Adventure Tyler

I really enjoyed helping take apart the steering gear box to fully understand how 'stuff' works.  When I was watching the videos on Sheppard, there seemed to be SO much to remember that I kind of got lost in all the tests and things.  As we took the gearbox apart I was able to see how the input shaft would actuate inside the piston.  We went so far as to take all the ball bearings out.
The only way that we could figure out how to get them back in was take some round stock and make some longer all threads out of them.  We then inserted them through the plate that the input shaft goes through and threaded them into the piston housing.  What this accomplished is keep the actuating shaft straight inside the cylinder to allow the bearings to go all the way around.  There were 31, so we needed room.
I never got to do a pressure or flow test on a steering system, but I look forward to finding time next week to doing some of the things over again that we've learned this quarter.

(I hear this guys lookin' for an intern)

Ruts are for driving straight

  This past week or so we did a bunch of stuff on alignment.  Because of my past in residential framing, finding plumb and square in objects that aren't is fairly easy for me.  We used both string lines along with measuring tapes as well as lasers that told you what the toe, camber, and thrust is.  Using the string and tape seemed very archaic, so obviously the lasers were easiest to use and required little to no thought in getting very accurate measurements.  The hardest part when using the strings was measuring the thrust with the string line on a longer rig and not being able to see when the string was touching the front of the rear or intermediate tire.  I'm not sure how to get around that.  I was trying to wiggle the string a bit before bringing it close to the tire, then when it stopped I figured I was 'close'.  The measurements I got when I used both methods varied a lot more than I would be comfortable at.

You had me at diesel

  Aside from some crazy real life stuff these past two weeks have been very interesting at school.  I'm finding that I am not that mechanically inclined as I had hoped.  Some of the basic concepts in the transmissions and torque converters seem to confuse the heck at me as I just sit at a moving diagram of how stuff works, not understanding how stuff works.  It is making school extremely challenging for me.  I love it.

 
  Here I helped some of the guys take apart an axle from a 744 John Deere Loader.  Pretty interesting stuff here.  Turns out it 2950 lbs can really ding a concrete floor.  What I learned these past couple of weeks that I consider to be the most valuable is this:  if working on something heavy, have it as close to the ground as possible.

Steering axle/foundation brake inspection

 Drive axle/foundation brake inspection

   Removed the drive axle, foundation brakes, and adjuster arm for inspection. If I could have, I would have made sure the circuit had 90 psi in the system before checking adjustment with the parking brakes released.  I would then use a brake tool to pry the pushrod making sure that it is within 3/4 to 1 1/2" of my 2 1/2" spec for type-30 can.  After installing the S-cams I checked vertical play and end-play to verify that the bushings were not worn or I didn't need spacers on the s-cam itself.  Both were at ~.03" of play.  

  I then replaced the wheel seal and after washing both bearings in the parts washer I inspected them under a light for cracks/breaks, nicks in the rollers, etc.  I tightened the inner nut to 200 ft/lbs --> backed off 1 full turn --> torqued to 50 ft/lbs --> backed off 1/4 turn.  From there installed the lock washers and guide, then torqued the outer nut to around 475 ft/lbs.  All the while rotating the wheel as I torqued them down.  After failing a couple times, I ended up having my wheel end adjustment as close to .001" as I could.  

  From there it was a fairly simple task of cleaning the spider assy, as well as the drum itself.  Putting it all back together went smoothly.  For these particular brakes it was easier to put the rollers in the shoes before putting then on the spider.  From the pics I've posted, I kept all my parts and tools in a clean and organized manner so as not to get more confused than normal.  

  Put the tires back on with little to no effort using a tire bar and torqued them down to spec (I believe they were called out at 450-500 ft/lbs).  

  This is a video of the planetary gear set in the ZF Loader and Gary, Jeremy, and I tore apart and put back together. 

Girodisc

Went and helped Ben down at Girodisc.  They make top end high performance brake assy's.  Pretty awesome to get to see him turn his own brakes from his Audi.  We had a nice surprise later in the day when the WWU formula team showed up to test out the suspension on the formula car.  It really wasn't running too hot but it was still really neat to at least see the diagnostics and data they were picking up, even though I don't really know what any of it means.

It is amazing how much I have learned from just a few weeks of practicing the most basic electrical systems.  Things that I have learned from it that I can carry over into other specialties:
1) K.I.S.S.  Keep it simple stupid.   It is very easy for me to get over complicated.  I need to remember that things can be difficult unless viewed in its simplest form.
2) Take my time.  Don't rush through anything.  Don't assume anything either.
3) Trust my data.  Sometimes the numbers don't add up, but as long as my testing is done correctly it can be simple again.

104 hrs

Stopping is fun

Took apart both rear drums on my 07 ranger v6 3l to address a squeak that would occur after I release the brake pedal.  It sounded to me like the shoes were scraping on the hub.  Got into the drivers side to find the brake wheel cylinder was leaking quite a bit.  Took it all apart and cleaned it up best I could.  Put just a tiny dab of high heat anti-seize on and squeak is gone.  Figured out, because I didn't have a manual, that the best way to take apart drum brakes is take a picture of all the springs and where they go.  Changed the oil and spark plugs.  Got about 6.5 hrs into that.

   The amount of current flowing through some of these cables scares the crap outta me.  If I touch two wrong conductors together I could possibly lose thousands of dollars in computer equipment.   I don't what it is I like about electrical.  I just like it... so far

Electrical Voyage

Today we started to dive into the electrical of the course.  I was really hoping to see Jeff explode something.  However, I didn't want it to be my brain.  This will be a challenging quarter.  Many theories learned today as well as many of my own destroyed.  I will have to get used to that.