Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

I finally got off my lazy arse and started painting the kitchen. Ceiling is just about done. Over the next few days the walls will get done. It's good day for doing it. It's a beasty 91 F (33 C) outside which means A/C in full swing with a cozy (and dry) 75 F (24 C) in here. With the A/C working hard the paint dries real quick.

The replacement CRT for the 7904 is suppose to arrive Friday or Saturday. Wanna place bets that it doesn't fix it? I got this funny feeling.   

[med6753]

RE: Clutch "freeze up". I agree. Clutches don't just freeze up. Sounds a whole lot of  to me.

[kj7e]

Speaking about time, they grow up so fast, just one moth ago she fit in my hand;

[worsthorse]

It could be just the clutch slave cylinder gave out and it could be an easy fix. Does it have an internal slave cylinder (not good) or an external slave cylinder? If external you can see if it moves when you depress the clutch.

internal slave cylinder. not so easy. the truck is back in front of the house; aaa towing is free.  i will figure it out tomorrow. today i find myself completely out of Fs to give about it.

[mnementh]

It has this cylinder. They ARE a failure point; but usually a "leaking down" failure, accompanied by fluid loss in the reservoir. If you have a "leaking down" failure and no fluid loss, then it's a clutch master cylinder; just about as frequent.

mnem
*back into hell*

[Specmaster]

well it appears that finishing the amsco variac is going to be the high point of my week. i took my truck for a transmission checkup and the clutch froze while the mechanic was test driving it.   

i can now tow it home or spend two grand on replacing the clutch. neither choice is appetizing for a 2003 ford ranger that i was hoping to sell at the end of the year. i don't have the tools or expertise to repair it myself.       

Were you with him when it happened? Otherwise I'd be a bit skeptical.

No I was not. I left the truck this morning and walked to a meeting I had. I am not going to have them repair it in any case. I will tow it home and figure out what to do next.

   "Clutch froze"...? Is this a vehicle you've been driving? A clutch does not "freeze up" on a vehicle that isn't sitting for long periods... it can burn out, wear out, start slipping or grenade, but NOT "freeze up".

Sounds like BS or sabotage. Do you feel any resistance on the clutch pedal? if not, or if the pedal is just sitting on the floor boards, more likely the clutch master cylinder/slave cylinder assembly. The cynic in me wants to say the bastard deliberately cracked the bleeder on the slave so he could sell you a clutch job.

   Speaking of BS... a few months ago, my wife took our new RAV4 in to the Toyota dealership in Cleveland Heights for its 10K service; we'd been having a problem with the TPMS light coming on and a tire soft about every couple weeks. Brand new vehicle, so I figured a valve stem leak most likely (the TPMS transponder is incorporated into the valve stem) and had her ask them to check it out. They cam back telling her it had a nail in the sidewall which couldn't be repaired, and tried to sell her a new tire for $260. She called me freaking out because they were telling her if the tire went flat and the sensor got damaged, it would cost almost $1000 to fix. 

I calmed her down over the phone, told her to tell them "No thank you, my husband will look at it. Please inflate it to the proper pressure." (Those were my EXACT words!!! Honest!)  and I would take care of it.

So of course, a slow leak being about 11th on my DSIGD list, and my wife having the car all the time anyways, I just blow up the soft tire every couple weeks, eyeballing it from time to time to see if I can spot this nail in the sidewall, but no luck. Until this weekend when, due to a strange confluence of events, I'm actually up and not feeling like a complete train wreck early enough to beat the worst of the hot & muggy, don't have 6 things that MUST HAPPEN RIGHT NOW vying for my attention, AND the car is actually here. So I grab my cordless 1/2" impact (a XMas present from the wife  ) jack the Rav4 up and zip the tire off.

About five f*$¢%#!! minutes of cussing the dealership shop foreman and all his ancestors later, I have the tire plugged, back on and looking for the correct lugnut torque on my phone. 

Bastards. There's a reason I am the ONLY mechanic I trust. I've worked with too many of 'em, and too many service "managers" whose assessment of what a car needs is defined by how much they think they can terrorize a customer.

mnem
*Allergic to the  *

Hmm, you were right, that's a real funny looking sidewall, so if that's what they call side then where the F#$K is the tread  I also do not believe the clutch froze story either 

[worsthorse]

These motherfuckers are GOING tomorrow. RS order going in shortly.



Very happy 

Edit: £13 of fresh new Kemet RIFAs ordered as I've run out!

Edit 2: now looking at Leo Bodnar references. What have I become?!?!?! 

Wow, thats bloody fantastic, 2.8Hz out, surely that's near enough already? Yep, them RIFA's have gotta go, they look like they are about to spill their guts.
[/quote]

Okay, so my truck is DOA in front of my house. My head is filled with snot and the pressure is lowering my already-not-impressive IQ by eight or ten points. And I have at least four pieces of Tek kit with RIFAs that I haven't replaced because they are sitting in the repair queue but now I am convinced that they are going to spontaneously explode, laying waste to my collection.

I clearly need a nap.

[bd139]

Have some more motivation to change them 

https://youtu.be/njbwdbcfXjc?t=237

[mnementh]

Okay, so my truck is DOA in front of my house. My head is filled with snot and the pressure is lowering my already-not-impressive IQ by eight or ten points. And I have at least four pieces of Tek kit with RIFAs that I haven't replaced because they are sitting in the repair queue but now I am convinced that they are going to spontaneously explode, laying waste to my collection. I clearly need a nap.

Dude...  priorities.  I'm sick as a dog right now; I know exactly how you feel. I'm doing precisely as much as is needed to take care of ME, and not one whit more.

Take care of yourself; suck down some medication, go to bed and get better. Your judgement is gonna be crap until you do. In the meantime, turn off the big switch to your bench and put it out of your mind so you can rest.

THEN worry about your truck.

I did a little quick research; unless yours is 4WD, even if the thing does need a clutch, it shouldn't be that bad. Parts $220-320 depending on kit, 4-5 flag hours labor. Should be between $700-950 total, with everything new from flywheel to slave cylinder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

Have some more motivation to change them 

https://youtu.be/njbwdbcfXjc?t=237

So glad I can't smell that 

[Specmaster]

Okay, so my truck is DOA in front of my house. My head is filled with snot and the pressure is lowering my already-not-impressive IQ by eight or ten points. And I have at least four pieces of Tek kit with RIFAs that I haven't replaced because they are sitting in the repair queue but now I am convinced that they are going to spontaneously explode, laying waste to my collection.

I clearly need a nap.

Please keep us all updated regards to your alleged clutch problem, my money backs mnem on this one, I'm smelling big time  I have never known a clutch fail in that fashion before, not without some hint of issues for sometime before hand.

[med6753]

Okay, so my truck is DOA in front of my house. My head is filled with snot and the pressure is lowering my already-not-impressive IQ by eight or ten points. And I have at least four pieces of Tek kit with RIFAs that I haven't replaced because they are sitting in the repair queue but now I am convinced that they are going to spontaneously explode, laying waste to my collection. I clearly need a nap.

Dude...  priorities.  I'm sick as a dog right now; I know exactly how you feel. I'm doing precisely as much as is needed to take care of ME, and not one whit more.

Take care of yourself; suck down some medication, go to bed and get better. Your judgement is gonna be crap until you do. In the meantime, turn off the big switch to your bench and put it out of your mind so you can rest.

THEN worry about your truck.

I did a little quick research; unless yours is 4WD, even if the thing does need a clutch, it shouldn't be that bad. Parts $220-320 depending on kit, 4-5 flag hours labor. Should be between $700-950 total, with everything new from flywheel to slave cylinder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

Even if it is 4WD there really isn't that much additional labor. Drop the front driveshaft then pull the transmission/transfer case as one unit. Yea, it will be a heavy bastard but doable. 

[nixiefreqq]

hey bd


well you made me look.   are those lines that look like cracks supposed to be in those caps?

never heard of one blowing up here in merica.  maybe they are ok with our piss weak line voltage?

hmmmmm.  my diode bodge looks mighty stanky.  but it works. 

decided a socket was the best solution for the prescaler.

You could well be right there about your piss weak line voltage, let me tell you, with our line voltage being on steroids, you certainly don't want to be in the same room as one of the rifas when they let go for long, or you'll be puking as well 

ok guys.....message received.

replacement caps ordered for the hp5334b.  found some poly .1uF X2 panasonics that should be drop in equals for the big ones.  the ebay store that had those did not carry any 2200pF Y2 caps.  but he did have Iskra Y2 caps in 1000pF. (will i bother putting 2 in parallel.....doubt it).

THANKS! 

ps  on second thought.......that damn counter has been in the basement for 15 years and never gave me 30 milliseconds of worry.  now you guys come along and send me into a frenzy of sleepless nights until the postman arrives to save me from a fiery death.  A POX ON ALL YOUR HOUSES!

 

[tggzzz]

And I have at least four pieces of Tek kit with RIFAs that I haven't replaced because they are sitting in the repair queue but now I am convinced that they are going to spontaneously explode, laying waste to my collection.

That's too optimistic: the little bustards can also be found inside IEC sockets with or without switches and voltage selectors. One of those added 50% to the cost of my 8.5 digit DVM.

That's also too pessimistic: they don't spontaneously disassociate, they wait for 30s after the equipment is turned on.

[tggzzz]

A POX ON ALL YOUR HOUSES!

Is that better than a poo-smell in your house? Discuss.

[nixiefreqq]

A POX ON ALL YOUR HOUSES!

Is that better than a poo-smell in your house? Discuss.

not saying they should not be replaced.......BUT i have NEVER heard of one going up in smoke on this side of the Atlantic.

[worsthorse]

Okay, so my truck is DOA in front of my house. My head is filled with snot and the pressure is lowering my already-not-impressive IQ by eight or ten points. And I have at least four pieces of Tek kit with RIFAs that I haven't replaced because they are sitting in the repair queue but now I am convinced that they are going to spontaneously explode, laying waste to my collection. I clearly need a nap.

Dude...  priorities.  I'm sick as a dog right now; I know exactly how you feel. I'm doing precisely as much as is needed to take care of ME, and not one whit more.

Take care of yourself; suck down some medication, go to bed and get better. Your judgement is gonna be crap until you do. In the meantime, turn off the big switch to your bench and put it out of your mind so you can rest.

THEN worry about your truck.

I did a little quick research; unless yours is 4WD, even if the thing does need a clutch, it shouldn't be that bad. Parts $220-320 depending on kit, 4-5 flag hours labor. Should be between $700-950 total, with everything new from flywheel to slave cylinder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

*sigh* 

poor choice of words, which were mine not the mechanic's. my first job with papers was in a garage. my uncle and three of my cousins were mechanics. i grew up around, and repairing, cars so i should have been more precise, and more basically, skipped moaning about it.  between how i am feeling, and taking care of my wife, who has been laid low by a virus, well, precision isn't my forte.

i have been getting intermittent indications that something wasn't right for a couple of weeks, which is why it was in the shop. based on past experience, i don't have any reason to think the mechanic bled the cylinder, though i am guessing that the cylinder is the problem. and whatever the source, i am not going to worry about it until both my wife and i feel better than either of us do right now.

don't worry, one thing i don't do when my mental processes are working as poorly as they are today is voltage. 


and i will check in after i recover some of those lost IQ points...

[Specmaster]

And I have at least four pieces of Tek kit with RIFAs that I haven't replaced because they are sitting in the repair queue but now I am convinced that they are going to spontaneously explode, laying waste to my collection.

That's too optimistic: the little bustards can also be found inside IEC sockets with or without switches and voltage selectors. One of those added 50% to the cost of my 8.5 digit DVM.

That's also too pessimistic: they don't spontaneously disassociate, they wait for 30s after the equipment is turned on.

Or as in the case of my Solartron 7150 Plus's they sit in the IEC sockets and are permanently connected and thus can decide to let go at anytime, as one of mine did and your quite right about the 50% added cost as well as I found out to my cost  The buggers show any signs of a crack or a bulge change the bastards quick, and in the case of them being built into the IEC connector, you cannot visually see them so looking for a crack is impossible but you can see bulges, even with the metal of the socket, they will bend that with ease and that makes them into a mini pipe bomb. If they are approaching 15 to 20 years old, swap them out anyway, peace of mind for another few years. 

[Specmaster]

Speaking about time, they grow up so fast, just one moth ago she fit in my hand;

Sweet, is that an Alsatian then, look like one to me and they do grow at quite a rate. 

[mnementh]

Dude...  priorities.  I'm sick as a dog right now; I know exactly how you feel. I'm doing precisely as much as is needed to take care of ME, and not one whit more.

Take care of yourself; suck down some medication, go to bed and get better. Your judgement is gonna be crap until you do. In the meantime, turn off the big switch to your bench and put it out of your mind so you can rest. (SNIP)

*sigh* 

poor choice of words, which were mine not the mechanic's. my first job with papers was in a garage. my uncle and three of my cousins were mechanics. i grew up around, and repairing, cars so i should have been more precise, and more basically, skipped moaning about it.  between how i am feeling, and taking care of my wife, who has been laid low by a virus, well, precision isn't my forte.

i have been getting intermittent indications that something wasn't right for a couple of weeks, which is why it was in the shop. based on past experience, i don't have any reason to think the mechanic bled the cylinder, though i am guessing that the cylinder is the problem. and whatever the source, i am not going to worry about it until both my wife and i feel better than either of us do right now.

don't worry, one thing i don't do when my mental processes are working as poorly as they are today is voltage. 


and i will check in after i recover some of those lost IQ points...

That's okay... the papers don't help much; just like puppies, mechanics always manage to miss them. 

Sorry for lighting the "Truckfire of the Vanities" in our quiet little nook; I'll toddle off and continue hoeing out the back office.

mnem
Yes... I'm one of THOSE. The kind who has to clean when we get sick. 

[bitseeker]

Speaking about time, they grow up so fast, just one moth ago she fit in my hand;

Woah, all that in a month?!?

[worsthorse]

Dude...  priorities.  I'm sick as a dog right now; I know exactly how you feel. I'm doing precisely as much as is needed to take care of ME, and not one whit more.

Take care of yourself; suck down some medication, go to bed and get better. Your judgement is gonna be crap until you do. In the meantime, turn off the big switch to your bench and put it out of your mind so you can rest. (SNIP)

*sigh* 

poor choice of words, which were mine not the mechanic's. my first job with papers was in a garage. my uncle and three of my cousins were mechanics. i grew up around, and repairing, cars so i should have been more precise, and more basically, skipped moaning about it.  between how i am feeling, and taking care of my wife, who has been laid low by a virus, well, precision isn't my forte.

i have been getting intermittent indications that something wasn't right for a couple of weeks, which is why it was in the shop. based on past experience, i don't have any reason to think the mechanic bled the cylinder, though i am guessing that the cylinder is the problem. and whatever the source, i am not going to worry about it until both my wife and i feel better than either of us do right now.

don't worry, one thing i don't do when my mental processes are working as poorly as they are today is voltage. 


and i will check in after i recover some of those lost IQ points...

That's okay... the papers don't help much; just like puppies, mechanics always manage to miss them. 

Sorry for lighting the "Truckfire of the Vanities" in our quiet little nook; I'll toddle off and continue hoeing out the back office.

mnem
Yes... I'm one of THOSE. The kind who has to clean when we get sick. 

no worries. just didn't want some poor unknown, um, technician, taking the blame for my poor choice of words.  and i appreciate the help from you, med, and so on.

truth be told, i am a suspicious sumbitch when it comes to such things, so i followed my SOP, " really? thank you for figuring that out. i will be by to pick up my car/motorcycle/washing machine/etc", figuring i'd do a little sleuthing and make a decision when i don't feel quite so stupid. so if the poor sap did bleed the cylinder in hopes of generating some revenue, he has been sorely disappointed.

[tautech]

If the master or slave has been leaking for a bit and the reservoir got down low and got a gutsful of air it can seem like a sudden failure when in fact it's been building up to a fail.
Lifting the bonnet once a week can spot these things...........

[mnementh]

If the master or slave has been leaking for a bit and the reservoir got down low and got a gutsful of air it can seem like a sudden failure when in fact it's been building up to a fail.
Lifting the bonnet once a week can spot these things...........

Which is how failure mode #1 below usually manifests. However, our intrepid technician SHOULD HAVE noted ANY critically low fluid levels in his pre-flight checklist.

   It has this cylinder. They ARE a failure point; but usually a "leaking down" failure, accompanied by fluid loss in the reservoir. If you have a "leaking down" failure and no fluid loss, then it's a clutch master cylinder; just about as frequent.

mnem
*back into hell*

[med6753]

Lifting the bonnet once a week can spot these things...........

HUH?