Replacing the Fuel Pump: 2002 Ford F-150

Replacing the fuel filter in a 2002 Ford F-150

1969 Austin Healey Sprite MKIV Project: Restoring the Fuel System

How to test a fuel sender

In this video we walk you through the process of testing a fuel sender. In the example above we are testing the fuel sender for our 1969 Austin Healey Sprite which should read at ~14 ohms full and ~258 ohms empty.

Update on our progress: '69 Austin Healey Sprite

Wow! We had a week in the shop where we managed to get a lot done! I believe this may be the most successful week we've had in a long time. The dash is out and has been stripped. We've pulled the heater, windscreen wipers, cooling system, carburettors, and air cleaners off the car. With these off it's been full restoration mode: sand blasting, soda blasting, dissassembly, research and restoration. And my favorite part? Boxes of new goodies arriving almost daily!

As soon as I can find a good anodizer the windscreen assembly will be ready for reassembly, the fuel sender has been tested (and passed!) and the final coat of paint is drying on the gas tank, so the fuel system is ready to store away. as soon as I get in my next shhipment from Moss we'll have the proper decals for the air filters. Those will then be complete.

I also found a couple blokes with Sprite/Midget parts stashes! So it looks like I'll be able to knock a bunch off the list of missing bits.

All in all an excellent week! Now, the trick will be maintaining this pace through the Christmas season (thanks to Christmas shopping via Amazon I may be able to hide out in the shop indefinitely!). As motivation I have up on the wall out here the most recent ultrasound pictures of our daughter due in March. I know all too well what happens to productivity when babies arrive on the scene, so we're shooting to finish up this Sprite before she arrives.

Reference Materials

There are few things that beat a good judging guide when it comes to reference materials for your restoration. These are the guides that the judges use and study. It doesn't matter if you're going to be in a concours or not.

 

 

When I ordered the Concours guide for our Austin Healey 3000 BT7 it was also possible to get a guide for the Sprite. Since there was no additional cost (that I can remember) it was well worth bundling it in with the information request.

What is great about these documents is that they are the most concise references for when things changed on cars, and when we're dealing with British cars it's a common occurrence. I printed out the reference (it came on CD Rom) and the judging sheet. At the back I added a photocopy of the build sheet that we ordered for the vehicle. With the car's vital statistics and all the concours data combined I then had it spiral bound as my point in which I can validate parts and information about the vehicle as I go through the systems as well as somewhere for me to take relevant notes.

Aside from being a great little notebook, it helps you identify things on your vehicle that just aren't right. Some are obvious, as this car came to us with an alternator, but they were fitted with a generator at the factory. Some are less so, this car appears to have an earlier radiator and to have had the temperature sensor bulb moved from the head to the radiator.

All in all, these are well worth printing, buying or acquiring for any vehicle you're going to restore. I keep these, the parts catalog and the shop manual all within easy reach when working on the car.

Stupid Garage Tricks #2: Heated creeper

Now you can stay warm in the winter!

Aluminum Tire Pressure Sensors (the saga continues)

We at They Might Be Racing believe that there is definitely a serious problem here. In order to obtain better data on what we're dealing with we have started a serious research effort into the auto manufacturers that use these aluminum valve stems in their vehicles.

The first stop in obtaining incidence data for these vehicles is the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) complaint database. The NHTSA is the primary point for collecting statistical data on issues with vehicles.

We started with the year 2008. It was the first full year after the federal Tire Pressure Monitoring requirements and also happens to be the year our source vehicle was produced (2008 Chrysler Town and Country Limited).

The following vehicles have issues reported relating to their aluminum valve stems and TPMS corroding and failing:

Buick	Enclave
Chevrolet	Equinox, Express Van, Malibu, Uplander
Chrysler	300, PT Cruiser, Sebring, Town and Country
Dodge	Avenger, Caliber, Caravan, Charger, Dakota, Grand Caravan, Nitro, Ram Truck
Ford	Escape, Explorer, F Series trucks
Jeep	Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Patriot, Wrangler
Kia	Rondo
Mazda	CX-7, Mazda 3, Mazda 5, Mazda 6
Nissan	Quest, Titan(?)
Pontiac	Grand Prix, Torrent, Vibe
Subaru	Outback
Toyota	Corolla

Now, for many of these auto manufacturers there were singular events within a single vehicle model that may be attributable to statistical averages. There are two standout cases in the above documentation: Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep (one company) and Mazda.

In the case of Mazda we have documentation of soft recalls (i.e. fixed when complained about) for corrosion issues relating to the valve stems. They have been upgraded and improved.

In the case of Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep there have been no documented recalls that we can find. The list above: 300, PT Cruiser, Sebring, Town and Country, Avenger, Caliber, Caravan, Charger, Dakota, Grand Caravan, Nitro, Ram Truck, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Patriot and Wrangler; represents over 50% of the vehicle lineup from this company.

What is it about the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep Tire Pressure Sensors (TPS) and their Tire Pressure Management System (TPMS) that sucks so badly? Why haven't they corrected it (we've looked at later year complaints)? Why do they lie and tell customers that this isn't a problem?

Stay tuned for more information.

Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep Tire Pressure Sensor update.

Tire Pressure Sensor Valve Stem Failure update- We've been researching this problem over the past 24 hours and found significant issues with these from multiple manufacturers now. If you have valve stems on your vehicle that are made of aluminum we strongly recommend you replace them for your own safety. As part of our research we have learned that Schrader manufactures a number of OEM compatible sensors that use the rubber & brass configuration instead of the aluminum one. We will be ordering a set of them for the 2008 Town and Country Monday morning. We will then bill Chrysler for the parts & installation. We strongly urge you to do the same for your own safety. The Schrader catalog is available here: http://www.hancousa.com/Schrader%20Application%20Chart.pdf Visit your local tire shop and they should be able to source them for you. Please share this information as widely as possible so that everyone is aware of the dangers of these aluminum valve based Tire Pressure Sensors (TPS). I am still appalled at the answers I'm getting from Chrylser about this problem.

Product Warning for Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep Owners. Important!

I'm livid. That's the only way to describe it. The TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensors) on Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep products are not only absolute crap, but they are extraordinarily dangerous. The fact that someone hasn't died yet it amazing!

Stupid Garage Tricks #1: Sorting nuts and bolts using egg cartons

1996 Buick Riviera: How To Change The Oil

Front Brakes on a 2002 Ford F-150

Brake month continues

Replacing the rear Brake Pads and Brake Rotors on a 2002 Ford Explorer

This video documents the process to replace the rear Brake Pads and Brake rotors on a 2002 Ford Explorer.

Replacing the front Brake Rotors and Brake Pads in a 2002 Ford Explorer.

This video shows you how to change the front Brake Pads and Brake Rotors on a 2002 Ford Explorer 2 wheel drive. This covers the Ford Explorer from 2002 to 2005 and the Mercury Mountaineer from 2002 to 2005.

How to change oil: 1995 Honda Accord VTEC

This video documents how to change the oil on a 1995 Honda Accord with the VTEC motor. This covers years 1994 through 1997.

Parts Wanted: 1969 Austin-Healey Sprite

As with every project, we run across parts that need replacing but aren't normal stock items at the usual suspects. Here's what we're presently looking for on our 1969 Austin-Healey Sprite MKIV project:

• AHA 7080 - Right Hand side windscreen retainer strip. This is the piece that holds the rubber gasket to the outside right hand side of the windscreen.
• AHA 5678 & AHA 5679 - Rear Bumper support brackets
• AHA 5686 - Front bumper overrider (will rechrome so needs to be solid, but not necessarily spectacular chrome)
• 27H 5978 - Front turn signal lamps. Specifically we just need the bases.
• AHA 8098 - Front grille assembly. Needs to be show quality or as close as possible.
• Generator Assembly (generator, pulley, fan and mounting hardware).
• Metal Radio Console - metal must be solid, can recover the vinyl if necessary
• Windshield Wiper Wheelbox - This car is a triple wiper car

1969 Austin-Healey Sprite: Stripping the interior!

This video documents the removal of the soft interior components of our 1969 Austin-Healey Sprite MKIV project.

1969 Austin-Healey Sprite: The Exhaust System

This video documents the step in which we remove the existing exhaust system off of our 1969 Austin Healey Sprite project. In addition to removing the exhaust this is an important serious examination of the car's undercarriage.

Austin-Healey Sprite: Removing and restoring the exterior lights

This video documents the removal and restoration of the exterior lights on our 1969 Austin Healey Sprite MKIV project. Here we remove the headlights, front turn/park lights, tail lights, reverse lights and license plate light in order to restore them and safely store them away until it's time for reassembly.

New Project: 1969 Austin-Healey Sprite MKIV

My wife got jealous of the kid having her own project car. A Couple weeks later she found a 1969 Austin-Healey Sprite on Craigslist. So now it's in my garage and she's learning how to restore it!

2002 Ford Explorer - Rear Turn Signal / Brake light repair

In the following video we show you how to replace the rear turn signal and brake light bulbs in a 2002 Ford Explorer. Drive Safe!

Replacing the Water Pump on a 1995 Honda Accord VTEC

This video documents replacing the water pump and timing belts on a 1995 Honda Accord four cylinder vtec motor

After a bit of a summer hiatus we're back out in the shop working hard on the 1969 Austin Healey Sprite project. While the site isn't yeat caught up with the work, we're seriously getting the car stripped down and restored section by section. Watch for articles and videos coming soon!

Review: Specialist Sports Cars, by Richard Heseltine

Specialist Sports Cars: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of a very British Breed
By: Richard Heseltine
During road trip season I try to stop in many book stores and automotive places to find new reading material. This year we were able to attend the Northwest Historics racing event on July 1st, 2012. In addition to being able to introduce the family to vintage racing, I found a bookseller, Vintage Motorbooks, who had a good collection of niceties to pick up. One of my favorite finds was this book:

While we all know about Triumph, MG, Austin and even the smaller marques like TVR, Jensen and Marcos there were a great many automobile builders in the UK in the period between World War II and the introduction of the Mini (which spelled doom for many of these car companies). This book, by Richard Heseltine, devotes pages to each one of these smaller marques. For me, it was a great look into the history of building and selling small cars during the greatest period of club racing. Not only is there a lot of information devotes to the cars themselves, but the author also goes into the story behind the marques, their rise and fall, so to speak. If you are ever looking for a good read, particularly if you're into British or small manufacturers, then I highly recommend adding this one to your library. It's a great one to sit and read, dreaming, perhaps of building your own club racer from scratch! It's available on Amazon:

New Acquisition 1980 TR7

Back when we were looking for a project for my daughter I stopped and looked at this TR7. I made the fellow an offer, but they didn't seem terribly excited about it. I let them know it was a standing offer. Just about a month later I received a call back from the sellers. Having not had success trying to sell the vehicle they agreed to my offer price. Here's what the 1980 TR7 looked like when I dragged it home: Believe it or not, it looked even shabbier in person than it does in this photo. Luckily, though, the car had been garaged and covered during it's 20 year slumber. The interior doesn't look too bad. You can see, however, the damage to the center console that occurred when the stereo was stolen (20 years ago). The rear of the interior looks just as good. This whole area is usually terribly faded out and often water damaged from the convertible top dying. Now I wanted to see what was under all that grime. The following photos were taken as I was power washing the car with an epic amount of cleaner/degreaser: The black looks black! Or, at least it looks black when it's still wet. The paint, though very dirty and somewhat oxidized is in pretty good shape. The rear end looks pretty good too! The downside is that someone at some point decided that the rubber bumper needed some dressing up, so they painted it. This is common on TR7's and TR8's. It's annoying and will need to be cleaned up. If the engine compartment is any indication, this car should be pretty easy to get running. It is hard to see in the photo, but the brake fluid reservoir has been siliconed until it cried uncle. A replacement will have to be located and installed. The old battery is still in it. We'll have to pull that and replace it. Again, I'm very surprised at how clean this engine compartment is. It wasn't unti lthe years of grime were blasted away that I noticed the cracks in the windscreen. Here's another part to add to the list. Until next time! Jody

1970 MG MGB - Cleaning and Inventory

The second major step of any restoration, once you've made your decision, acquired the car, and given it a good look over, is to clean and inventory what you have. In the following video my daughter describes the cleaning and inventory process on her 1970 MG MGB frame off restoration project:

Commenting Disabled

Hey Folks,

For the few legitimate posters out there I apologize in advance. I'm basically (despite customizing every setting for this blog) getting spammed to death by spam messages advertising cialis, etc.

Because of this I have basically completely disabled commenting on the blogspot blog. If you want to comment, ask questions, etc, please feel free to friend us on facebook.

Jody

New addition: 1970 MG MGB

Well, it appears that a "new" car has followed us home. This 1970 MGB actually will belong to my daughter. This is going to be a father/daughter restoration project. Here's the video introduction to the car:

TR8 Brakes and Soda Blasting

I finally got around to putting the calipers back on the TR8. While I wait for the brakes to gravity bleed I opted to play with the 15lbs soda blaster we picked up from Harbor Freight a few weeks back.

This soda blaster is actually one of the better quality items I've seen out of Harbor Freight in a while. Normally stuff is pretty cruddy, but it works, and is exponentially cheaper than buying a heavy duty commercial equivalent.

The metering block requires some fiddling to get the feel for it. But, once I managed to get that down we were able to get a rim from the TR8 cleaned up and ready for fresh clear coat. Here's what the rim looks like after a quick soda blast:



Next step is to put a couple coats of Clear Coat on it and put it back on the car. You'll note that the tire is still attached to the rim. Even though soda blasting will cut through the old clear coat down to the metal it won't damage things like anodized finishes or rubber.

1998 Dodge Dakota - Replacing the Serpentine belt

So we've been doing more repairs than restorations of late. Here's a video showing you how to replace a serpentine belt in a 1998 Dodge Dakota.