The "Fuck my life" thread

[Mission Difficult]

Air conditioning is actually pretty easy. You do need special tools. Harbour Freight can equip you with a set of gauges and a vacuum compressor for about $150.

Then you'll need refrigerant and oil, local laws may prevent the purchase without license unless 12a is legal in your state.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

The most important thing is having access to the proper tools. Using the wrong or shitty tools almost always results in the job taking three times as long and something will break or get stripped. I worked with this guy who refused to invest in some decent coax strippers so handling cables he made was like ten blood sugar tests at once.

Also, I think freon was pretty easy to get in AZ a while ago. Maybe it still is? If you have a decent mechanic he should be able to charge it for you.

[HeK]

This: http://www.harborfreight.com/a-c-manifol...92649.html
Plus this: http://www.harborfreight.com/25-cfm-vacu...98076.html

and then this: http://www.harborfreight.com/18-oz-arcti...97275.html

has enabled me to fix the AC in six cars, not bad for $160 investment. Saving what, over $6,000ish?

Example of how 'easy' AC repair is. Luin's car had no cold air. Attached gauges to high and low pressure ports, involved unscrewing easily accessible plastic caps and clipping on the gauges. Opened valves on gauges, no reading. Attached vacuum pump, turned on and listened for a leak on the AC pipes. Found leak at high-pressure exit on the compressor. It was whistling loudly. Unbolted connection, replaced the o-ring. Reattached vacuum, drew to near zero, stopped and disconnected. Watched gauges for ~15 minutes, no change thus no leaks. Recharged system using off-the-shelf refrigerant. Ran AC, got cold air. Done. 90 minutes work and hardest part was turning a single bolt.

Same MO for my brothers car. Found a leak in his condenser, the AC's radiator. Ordered a new one for $45, install involved removing the grill and headlights, ie 8 bolts and 10 clips.
Rilnac's car, showed pressure on the gauges, but no cold air. Used a volt-meter to check power at the compressor, found none. Checked the fuse, it was corroded. Cleaned corrosion with a screwdriver, installed new fuse and the compressor fired right up. That's $20 minutes of work which would have cost several hundreds.

How did I learn? Flipped thru the service manual that I downloaded and watched a couple youtube videos. Rest is by doing.
If you can dress yourself, make your lunch and find your way to work, whats stopping you from learning anything else?

[Luinbariel]

make your lunch

Hu hu

[CaffeinePowered]

How did I learn? Flipped thru the service manual that I downloaded and watched a couple youtube videos. Rest is by doing.
If you can dress yourself, make your lunch and find your way to work, whats stopping you from learning anything else?

Apathy and lazyness, also fear of fucking up


Though through fucking up a lot I learned how to tailor things

[Greatbacon]

[quote author=HeK link=topic=3709.msg266225#msg266225 date=1367895962]
How did I learn? Flipped thru the service manual that I downloaded and watched a couple youtube videos. Rest is by doing.
If you can dress yourself, make your lunch and find your way to work, whats stopping you from learning anything else?

Apathy and lazyness, also fear of fucking up


Though through fucking up a lot I learned how to tailor things
[/quote]

[HeK]

^

Plus if it's broken, how are you going to make it not work more?

[zaneyard]

I never knew how to do anything mechanically before I bought my bike.

Now I've learned how to do everything from changing the oil to adjusting valve clearances to cleaning the carbs.
I'm now working on rebuilding my first straight-twin engine.


Of course, I've done plenty of weight reductions (read: shearing off bolt heads), but so far it's been nothing important.


Although I will admit, I won't touch the car for most things because it's so FUCKING DIFFICULT to get at stuff in modern vehicles. My old car had to have the engine pulled up to change the starter. I can lift up a 250cc straight-twin engine by myself. The most I have to move for the bike is a few pieces of plastic.

I evaluate how much time it's going to take to do it myself versus how much money I'm saving by doing it myself. Sometimes it's simply a better idea to let someone else do it unless you really like doing the work.
For instance, I could mount and balance my tires myself, or I could take it into a shop and have them dynamically balance the tires in 20 minutes (much faster than I could doing it statically), for a little bit of cost it's just not worth it for me.


This reminds me, I need to get back to pulling that engine head apart.

[A. Crow]

The Imitrex worked. Really Freaking Well.

According to my VA doc, who likes to use successful treatment as a means of diagnosis, I now have migraines. 

[Eightball]

The Imitrex worked. Really Freaking Well.

According to my VA doc, who likes to use successful treatment as a means of diagnosis, I now have migraines. 

Did they give you the injectable or the pill? Having tried both, the pill does absolutely nothing for me. The injectable aborts migraines (getting it at the clinic, migraine completely passed in about 30min), but usually at the expense of rebound migraines in my case.

[Eschatos]

My computer is crashing more than ever post-reformat. Shit.

[A. Crow]

[quote author=LT Crow link=topic=3709.msg266425#msg266425 date=1368193408]
The Imitrex worked. Really Freaking Well.

According to my VA doc, who likes to use successful treatment as a means of diagnosis, I now have migraines. 

Did they give you the injectable or the pill? Having tried both, the pill does absolutely nothing for me. The injectable aborts migraines (getting it at the clinic, migraine completely passed in about 30min), but usually at the expense of rebound migraines in my case.
[/quote]

a single 50mg pill.  stopped it in it's tracks for like 4 hours.  It's kinda bouncing around inside my head now depending on how much I move around. 

[Eightball]

On my apartment rooftop (not actually the rooftop, more of a huge patio), there's a pair of geese that come by each spring. Yesterday I saw that they had a clutch of 4 goslings, even saw the broken eggs from their hatching.

Today, the geese are there, but no goslings.

[rumsfald]

Today, the geese are there, but no goslings.

[CaffeinePowered]

On my apartment rooftop (not actually the rooftop, more of a huge patio), there's a pair of geese that come by each spring. Yesterday I saw that they had a clutch of 4 goslings, even saw the broken eggs from their hatching.

Today, the geese are there, but no goslings.

Canadian Geese are assholes

Goose Attacks Businessman

[Eightball]

[quote author=Eightball link=topic=3709.msg266436#msg266436 date=1368204564]
On my apartment rooftop (not actually the rooftop, more of a huge patio), there's a pair of geese that come by each spring. Yesterday I saw that they had a clutch of 4 goslings, even saw the broken eggs from their hatching.

Today, the geese are there, but no goslings.

Canadian Geese are assholes

[/quote]

Oh, I agree. But precocial hatchlings are cute. Also I'm guessing in that video that the geese ended up (stupidly) nesting pretty close to the walk (note the other one just sitting nearby), so it's not hard to imagine where that aggression is coming from.

[HeK]

[quote author=Caffeine link=topic=3709.msg266440#msg266440 date=1368206599]
[quote author=Eightball link=topic=3709.msg266436#msg266436 date=1368204564]
On my apartment rooftop (not actually the rooftop, more of a huge patio), there's a pair of geese that come by each spring. Yesterday I saw that they had a clutch of 4 goslings, even saw the broken eggs from their hatching.

Today, the geese are there, but no goslings.

Canadian Geese are assholes

[/quote]

Oh, I agree. But precocial hatchlings are cute. Also I'm guessing in that video that the geese ended up (stupidly) nesting pretty close to the walk (note the other one just sitting nearby), so it's not hard to imagine where that aggression is coming from.
[/quote]

[Luinbariel]

There were geese with eggs in the roof over the front door at work.

Haven't seen them for a while...

[Dtrain323i]

There were geese with eggs in the roof over the front door at work.

Haven't seen them for a while...

There are 2 wild turkeys who made a home above the door to the abandoned building across the street my from my office.

[Luinbariel]

Dismantled the old fort today. If we are being forced to leave the farm, I and my nieces don't want to leave our creation behind.

This would make a wicked fire, so dry.

Sad, though. It sunk in today when my mom said this is probably the last time I see the place.
I didn't even feel it when we moved some buildings yesterday. But I felt it when my mom said that and we tore down the old pile of sticks and daydreams.

[rumsfald]

whoa. how long have you been there, luin?