NewOld Kitchen progresses

Quick check-in post today on the state of the kitchen. Most of this work is being done by others while I work my 9-5 and then Boo and I clean up or move stuff around on the evenings and weekends. The construction has been moving at an incredible pace after so many months of seemingly slow-go. To be fair, I was only really getting after it on weekends versus a crew working multiple days. So, it's probably not fair to me to compare. On the personal side, my band's EP (find detail here) released on Groundhog's Day (2-Feb) and my sister came to visit for the following week. 

Where Were We

current state

Once the floors were finished, we could get moving forward on the kitchen. Consider, we have been living without a kitchen for about a year. Instead of a kitchen, it has been a version of an efficiency apartment where we have a fridge, but only a crockpot, a single burner hot plate, a microwave and a hot pot for making food. I suspect most folks, at least Americans, would have lived on take-out food. Had this project only lasted a few weeks, we might have gone that route. Into our 12th month like this, however, yeah, we could not afford that. After the plumbing work I described last time was completed, our electrical rough-in was done by our friend Gary.

Electrical Started

For electrical, we simply focused on the "sink wall", making sure we had juice where we needed it for the dishwasher and disposal, as well as some over-counter outlets. Last, he ran a line for task lighting over the sink. Since that initial work, he returned to run the 220V for the wall oven and the 110V for the fridge. He will return to run lines for the stove and some additional outlets.

Drywall and Cabinet Set

rough plumbing done

With the electric on the "sink wall" done, Ray, our general contractor was able to get the drywall repairs completed. This included some of the rough bits around the new rear door, the holes for the old furnace location, the false beam where I removed that wall and everywhere else in the main kitchen space. Once drywalled, mudded and sanded, they primed and then painted. Once dry, the "sink wall" cabinet was cut down to fit the dishwasher, and both were set in place. They continued by installing the pantry cabinet and fridge, and then the cooktop peninsula. The cooktop peninsula, similar to the sink wall cabinet, was cut down to fit our space. Again, most folks design and buy cabinets to fit the space. We bought and are customizing. Considering the cost of new cabinetry, both in terms of dollars and environmental impact, this path is far less expensive on both counts.

So we could get a sense of the workability of the space, Ray cut down some 3/4" plywood for countertops and pin-nailed them into place. The cabinets along the once-furnace-wall have not been cut down and installed yet but already it feels like there is considerable space to work in. We have not had a kitchen in a while, so it is more pronounced for us, but visitors have made similar observations: for what looked like a really small space from outside, it is looking like it will be very functional with lots of counter space. Boo and I have been calling it the TARDIS-effect. Dr. Who fans unite.

Water and Gas

setting pantry depth

For the water rough-in, the plumber did everything he could that did not require a permit. From that point forward, the work is either mine to complete, or I need to get permits and farm it out. Boo and I decided to split the difference: I do the work, but have the gas plumbing inspected by the gas company. Fortunately, the water is quite simple these days: shut off the main, release the pressure (dumping water down the drain) and do the work. In terms of the work, there are shark-bite valves that are no-solder connections. I simply cut off the closed nipple on the end of the pipe and attached the shark-bite around the pipe. It really is that simple. Once the valves were on, we could re-pressurize the system and check for leaks. Seriously, it was that easy; I have no idea why that part of the plumbing needs a permit while the pipes in the walls don't. 

For the gas line, we ran 3/4" pipe from the "T" near the furnace over to the peninsula in the crawlspace, but did not connect it. Instead, where the union will be, we capped it off. At the peninsula, we necked down the 3/4" pipe to 1/2" per standard to pass through the floor. Above the floor, we added a pressure gauge. All of the joints were coated with pipe-dope, of course. We applied air-pressure into the pipe run (from cap near the "T" to the pressure gauge) to 15 psi to verify there were no leaks. As of the publishing of this post, the pressure is still holding at 15 psi. We did all this so we could document it with pictures for the gas company inspector. We do not have the inspection scheduled yet, but after 5 days of holding 15psi, I think we have demonstrated we are good. I expect to finish the gas line next weekend.

what's next

That's as far as we've gotten in the last couple of weeks. It has been a whirlwind of activity, though. Next up will be the construction of a cabinet to hold the wall oven, installing the oven into that and then installing the cabinets along that wall. We have not made any decisions about upper cabinets in the main work area. At this point, however, we are considering leaving the walls without upper cabinets nor open shelving. We have a cabinet we call "the Archie" that we expect to install next to the oven cabinet (on the all in the picture on the right, here). It is possible that it will be the only upper cabinet. Again, we'll see how it evolves.

Thanks, as always, for following along. Hapy broke his speedometer cable a couple of days ago, so I will be posting on that replacement as soon as I've completed that.

Furnace Freed

Continuing the NewOld House construction, today's post is about disconnecting the furnace, and considering our options for what's next.

Hapy Update

I know I have not written much about cars lately, so here's a quick update on Hapy. I don't drive every day, but Hapy has been my main vehicle all summer. The other night, I grew frustrated with someone driving at least 10 mph below the speed limit in the left lane. I was cruising around 2k RPM in 3rd (around 30mph in a 45mph zone). An opening appeared in the right lane, so I stepped on it and started changing lanes. I guess I stepped on it too hard because I smoked the tires for a second before they grabbed, launching us forward. Goes to show, the KermaTDI bigger nozzles and Malone Tuning CPU chip were significant improvements. Since I have been driving him so much, it is now time to do his front brakes. I am still questioning the brake booster, so once the front brakes are done, I may revisit the booster and master cylinder. Since Hapy has become the gear-hauler for the band I've been playing in, taking him off the road has larger implications than ever. Anyway, back to the furnace.

Exhaust

furnace freed

Because of the way the furnace was installed, I had to get the exhaust stack out of the way first. The furnace is not a 95% efficiency-or-better, so the exhaust is both double-walled and transfers more than just water vapor. Still, it is put together the same as one of the high efficiency ones, it is just double walled instead of single. Some pieces twist-lock together and others are held together with sheet metal screws. With a 1/4" hex socket on the cordless torque driver, I made quick work of all of the sheet metal screws. I was able to remove the exhaust in sections and set them aside. Once the entire exhaust, from furnace-to-chimney-liner was removed, I shifted to the cold air intake or "return" in HVAC parlance.

Cold Air Intake

On this furnace install, the cold air return/intake enters from above. So, while warm air rises and cold air drops, our cold air return was installed 6 feet up into the wall. Genius. It was simple to take apart, though. The protective grill was held on with 3" long screws, which also held the air filter in place. Behind that the HVAC flashing was bent to create a flute or trumpet-bell shape to route air from the grill through the hole in the wall into the main intake. From there, the intake took a 90* turn down into the top of the furnace. Easy-peasy. The intake was similarly held together with sheet metal screws, and it came apart just as easily as the exhaust had. The sole difference was that each seam had the fancy shiny duct tape. That came off fast too. Once in pieces and the trumpet-bell bits bent straight, the whole unit came free.

Hot Side

exhaust removed

Once the "cold" air passes into the furnace, the squirrel-cage blower pushes it through the heating element and down into the chase below. In our case, that chase is large, rectangular and takes an immediate hard 90* turn along the main beam. From that chase, the round insulated heat conduits attach, routing the air to the various registers around the house. None of that needed to be touched for the furnace removal. All I needed to do was detach the furnace from the floor. Again, sheet metal screws held a double-thick 90* bend of HVAC flashing between the side of the furnace and the top of the chase interface. Once removed, the furnace was free-floating. We intend to re-use as much of the original "hot side" as we can. The round insulated tube things were all replaced when the crawlspace was done, so they are effectively new. The places where heat needs to go remains the same and whichever furnace we put in the crawlspace, it can send heat (or should I say processed air) down the same paths.

Electric

Next came the electric stuff. I started by removing the thermostat and the trigger cable from it to the furnace. We don't know if we are going to retain that thermostat, nor are we sure it is going back in the same spot. Either way, it was a standard 5-wire control cable, so re-installing it or doing net-new is very little difference in cost. Having it all out so we could make decisions was worth the few minutes.

Obviously, a gas furnace still needs electricity to run the squirrel-cage fan, so I flipped the breaker for the furnace and disconnected it at the furnace end. I pushed the wire through the hole in the floor. Next, I disconnected the ground wire which the prior installer had connected to the gas line. While I would like to accept that this was safe, it really didn't feel like it. I think we will run a fresh 3-wire line if we reuse this furnace. Since an electric furnace requires 220V, that would also get a new line.

Gas

gas and electric shutoffs

All that remained was the gas line. After our little excitement a few years ago when Zed went crashing into our gas water heater at the old house (See One of the Many Joys of Home Ownership), I was not exactly wanting to do this part. Our pipe-fitter (also licensed plumber) friend offered to do it. So, Lana came by, shut off the gas at the meter, disconnected the gas line under the house where it bent up to the furnace and capped it off. Together we push/pulled the disconnected end up through the hole in the floor, leaving the furnace completely disconnected.

Considerations

We have a curious cat, so we are leaving the furnace pretty much where it was while we figure things out. Otherwise, we would have a cat stuck in the heat system as fast as you can ask "where'd the cat go". Meanwhile we have some things to figure out. The furnace was manufactured in August 2019. The house was vacated around a year later, so the folks who installed the furnace got one winter out of it. We bought the place last year and used it this past winter so this furnace has 2 years of use. There are at least 15 more in it. Knowing that natural gas prices will continue to climb, eventually this furnace will be more expensive to run on a month-to-month basis than an electrical one, but that isn't the case today. Today, a gas furnace is considerably less expensive to run. A heat pump is different, but we don't have one of those. Adding a heat pump to this system would be a $8-10k upgrade. We are not in a financial place to do that. Assuming either system can reuse the existing hot side, and routing the cold return from the hole in the floor will be effectively the same, we can eliminate those from the decision: its a wash.

August 2019

So, we are looking at electric-only or gas-only. Since this furnace is practically brand new, and in-hand, it probably makes the best financial sense to keep it, and install it under the house. Before we jump in, we need to route the gas and the exhaust -or- get 220V under there and set up the trigger cable. The gas is already right there. We may need to add some flex-pipe depending on where the furnace ends up, but the gas part seems easy. For 220V, we have multiple extra slots in the breaker panel, so it would just be a matter of adding a breaker and threading the wire through. I know how this furnace was set up so re-introducing the trigger wire is easy. I don't know anything about a new furnace, so while it is probably not that hard, it would be something new and potentially challenging. Last, the gas furnace needs to have the exhaust routed. The chimney goes through the floor, but we don't know if there is a clean-out at the bottom. That would tell us if the chimney is hollow below the floor (we think it is), and therefore available for having the exhaust run into it. This mystery needs to be resolved if we are going to retain the gas furnace for a few years. I think, for the bigger financial picture, it makes sense to relocate this furnace rather than spend even $1500US on an electric one. I cannot imagine routing the exhaust would cost half that, and the 220V routing versus gas routing is a cost-wash. So, really it comes down to the cost of the exhaust versus the cost of a new furnace plus the increase in monthly cost to run the electric... even if we could sell the gas furnace to offset some of the initial outlay. I think, the gas makes better cost-sense. Once we make a determination about the chimney, we'll know.

Well, that's it for now. thanks, as always, for following along-

MGB leaking leaking leaking

While solving the missing emission control issues (See eMission Control We Have a Problem), I took a few test drives to shake out each change. Today's quick post covers 2 things I discovered on that first test drive.

Leaking Fuel
The MGB had been stuck in the garage behind the donorZed all winter. I didn't have much cash to do a lot of work, so in some ways the winter was kind of lost to the donorZed. Still, with it finally gone, I was able to restart the MGB efforts. So, for my first test drive, after getting it unburied from being stuck behind the donorZed, was to get some gas. The drive there was similar to my last drive last Fall: loud with squishy brakes. Lovely. Still, I was almost completely out of petrol, so I stayed the course. This time, though, all of the signals worked, the brake lights functioned, the temp gauge worked, and the fan came on when I flipped the switch, so things were looking up.... until I started filling the tank.

Here in Oregon, we're not allowed to fill our own gas (but diesel is okay), so while the attendant started gassing, I washed the windscreen. Within a minute, the gas attendant started freaking out about gas dumping out under the car. Neat. I looked under and could see that the fuel level float was leaking. Not one to test drive without a trunk full of tools, I grabbed a slotted screwdriver and pushed it the rest of the way, stopping the leak. The gas man was too freaked out, so we called it "full enough" and I drove home. It didn't leak again, and a quick shot with carb cleaner got the gas off the underside of the tank.

The fuel level gauge wasn't working 100% reliably, and I concluded that the sender was not getting a good enough ground. So, I ran a short wire from the side of the float to one of the bolts holding the tank in-place. Whether that was a factor or not, the level looks much better now, showing over 1/2 a tank.

Leaking Coolant
When I got home, I saw that the thermostat housing was leaking again. Grr... so much for a fun drive about. Instead, I removed the housing, applied more gasket sealer and actually followed the directions: apply liberally, hand tighten and let sit for an hour, torque down to spec and then, most importantly, no liquids or back-into-service for 24 hours. I'm pretty sure I did the first 2 steps and then forgot about the torquing the last time. Duh. The following day, I topped of the cooling system and took a test drive. No leaking at the thermostat. Sweetness.

Unfortunately, a few days later, after another test drive, I noticed leaking coming from the block drain. Apparently, this drain is the source of one of two common troubles: either it is completely clogged with cooling system gunk (rust particles, and general sludge) or it is a leak source. I'm in the second camp, but my leak is special. Usually, the leak is from the spigot not sealing because of a design flaw. No, mine is leaking from around the edge. So, rather than get a replacement drain, I'm just going to remove it, wrap the threads in plumbers tape slobber on some blue gasket-maker and thread it back in. Of course this time, I'll follow the gasket-maker instructions right the first time.

Leaking Voltage
It turned out that the battery that came with the car was 7 years old. After many cycles of short drives, I found that I needed to put the battery on the trickle charger more and more often until finally it just stopped accepting a charge. I went out and got a "gold" battery and new ground cable at Advance Auto Parts. We get most of our batteries from Les Schwab, but their hours are just not well suited to people who have day jobs, so Advance got the business.

Now, the little car fires right up, the gauges all work, the lights and fans come right on... its almost like a "real" car.  The brakes are still spongy, and it is still really loud. I got after those next and I'll post about what I did.... next time. Thanks, as always for following along.

One of the Many Joys of Home Ownership

Taking a short and unexpected break from fixing cars, today's post is a distraction. Sorry I missed a post last week. I spent the week flat on my back fighting off one of the worst colds I've ever suffered. The story below didn't contribute to either contracting nor prolonging that cold.

Basics
If you were to break down the core requirements for a dwelling, and then prioritize them, what order would they fall into? I'd start with shelter from rain and wind: roof and walls. After that, one could argue that everything else is nice-to-have, especially in more rustic parts of the world. In the non-rural areas of the States (like most countries), things like running water and some form of temperature control are assumed. Hot water even. How about a not-dirt floor? Sure, that sounds modern.

On top of these basics, lots of folks are trying to layer in "smart" technologies so they can turn on lights or set the thermostat from their phone when they aren't home. Sounds cool, but after the whizz-bang wears off, do people actually use that stuff? I don't know. I'm pretty sure the excitement wears off in a few weeks and pretty soon you've forgotten the password.

Heat Wave without Water
Anyway, when one of these basic systems fail, you realize just how precarious and fragile your security bubble is. Last Summer, we awoke to a failed water heater. It failed in glorious fashion, leaking water all over the garage floor, trashing cardboard boxes, carpet and anything non-metal as it went. It did create an opportunity to clean the garage, of course. And we took it. More importantly, it reminded us of the fragility I mentioned. Since it was July, and one of the hottest stretches of the Summer, lacking a shower had an extra burden to it. Additionally, I couldn't figure out how to fix any of the plumbing so that there was water pressure  even just cold so we were without water for a few days. Again, it was Summer, and we had kids enjoying Summer break, so there were many trips to the corner store to bridge the gap. I installed a new water heater, and we were back to normal in a few days. Looking back through my posts, it was such a non-event, it didn't make it into even an opening or closing comment, much less garner an entire posting.

6 Inches
This brings us to our latest reminder of our fragility. It was the end of the calendar year, and my extended family had retreated to the mountains. T had gone out of town and C had to work, so we had a couple of friends minding the house (more specifically, minding the cat who was really minding the house). C had a few hours on Friday before he had to work, so he stopped over to grind some paint off the rear driver quarter panel. As I mentioned earlier (See: Z - Work that Body), we had moved the ZX project into the garage. C, expressing concern over getting dust everywhere, pushed the ZX into the driveway to grind the paint. When he was finished and had to get off to work, he tried to push the ZX back into the garage. With the slight uphill into the garage, though, he couldn't. So, he fired up the engine to move it in ... but accidentally put it in a little too far... pushing the big red rolling tool cabinet into the water heater... which pushed the water heater into the pipes behind it. It moved about 6 inches. Those 6 inches started an avalanche of trouble.

Above the water heater, the feed line burst, sending a thin stream of water over the top of the water heater and on top of the rolling tool cabinet. At the bottom of the water heater, the gas line split, venting natural gas into the garage. The couple minding the cat turned off valves and called the gas company, but before long the fire trucks arrived, cherries flashing. Fire fighters kicked everyone out of the house. The gas company closed and locked the meter. The cat-minders were let back into the house after the fumes cleared, but by then it was after 6. On Friday, December 29th and freezing temperatures were forecast. With no water. And no heat. And no one available to fix anything until the following Tuesday... if you're lucky.

Cold Snap without Water... or Gas
Fortunately, one of our cat-minders is a handyman. He was able to re-establish our cold water (so the restrooms were functioning) and repair the gas lines. With a few space heaters and a portable Coleman stove they were able to mind the cat until we got home. You see, the gas company won't turn the gas on until someone licensed performs a leak-down test on the repair, then they will inspect it. Only after that will they turn the gas back on. I understand their conservative approach, but when the temps are below freezing, the process could really use a fast lane.

Boo and I got home on Jan1, and were met by the cat-minding couple. We surveyed the damage, expressed our appreciation for keeping both the cat and the house safe... and for helping C through a rough time. Then, we started reaching out to a contractor we know to get everything back to normal again. He, like so many folks immediately after NewYears were groggily getting back to work. He was available to connect with us on Wednesday. He surveyed the work done by the handyman, thought it looked pretty good and started calling for the gas company to come take a look.

We learned that indeed the gas company won't turn on your gas until a leak down test is performed, but that was not even the half of it. Before the gas company will talk to you, you need the gas lines inspected by the city. The city won't inspect non-permitted work (even if, or maybe especially if, it's done by a home owner). So, step one: get $167 down to city hall and get a work permit. Then, schedule an inspection. We were fortunate and we got inspected on Wednesday evening. While waiting, we ran the leak-down test and pressure-tested the hot water heater (both passed). The inspector was one of those who felt the need to find things wrong, and he cited a bunch of things to be changed even though the repairs simply exchanged broken pipes with a not-broken pipes. So, Thursday was spent making all kinds of additional changes involving 2x4's so the inspector could return Friday morning, which he did. He approved the work, and switched our "red tag" on the meter to green (meaning the gas company was allowed to turn the gas back on, pending their inspection). Then, the contractor was allowed to hook up the water heater and try to get NW Natural to turn us back on. The NW Natural inspector arrived shortly before 5 on Friday, approved all of the work, making comments about the age and condition of things, and then turned everything back on. Unlike the city inspector, there is no requirement for us to do anything the gas company guy said, so we probably won't. As it stood at this point, those 6 inches cost us about $1000US with about half of it because of things the city inspector added. At least we didn't need to replace the water heater.

Normal?
By Friday night, things were back to normal. T had returned from out of town and grabbed a shower. We had the heat cranking to raise the base temperatures of the no-space-heater spaces, and our little bubble was starting to reform. As we sat down to dinner, we realized that we hadn't had the TV on for almost the entire stretch we didn't have heat or hot water. It seemed as though our having to glamp in our house shifted us to a different mindset. We had access to other modern amenities, like the internet and cable television; we just didn't use them. Instead, we sat in the hot tub and talked, or focused on basics like getting clean with an electric kettle and a dishpan. As the days of suffering fade into the past, it was just as interesting to see our old use patterns return as if they had never left. It does make me wonder how much of our daily behaviors really stem from independent thought versus rote actions we've honed over time. Perhaps, if the environment changes enough, the rote behaviors don't come into play.

Well, that's all I have this week. We are back to normal. The garage was an absolute mess afterwards, so I spent the following weekend cleaning things up. The progress on the list of car projects has ground to a halt, pending the no-gas and clean-up, so there may be a short pause in postings while I get some blog-worthy things done. The missing post from last week was purely sickness related, so there could be more ahead. Sorry.

Thanks, as always, for following along. More soon-

Oh SNAP

A couple of weeks ago, I had the $500 Jetta suddenly stall in the driveway. Today's post covers the root cause investigation.

P0341: cam position sensor
P0422: o2 sensor

Stall

So, Boo is standing in the driveway next to her idling 2001 VW Jetta (named 2dot0) when it suddenly stopped running. There was no special noise, nor did it gasp on it's way down. It was just running one second and not running the next. My mind ran through a few scenarios, but I landed on electrical because of how quickly it shut off.

What You Should Do

Since a gas engine runs with the correct combination of fuel, air, compression and spark, These are the things that should be checked, and checked in that order, before you start swapping parts... even if you think you're sure you know what's wrong. If you have a more modern car, get a code reader and pull the codes from the computer. Sometimes, the computer won't give you a code for a while. I didn't get these codes here until after I'd figured out what was wrong through the steps below. The P0341 code confirmed my findings.

Fuel

fuel pressure regulators
(new on right)

Simply put, verify that you have fuel at the injector. To radically simplify things, I verified that I had fuel at the fuel pressure regulator by removing the regulator and letting the fuel pump cycle. I had fuel bubbling over. Pulling an injector can be difficult, so for me, this demonstrated that I had fuel at the rail. The probability of all 4 injectors clogging so badly that the fuel wasn't making it to the chamber was so low, I ruled out fuel, but replaced the fuel pressure regulator anyway since the old one fell apart on extraction (see picture).

Air

Check the air filter. It is completely clogged? It's probably not the issue. Check the "snow snorkel" that runs from the air box to the outside. Sometimes something can get jammed in there (like snow), preventing the engine from getting air. Remove some intake piping between the air box and the metal bits so you can see the little gate on the air intake. When the foot pedal is moved, does the flap move? You're probably getting air. This would be a good time to check the air sensor. This usually would throw a code, but to verify it isn't that sensor, unplug it and try to start the car. If it starts, that sensor is bad. The car will run without the sensor, but badly. Sometimes this sensor can prevent a start, but that wasn't the case with me. I ruled out air, and put everything back together again.

This is where I should have checked compression, but I was convinced it was an electrical thing, so I skipped ahead to Spark. Don't. Checking your compression is easy, and it reveals some very interesting info about your upper end, the mechanical timing and, possibly, a lower end issue.

Compression

2.0 ignition coil

Grab your compression tester (they are pretty cheap, if you don't have one) and test your cylinders one at a time. It's best to remove all four plugs, and test each cylinder multiple times. Take care how you manage your plugs and wires so you don't set yourself or your car on fire nor do you lose track of which wire goes where. Unplugging the coil is the simple solution. Anyway, if you get any reading under 100psi, try squirting a little oil into the cylinder and retest. If the reading is better, your rings are going and you'll need a bottom end rebuild soon. Start saving. If the reading doesn't change, its a valve-train issue. Assuming all of your reading are within 15% of each other and they are all above 100psi, move on to fuel.

Had I done this step before Spark, I would have found all 4 cylinders at 0 PSI, indicating a broken timing belt. This was verified by removing the timing belt cover and not seeing the belt. Yikes.

Spark

Remove the spark plug that's easiest to get to. In the 2.0 engine, that's #4. Take care how you remove the plug wire. Now, with a partner turning the key, hold the plug against the engine block (forming a ground) and watch for the spark. No spark? Could be your issue. I was way overdue for a tune up, and the plug socket fell off the plug wire when I touched it, so I concluded replacing plugs and wires was a good idea. 2dot0 still didn't start. I should already have checked compression, but still, I should have stopped here and gone back to it. I continued down the electrical gremlin path instead.

The new plugs and wires didn't do it. So, I got a new coil. And then a new battery. And finally a new crank position sensor. Still no start.

Realizations

no, I'm not a Packer fan

It wasn't until I got to this point that I reverted to the compression tests and learned that I had just thrown over $100 of new parts plus a battery into a large boat anchor. The timing belt broke, throwing off the timing and causing the valves to hit the piston tops. The engine was effectively blown. Tiny fragments of valve and piston will work their way into the deeper recesses of the engine while the breaking belt could have damaged rollers or the coolant pump. I sold the car for scrap and its gone.

Watching 2dot0 get towed away, I ran a quick accounting. I bought the car for $500, and had it running for another $30. Since then, I only bought tires and oil, so that's probably another $600 or so. Rounding up, I was probably into that car for $1200 before it broke and then threw another $300 into it. That's $1500 for a car including maintenance for 18 months minus the salvage I was paid, means it cost me less than $70/mo. Since you can barely rent a car for a weekend at that rate, I think we did extremely well. I just wish I had performed the timing belt maintenance.

That's all for today. After 2dot0 broke, I served my penance for not doing the timing belt by riding mass transit for a few weeks. Today was my first day back driving to work. It is such a luxury, though I do kind of miss the light rail. Thanks for following along-

Return to Service

Rather than spend the weekend playing in the snow with Boo, we both spent our respective weekends in the valley.  Today's post will be more technical than usual, since I spent all weekend on the bus.  Consider yourself warned :)

Glow Plugging Away
The glow plug is a mystery to non-diesel folks.  I know it was to me, when I first got into diesels.  I figured it was just a diesel version of a spark plug with some fancy lingo around it to confuse people.  Actually, it is core to the difference between a diesel and gas engine.  A gas engine depends on a spark to create a small explosion in the combustion chamber (by setting the vapor on fire), creating force to drive the piston down, and create movement.  A diesel engine depends on compression for this function.  This sounds a little strange to the newly inducted, I know.  Now, gas engines need compression too, but not nearly as much.  In fact, when you start losing compression in a gas engine, you suffer "blow-by", but the engine will still run, while you slowly start polluting your oil with un-burnt gasoline.  An early indicator is a smell of burnt oil (rings going bad) or your dipstick smelling like gas. Once a diesel engine's compression falls too low, or should I say once the pressure created within the combustion chamber falls below a certain level, the engine won't fire at all.  So, enter some chemistry....

Pressure is a function of temperature and the vapor contents.  The presence of water in air, for example, reduces the vapor's ability to compress.  A low temperature of the vapor increases its ability to compress, or should I say decreases the amount of pressure created within a cylinder.  If the temperature remains sufficiently high and constant, pressure is equally high and consistent for a static vapor make-up (atomized diesel fuel, cooking oil, bio-diesel, eg).

glow plug image borrowed from
autoengines4842.blogspot.com

This is where the glow plugs fit into this picture.  They are little combustion chamber warmers, but hardy enough to withstand the pressure and heat of an active engine. Once the ambient temperature falls below about 40*F, the pressure created within the combustion chamber is insufficient to create an ample burn for the engine to run consistently.  As the temperature drops from there, the engine becomes, eventually, inoperable.  The glow plugs create the heat necessary to warm the chamber so the engine can start and run until the combustion warms the chambers directly.  Then, they shut off.

With this "science" in mind, we can better understand why it was so important for me to get the borrowed harness (without a glow plug circuit) replaced with a fully functioning harness.  I completed that in my last post.  On Saturday, I discovered that 3 out of 4 plugs in my engine were bad.  I had lots of old plugs, but only one good one, so I popped it in and hoped for the best.  Since it was over 40* in my garage, I wasn't too worried about the plugs.  Turns out I was right, though starting on the mountain may be interesting if I don't have 4 operable plugs.

Okay, So Why Won't It Start?
Aside from pressure, a diesel engine needs something pressure-combustible within the vapor.  As I indicated earlier, this ranges from diesel fuel, home heating oil, bio-diesel and vegetable cooking oil.  I've heard of other alternatives, but I'd stay with those 4 (and home heating oil only if you aren't afraid of getting ticketed in the US - its a road tax aversion thing).  So, I have temperature, I have compression, so I must be missing the fuel.  Since I had the entire system open, I probably failed to get all the air out of the fuel system.  I attack this in 3 steps: priming the lines to/from the filter, priming the pump, and priming the injectors.

Priming the Lines
With a Mity-Vac, simply apply vacuum to the fuel line that runs from the big fuel filter to the Injection Pump (IP).  Block the return line from the pump to the filter.  The filter is large and holds a considerable amount of fuel, so you can find yourself second-guessing whether you have it right.  I have a small clear filter between the tank and the main filter so I can see fuel enter and move through.  This little $1 filter extends the life of the spendy stock filter too, so I encourage others doing this too.  Once you have fuel collecting at the Mity-Vac bottle, connect the IP feed line back to the IP and start priming the pump.

Priming the Pump

IP image borrowed from
Dieselgeek.com

At the pump, remove the little return line which comes from the injectors.  Apply vacuum with your Mity-Vac to that little nipple until fuel collects in the bottle.  Do this carefully, with low-pressure vacuum.  You don't want to damage any pump innards (read: rubber seals) by applying too much vacuum at once.  I found keeping it under 5 pounds was sufficient.  Once you have fuel in the bottle, re-connect all the lines and move on to priming the injectors.

Prime the Injectors
Now, you have fuel at the pump and the pump is full of fuel.  All that's left is making sure there's no air in the hard and return lines between the injectors and the IP.  With a wrench, loosen the nut at the end of the hardlines where they connect to the injector.  Do this for all 4.  I completely loosened mine, but just "cracking" it should suffice.  Now, start cranking the engine.  Keep cranking until you see diesel fuel start to pop out of the loosened injector connections.  Once all 4 are popping, you're air-free.  Tighten it all back down and the engine will start.  Mine did.

I took a test drive over to Boo's house to prove out all of my handiwork.  This is a few miles, including a highway on-ramp/off-ramp and some city-ish traffic driving.  The new tires felt fine, and I couldn't even hear the noise of the studs over the racket of the engine and rattling windows.  The bus drove well, reached 185* and effectively leveled off there.  The heat works (though the defroster air was a little funky), and I think we're back in business.  I need to top-off the coolant, and double-check the oil, but I think the bus is now "back in service".  Now, to plan the first trip to the mountain, and the next "real" road trip: Dark Star Orchestra...

As always, thanks for following along, and I'll post more as there's more to post about...