What Irked You Today?

[Ace-Garageguy]

5 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

The heater core in my 2014 Frontier is leaking. $3500 to replace it outright. That's almost more than the truck is worth...

If it's anything like most late-model vehicles, it's mostly labor, as the entire dash has to come out...and good luck ever having everything connected to the dash ever work again simultaneously.

The OEM core itself for that vintage Frontier typically runs around $300.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 5/22/2025 at 5:18 AM, johnyrotten said:

I was able to source most parts for my lawn tractor locally, pulleys and the common sized main drive belt, but as usual the other "cvt drive" one is not available. Referenced the "gates" number and tracked one down not cheap as far as belts go. Nothing is simple, "off the shelf" or built to last anymore. Oh, and the transaxle is plastic. The entire housing. Built in obsolescence. 

I have a 50-ish year old 14HP Sears riding mower my old man bought new when he had 4 acres. He used it a lot.

My last house had a huge lawn where a riding mower was almost a necessity.

Bearing (ball) housing went out on the belt idler (made of metal, as is the gearbox housing) and I was able to whip up an upgrade with a pair of Timken or SKF tapered roller bearings for a Triumph Spitfire.. 

Having a real mill and lathe and MIG/TIG in the home shop was really nice.

And...that's is one part that will never break again.

[johnyrotten]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

have a 50-ish year old 14HP Sears riding mower

I've got 2 tractors. My " snow machine " is a 70's southern states, true geared 4 speed.  everything is rebuildable and serviceable. I've actually cut the idler pullies apart and replaced the 6203 bearing,  readily available, and welded them back together. The ariens is maybe 10 years old and the only thing worth while is the briggs engine. It's one with a pressured oil system. Everything else is consumer grade junk. They want almost 100 dollars for the" variator" belt online. They're really proud of that belt. Here's a pic of the southern states. 

Edited May 24 by johnyrotten

[Tim W. SoCal]

My body wants to lay down and rest and call it a day, but my brain is still going 260 MPH, part of what I HATE about losing my youth...

[A modeler named mike]

3 hours ago, johnyrotten said:

I've got 2 tractors. My " snow machine " is a 70's southern states, true geared 4 speed.  everything is rebuildable and serviceable. I've actually cut the idler pullies apart and replaced the 6203 bearing,  readily available, and welded them back together. The ariens is maybe 10 years old and the only thing worth while is the briggs engine. It's one with a pressured oil system. Everything else is consumer grade junk. They want almost 100 dollars for the" variator" belt online. They're really proud of that belt. Here's a pic of the southern states. 

Here's a replacement I have just waiting for you.. you'll be able to do it in half the time..😁 shes available!

Edited May 25 by A modeler named mike

[johnyrotten]

6 minutes ago, A modeler named mike said:

Here's a replacement I have just waiting for you.. you'll be able to do it in half the time..😁 shes available!

That's a bit overkill for my needs, nice tractor. I should look into buying a zero turn, I've got about 2 acres of lawn. The rest of my property is nothing but forest. 

[Tim W. SoCal]

Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz, Wilhelm Maybach, John North Willys, Horace Elgin and John Francis Dodge must all be rolling in their graves when they witness the garbage Stellantis N.V. is producing n their names!...

[redscampi]

5 hours ago, johnyrotten said:

I should look into buying a zero turn, I've got about 2 acres of lawn.

Last year, I finally took the plunge and will never go back to mowing with a lawn tractor. I mow roughly two acres and this cut my mowing time down significantly. I ended up buying a Bad Boy MZ Magnum. Not too big or too small and built like a tank.

That little Statesman is a neat tractor.

Edited May 25 by redscampi

[johnyrotten]

2 hours ago, redscampi said:

That little Statesman is a neat tractor.

It's been a good machine, I've had it almost a decade. I picked it up for cheap($200) , the paints still original. I repowered it (23 hp vs 18) and made the necessary mods for the plow. I only use it to plow snow, and drag fallen trees around. my driveway is just short of 300 feet, too much for a shovel or snowblower. 

[redscampi]

1 hour ago, johnyrotten said:

It's been a good machine, I've had it almost a decade. I picked it up for cheap($200) , the paints still original. I repowered it (23 hp vs 18) and made the necessary mods for the plow. I only use it to plow snow, and drag fallen trees around. my driveway is just short of 300 feet, too much for a shovel or snowblower. 

I still have my 23 horse Cub Cadet that I bought several years ago. It's a good machine and has a stout manufactured steel deck, but it's been relegated to towing a wagon or an aerator or leaf collector. I switched to the zero turn partly because of the need to mow some very tall, thick grass and the lawn tractor wasn't quite up to it.

[slusher]

Sometimes you can share something from your heart and someone make a comment that’s not respectful in my opinion…..

[Ace-Garageguy]

Today's irk: the frustration of trying to deal rationally with someone who's not rational and only wants to focus on infinitely rehashing imagined past injustices and "hurts" instead of finding constructive solutions, and who will never ever accept responsibility or accountability for their own part in creating a mess, always needing a boogeyman to blame for anything that goes awry in their own life.

It's also true that those who talk the most about trust and acceptance and forgiveness are often the most incapable of genuinely trusting and accepting and forgiving.

I know some of you have experienced the difficulty of interacting with someone close who's experiencing the onset of dementia and/or mental decline, and that's all I'll say.

[Danno]

2 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Today's irk: the frustration of trying to deal rationally with someone who's not rational and only wants to focus on infinitely rehashing imagined past injustices and "hurts" instead of finding constructive solutions, and who will never ever accept responsibility or accountability for their own part in creating a mess, always needing a boogeyman to blame for anything that goes awry in their own life.

It's also true that those who talk the most about trust and acceptance and forgiveness are often the most incapable of genuinely trusting and accepting and forgiving.

I know some of you have experienced the difficulty of interacting with someone close who's experiencing the onset of dementia and/or mental decline, and that's all I'll say.

Your first two paragraphs had me convinced that you must know my miserable ex-wife. But then you threw in dementia and that rules her out. She suffered from early-onset (30 years of age) RDS [Reality Detachment Syndrome]. At 73, there's been no mitigation or improvement despite extensive self-medication. 

[Falcon Ranchero]

As long as we're on the topic of mowers 'n' tractors; I have a riding mower I like, not in any right a classic, but it is a red 2006 Craftsman YS series, that my grandfather bought new from good old Sears. I was first trained on that thing in I think 2017-18 era, and have been mowing the large field and empty lot on my grandparents property since then. Me and the mower are the same age, though the mower does have a bit more wear and tear, having been cutting an insane amount of grass (and other plants; the lawns I cut aren't your everyday looks-like-astro-turf lawns) for 19 years now. Again, not a classic but I do really like the mower. That being said I do have an original page ad for a 1966 Cub Cadet I ripped out of a 1966 national geographic magazine in grade 11 art class, as to save in from being cut up and used in a collage of sorts.

Also my grandfather had a 1953 Massey-Harris Ferguson tractor, that I don't believe he had until the 80s. Sold it in 2021 after he passed, but it was a cool tractor. Used to plow the driveway in winter before my time.

[A Crazed Modeler]

We had some pretty bad weather last month (lightening, thunder, rain, hard storms, etc.) that caused my blood sugar to get pretty high. My doctor's office called me about my lab results and confirmed it. They also suggested injections but I figured to wait on the weather clearing out. When it did I worked on getting my blood sugar down. It's still a bit high but it's lower than before and I'm feeling better.

[johnyrotten]

5 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

As long as we're on the topic of mowers 'n' tractors; I have a riding mower I like, not in any right a classic, but it is a red 2006 Craftsman YS series, that my grandfather bought new from good old Sears. I was first trained on that thing in I think 2017-18 era, and have been mowing the large field and empty lot on my grandparents property since then. Me and the mower are the same age, though the mower does have a bit more wear and tear, having been cutting an insane amount of grass (and other plants; the lawns I cut aren't your everyday looks-like-astro-turf lawns) for 19 years now. Again, not a classic but I do really like the mower. That being said I do have an original page ad for a 1966 Cub Cadet I ripped out of a 1966 national geographic magazine in grade 11 art class, as to save in from being cut up and used in a collage of sorts.

Also my grandfather had a 1953 Massey-Harris Ferguson tractor, that I don't believe he had until the 80s. Sold it in 2021 after he passed, but it was a cool tractor. Used to plow the driveway in winter before my time.

Any tool or piece of equipment you use often you tend to grow an attachment to. The older craftsman products were built well, not so much anymore. I like the old one's like the massey your talking about from a history and capability standpoint. Real workhorses. 

[Falcon Ranchero]

The Highway Star had a wrong VIN on the registration. A guy is supposed to come later today and read in on the car to confirm it's wrong. Whoever typed the VIN in 6 years ago was one number off. Really that's not something you can screw up, you got to be very sure that the VIN is correct. 

Edited May 28 by Falcon Ranchero

[Old Buckaroo]

2 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

The Highway Star had a wrong VIN on the registration. A guy is supposed to come later today and read in on the car to confirm it's wrong. Whoever typed the VIN in 6 years ago was one number off. Really that's not something you can screw up, you got to be very sure that the VIN is correct. 

Ive gone through this several times - as you stated its normally the typist who made the mistake.  Its a bit aggravating but easily fixed by a inspection.

I had a title once come back from the state as a "1974 Chrysler Challenger"  who employees these people.  All they had to do was copy the out of state title which said "Dodge Challenger"

[johnyrotten]

4 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

you got to be very sure that the VIN is correct. 

You should see the mess that can develop with vintage motorcycles. My long term project has no numbers on the frame, never did and the engine numbers are what's registered, and to make matters worse the side the numbers are on is the side that wears out or gets damaged when they blow up. Lots of theft,title jumping and re-numbering with certain makes/models.

[89AKurt]

First World problem, been waiting for a good sunset.  Went to a favorite spot to watch sunsets.  I didn't park early, so the prime spot was not available.  After working with the tree, then seeing the pictures, they need someone to prune it, or cut it down.  Looks like it's growing out of the car. 🙄  It was awful.  /sarc off/

[espo]

On 5/28/2025 at 3:26 PM, Old Buckaroo said:

Ive gone through this several times - as you stated its normally the typist who made the mistake.  Its a bit aggravating but easily fixed by a inspection.

I had a title once come back from the state as a "1974 Chrysler Challenger"  who employees these people.  All they had to do was copy the out of state title which said "Dodge Challenger"

Had an issue with the Kansas DMV years ago when we moved here. Going thru the usual inspection process of our vehicles, the officer who was inspecting the car had handwriting so bad that when I got inside to the person issuing the new titles wanted our white car to be listed as green. Even though she could see the car through her window she made me go back out to the officer and get back into line to have the car reinspected. This cost me another hour because the Kansas Highway Patrolman's handwriting was that bad. Maybe he should have been given a different assignment than working at the DMV and the clerk inside should have used a little more common sense, but that seems to be asking a little too much.

[FoMoCo66]

See anything wrong with this? This is how they 3 seasons room on our new house is attached.

[johnyrotten]

2 hours ago, FoMoCo66 said:

See anything wrong with this? This is how they 3 seasons room on our new house is attached.

Ouch. Definitely not the proper way to carry the load to a footing, if that's what you want to call those. At the minimum it should be underneath, not cantilevered off of an un-gusseted chunk of angle. That would (redacted) me off.

Edited May 30 by johnyrotten
Spelling

[FoMoCo66]

15 minutes ago, johnyrotten said:

Ouch. Definitely not the proper way to carry the load to a footing, if that's what you want to call those. At the minimum it should be underneath, not cantilevered off of an un-gusseted chunk of angle. That would (redacted) me off.

The kicker is that they put the 2nd newer pice of wood on to make it better, but now the bracket is bending. Oh and the post the whole room is held up by is c channel for hanging pipe, it's rusting out in the concrete. It will end up being refooted and resupported before anyone steps a foot in there. The room is literally falling off.

More photos.

Edited May 30 by FoMoCo66

[johnyrotten]

Just now, FoMoCo66 said:

The kicker is that they put the 2nd newer pice of wood on to make it better, but now the bracket is bending. It will end up being refooted and resupported before anyone steps a foot in there. The room is literally falling off.

More photos.

On the plus side, you've got room to work, and the doubled up 2x6 is  plenty strong. Looks like those beams are about 8 feet apart, correct.