent-
Lookin' good, but I think you forgot a piece...

 

[fmorski]

Jeff:

I have a pan for a Kohler that has the drain on the side. It has mounts on the corners that are tabs. I asume this must be a stationary engine pan/mount. Came on a Kohler that was in a 1200. Rather interesting combination. This would work perfectly for what I described. No cutting at all. Drain is on the side. It is not close so I can go look at it, but if my memory serves me, the block was different. Pan bolted on differently from what is in most cc's.

 

[aaytay]

Frank-
Was that pan green? I don't know much about them, but sounds like something from a Deere. I think they had "tabs" on them...

 

[sblunier]

OFF TOPIC QUESTION:

Does anyone have any experience with the Actron CP9135 OBDII code scanner????? Will is reliably pull GM and Ford specific trouble codes as well as the "Standard" universal codes??????


End OT Post........


Waiting for snow to start falling....might get 1-3" but it's %^&* cold outside with the 30mph wind!!!!!

 

[roundy fendered cubs rule!]

Art,
AAAAAHHHH SON-OF-AAA....

Hey gimme a break...it's my first one.
I will check if it still runs. If so I'll use it in my 71.

 

[hmgould]

While pulling the motor on my 149 I noticed a problem with the PTO clutch that the dealer installed last year. He said they had a new type of clutch which had A button made of plastic on the end. This "Burned off " the first time it was installed and now I see it is gone again. What is the deal? Can I buy the old type clutch or is there a fix for this one. I have pic's but don't know haw to attach during a post>

 

[wcompton]

Steve-
You get your "service engine soon" light on? It's your DPFE sensor, they all go out on Fords, they haven't fixed it yet. If it's bucking a little that's it. It's $67. They all go on the pickups and Mustangs and I've heard they're infamous on Focus's (Focii if you will).

 

[thoffman]

Went to Chicago's Navy Pier today to go the the Fitness Expo with the family. Knowing that I'm one that never eats Greasy Hamburgers, drink regular soda, candy, Slim Jim's, potato chips etc., etc. I thought that this would be a bummer. I don't know if regions away from the Chicagoland area have Bally's Fitness Clubs, but they have the finest looking women on TV. Well they had a group of young ladies that would stop a train (keeping tune with the R.R thing as of late). So the whole group of 5-6 start jumping rope. GULP!!8-0!! I think my heart is still working in overdrive.

And to keep on topic, Cub Cadet.

 

[bmcmeen]

Not quite as offtopic as some of the railroad stuff here

There was some mention of this on the IlliniRail Yahoo group, seems one of the members did a little writeup that appeard in a newsletter called the Danville Flyer in 09/1999.
<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

RIP, Illinois Northern
Not so obvious among the numerous short trackage abandonments nationwide as continue to be filed by the carriers with the Surface Transportation Board was a recent petition by Burlington Northern Santa Fe to quit 5 1/2 miles of line in Chicago, north of the former AT&SF Corwith Yard, today a major intermodal facility.

The line in question was the Illinois Northern, which extended north from Corwith Tower to a connection with the former Pennsylvania (PCC&StL), Chicago Junction (an NYC property), and B&OCT at 26th Street west of Western Avenue in Chicago from 1901 through 1975, when Santa Fe absorbed it.

This line was built by Chicago & Southern in 1876. Through a series of consolidations, C&S became part of Chicago & Grand Trunk by 1880. Following the opening of Dearborn Street Station in 1882, C&GT built a connection to the Chicago & Western Indiana and shifted its passenger trains to that route north of 49th Street, which made the trackage north of 49th Street superfluous to Grand Trunk.

Enter the Santa Fe, whose predecessor Chicago & St. Louis (the "Hinckley Road") obtained trackage rights over C&GT to a makeshift terminal at Western Avenue upon entering Chicago in December 1885. On July 20, 1887, Santa Fe purchased the line from 49th Street to 26th and Western, plus vacant land west of the line, the property that became Corwith Yard.

By 1891 Santa Fe had constructed (with IC) a direct line to the connection with C&WI at 21st Street to reach Dearborn Station. Now the trackage north of Corwith Tower was surplus to Santa Fe. In 1896 it was leased to Terminal Railroad, predecessor of the Indiana Harbor Belt. However, the primary customer of the line, the McCormick Works of International Harvester along the Chicago River near Western Avenue, became interested in operating it directly.

Illinois Northern was incorporated as an IH subsidiary on May 29, 1901. On August 1, 1902, IN leased 3.5 miles of the Santa Fe owned line north of Corwith Tower for 50 years. IN connected the McCormick Works with 21 railroads, doubtless giving IH the advantage of competitive rates for its shipments of farm implements. In 1914 IN rostered seven steam engines.

By 1950 the McCormick Works was aging, IH had established manufacturing facilities elsewhere, and the end of the 50-year lease was in sight. IH on February 7, 1950, sold the Illinois Northern to the Santa Fe (51 percent), Burlington Route (24 percent - IN connected with the Q at its north end), Pennsylvania (12 percent), and New York Central (12 percent). The new owners dieselized the line with five Alcos built in 1950-51, painted in Santa Fe-like black with silver stripes. During the 1950s, International Harvester razed the McCormick Works, and much of the land remains vacant today.

Santa Fe bought out the other owners on February 5, 1975, merged IN into itself, sold off the S4s, and operated the line with yard crews from Corwith on an as needed basis. Several industrial customers around 31st Street took tank cars and gondolas, but over time these firms closed or moved, and BNSF decided to abandon the line. This is one line that probably will not become a hiking trail, since it runs past the Cook County Criminal Court building and jail at 26th and California.

TRAINS On-Line, Mike Blaszak (posted 8//18//99)<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>Same author also e-mailed me the following:<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

Harvester's Wisconsin Steel owned the Chicago West Pullman & Southern.
Can't think of any others.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

 

[sblunier]

Wyatt,

Can't say for sure if it's the DPFE or the IAC, or maybe even something else. Took the F-150 4.6L up to the car wash and on the way back it threw a code that won't go away. I can't bring myself to just "dismiss" it, and don't want to pull the battery cable and just clear it without knowing what it is/was....enter the code scanner.

Sounds like the CP9135 will read some of the Ford special codes (if the computer wants to give them up with the std. OBDII code) so that's the plan......besides, anything I've found that does better is 2x the cost, ouch!!!!

Just got an Actron CP9135 bought on EBay for $124.50 shipped to my door.....about $35 cheaper than I can buy them around here, so we'll soon see what the problem is.

Now I'll be the only guy on the block with a welder and a code scanner......should make me a popular target!

 

[jeaston]

Steve,

Check out Autotap at http://www.obdii.com
Its made in Ottawa, just up the road from you...

 

[sblunier]

Jeff,

I saw their site....pricey for what I want it for, but nice features!!!

 

[wcompton]

Steve-
Both IAC and DPFE are easy to diagnose without a scanner, simply checking the 5V output to the EEC will usually tell you which is the culprit.

As for the codes, usually the first thing I do is clear the memory and see if it was an anomoly or if it comes back. AFAIK differnt sensors will cause the computer to hold onto the code and some will allow them to expire. Though not as easy to work with as Chrysler's ECU, Ford's EEC is not too bad to deal with, even without a scanner.

 

[jegstad]

Wyatt, Steve,

If you've got a laptop or a shop PC, one of the cables from this site: http://www.obd-2.com will get you any code the engine contoller can put out. I have the universal cable that works great and have run it on Ford, GM, and BMW. Right now my laptop screen is dead and is in pieces on my desk, so that is the downside. I am thinking of putting together a PC from the scrap pile just for the the garage.

The software lets you play around a lot more than a scan tool and you can watch things happen in real time as you drive (if you've got a working laptop). Its worse than a cell phone as an attention diverter.

Now all I need to do is build an OBDII interface to a Cub so I can play while I mow.

Jim E

 

[mlarubina]

i think my automatic compression release is not right. is there a way i can repair it without removing the motor oil pan to get to it.

 

[aaytay]

Let's be careful out there...

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

Copyright York Daily Record Apr 6, 2001

A lawn tractor weighing between 300 and 400 pounds crushed a 76- year-old Spring Garden Township man Thursday afternoon, killing him.

Pending notification of the victim's family, the man's name was not released Thursday night.

For several hours, Spring Garden Township Police and medical personnel investigated the death, which occurred at a house in the 1700 block of Westwood Drive. Several neighbors stopped tilling, mowing and raking yards to stand in small groups watching to the scene.

Shortly after 3:30 p.m., the man was riding an International Cub Cadet lawn tractor. Apparently, he had trouble with it on an incline and flipped over, York County Deputy Coroner Claude W. Stabley II said .

His wife found him in the yard and called 911. When the ambulance arrived, he was not breathing, Stabley said.

The man was pronounced dead at 3:50 p.m. from multiple blunt- force trauma from the tractor rolling on him, Stabley said. His death was ruled an accident and no autopsy will be performed.

"When you get that type of weight on you, there's almost no way you can push it off," Stabley said. "Tractor accidents are not things that just occur on farms.

Stabley said accidents like this one occur during warm weather.

"We urge people working in their yards to be careful," he said.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

 

[digger]

Just in case anyone gets bored today watchin the snow!

 

[dkirk]

Mike L,

You can remove the cam gear cover from the side of the engine to check out the compression release mechanism and spring. The spring can be checked and even replaced from this location, but be careful that you don't drop anything into the oil pan. The ACR tab can also be adjusted by bending with a screwdriver but beware-they can break easily. Chances are the spring came unhooked from the weight. If this is the case, it's an easy fix.