With the rising price of gas, I thought it would be a good idea to do a tune up on my 2000 Honda Civic. I have almost 140,000 miles on it. It has been running great, but still. I think the last tune up it had was around 90,000 miles.
I bought new plugs (NGK platinum), wires (NGK), cap, rotor and PCV valve. I popped out my Honda repair guides (Chilton and Haynes), and started reading. I figured out that I would also want the ant-sieze compound and some silicone di-eletric compound as well. So I went and bought some of that too.
I gathered my tools, and realized the sparkplug socket I had sucked. The spark plugs on my Civic are recessed way down inside the engine. And the socket wouldn’t lock onto the extention I had. It didn’t have the little dimples. Also, it didn’t have the little rubber thing to hold the plug. So I headed to Sears, and bought a new 5/8″ Craftsman socket! Sweet! Nothing wrong with new tools!
I gapped all of the new plugs to .039″. The manual said to gap them to .039-.043″. I replaced the spark plugs one at a time. I would remove the old plug. I would coat the threads of the new plug with anti-sieze stuff. The I would shove the plug into my socket, and the rubber thing would hold it. Then I would lower the plug into the recess using the 8 inch extention, and carefully screw it in by hand, careful not to cross thread it. I would screw it in by hand as tight as I could get it, then I would attach the wrench, and turn it one half turn. The spark plug box said 1/2 - 2/3rds of a turn. I reattached the wire to each plug when done.
After getting all the plugs replaced I examined the old plugs. I found they were copper tipped, and the gaps were .054-.056″! Very in need of replacing! I test started the car, and it ran it for a minute just to make sure everything was okay. It was.
I removed the old distributor cap with the wires still attached. I got out the new distributor cap and set it beside the old one. I coated the insides of the boots on the new wires with the silicone di-electric stuff. Then I replaced the old wires with the new wires, on at a time, attaching them to the new distributor cap, instead of the old one.
The rotor was easy to replace. I just removed a single philips head screw, popped the old rotor off, pushed the new one on, and replaced the screw. Then I installed the new distributor cap. The old cap and rotor show definate signs of age with some electrical scarring on the contacts? Points? Electrodes? Whatever! Again, I test started the car, and it ran nice and smooth.
Then I went to install the PCV Valve. I thought this would be the easiest part. Just unplug the old one, and plug in the new one. WRONG! It took a while to find the old one. I found it hidden under everything! Buried! The easiest way to reach appears to be from underneath after removing the oil filter. Ack! I normally get my oil changed at Valvoline Instant Oil Change. Maybe what I will do it make an appointment with Honda to have my next oil change, and have then replace it. The part is cheap. And if the oil filter is off, the work would only take a minute to do. So hopefully it wouldn’t be very expensive. Or mayeb I can find out what Valvoline charges to do it.
My car runs pretty much like before. But Hondas are well engineered, and seem to run pretty well in spite of trashed plugs. Hopefully my gas mileage will improve a little. Or at least the chances of my car dying on the side of the road will be decreased.
One of the drawbacks of living in a house surrounded by woods seems to be the &#@!*% ants! Most of the ants are just annoying, but I frigging hate the carpetner ants! A few days ago, I found a line of carpenter ants coming along the edge of the driveway and up the corner of the house. And some of the little bastards were carrying eggs! Ack!!! I put out some Terro Liquid Ant bait, and sprinkled around some Advance Carpenter Ant Bait. I usually have seen them lined up at the Liquid Ant Bait just filling up. But the ant baits seems to get only minor interest from the ants. A day or two later and line of ants going up the house had pretty much disappeared. Did the any baits do their job and kill them all, or were they just finished moving in, and setting up house with all their damn eggs?
I had my wife keep any eye out for ants in the house. She found a few in the living room. I set up a liquid ant bait in the living room near where I saw a few. They seemed to feeding there, but again, not lined up to get in. On the outside corner of the house, I found another line of carpenter ants climbing up the wall. This was a completely differnent corner of the house, and they were coming from someplace else. These little bastards were also carrying eggs! GGrrrrrr! I put out an outdoor version of Terro’s Liquid Ant Bait, and sprinkled around some Advance Carpenter Ant Bait. Both of these baits seemed to be getting some action. Not alot, but some. I saw few ants carrying up granules of the Advance Carpenter Ant Bait. And I saw a few going into drink the liquid ant bait. My wife reports not seeing any ants going up the wall today. I saw one this morning, but he was moving very slowly. Much liek I have seen them do after I have used the liquid ant baits in the past.
So are they all dead, or dying now? Or are they in my walls eating my frigging house? I sent an email to a buddy of mine to see if he can recommend a good exterminator. I wasn’t too impressed with the guy I used previously. I might call Orkin or Terminix or maybe some local company. I will have to search the net for reviews on pest control places.
I hate Carpenter ants! I just picture them eating my house! I am almost out of the Advance Carpenter Ant Bait. I will have to order another 2 pound jug of the stuff!
When we bought our house a half dozen years ago, there was no door bell. I have wanted to install one, but there are always so many other things to do. There was also the thing that rarely does anyone come to our front door. Most people come in through the garage. So when we are expecting someone, I have to keep looking out the window to see if someone is in our driveway. Sometimes I would leave the garage door open so they could come knock on the entry door there.
But I was expecting UPS to deliver a package today, and I was concerned they might need someone to sign for it. I didn’t want them just to leave a note saying they attempted delivery.
When I first started looking at door bells, there were a few wireless ones. I don’t want to have to drill holes, and run wires all over the place. But when I stopped at Lowes last night, they had a whole selection of wireless door bells. I bought a fairly plain looking wireless door bell that came with two buttons. I figured I could put one button by the front door, and another out by the garage. I also bought an add-on chime. So I could install one chime in one part of the house, and the other one downstairs. That way we would be sure to hear the door bell. I also bought some C batteries to power the main chime. The other chime plugs into the wall.
Installing the wireless door bell was extremely easy. I just screwed a couple screws into the wall to hang the chime. The hardest part was locating a stud. My electronic stud finder was acting all flakey. I replaced the battery, and then it worked fine. I wanted to screw right into a stud, instead of putting bigger holes for the plastic anchors. Installing the buttons was also easy. Just two tiny screws each.
Something I don’t really like about the wireless door bell is the chimes. It has 13 different sounds. The first two are Dong and Ding Dong. The single Dong is just too short. The Ding Dong actually sounds like a door bell. But I don’t really get the other sounds. There is the Westminster Chime. Great, it sounds like a frigging clock! Then the rest are songs like Star Spangled Banner, Jingle Bells, Auld Lang Syne, Happy Birthday. Yeah, all of those scream that someone is at the door. Another song is Beethoven’s 5th. That would make me almost afraid to answer the door, worrying that it was death, or a tax collector. And they have Dixie. Maybe they should have a Northern and a Southern version of the door bell. The northern version wouldn’t have Dixie.
I could have each button play a different sound so I could tell which door they were at. But I ended up choosing the simple Ding Dong sound for both doors.
I was watching a show about the bar-b-que places around the country. One of the guys at one od the places was talking about the importance of the wood. Then they flashed a picture of rows and rows of firewood all neatly stacked. I was envious. The ends were nice and square. I looked close but didn’t see supports. I thought about, and I think I figured out what they used. I think they maybe used those T-posts that are used for fencing.
I stopped up at Home Depot and later Lowes to check them out. I can buy the 6 foot T-posts for about $3.29 each. I was hoping to find a little bit longer ones. I know they make them. But I think the 6 foot T-posts will work. I can pound them 2 feet into the ground, leaving 4 feet above the ground. I place a couple of them about 12 feet apart, and stack the firewood to be 4 feet high. Two rows like this would be a cord.
I think a single Tee-post at each end should be enough to support the stack. If not, I could always place two t-posts at the end of each stack.
I got a $25 gift card for Home Depot for Christmas, so I may go buy some of the posts. I wont mess with it til Spring though. I want to use up most of the firewood we already have. That and it is ptetty cold and wet outside. I don’t want to mess with it till it warms.
The primary heating in our house is electric baseboard heaters. The house is a post & beam style, so not much else would work well. Last eyear I replaced all the old thermostats with newer programmable ones. They are very good, and help keep the temperatures more consistent.
In our bedroom area, there were two baseboard heaters, both connected to the same thermostat. One was a 3 foot unit (400 watts), and the other was a 6 foot unit (1000 watts). One of the units stayed cold, and the other was making popping noises, and my wife said she smelled a burning smell. I never smelled it though. I decided to replace the units.
The new baseboard heaters give more wattage for the same size. So I was able to get a 6 foot baseboard heater that was 1500 watts that would replace both the 6 foot and 3 foot units that were there.
I stopped in at Home Depot yesterday afternoon. A basic 6 foot/1500 watt electric baseboard heater was only $47. But they also had these hydronic baseboard heaters. They were a little taller, and cost about $170 for a 6 foot/1500 watt unit. I am not sure what all differences are, but the hydronic model seemed to be able to retain heat and distribute it more evenly. I didn’t think I needed anything like that. The programmable thermostats I put in are smart, and learn the characteristics of the room, and modify it’s functionality. It can send partial power to the baseboard heater. Where many thermostats can only send 100% or 0%, mine can send 25% 50%, 100%, or other percentages of power. And they learn how long it takes for the room to come up to temp. So it can turn on the heater, and shut off before the heat actually reaches the thermostat.
So I bought the basic $47 electric baseboard heater.
The first thing I needed to was to remove the old baseboard heaters. I shut off the circuit breaker. I checked the thermostat to be sure there was no power to it. 240 volts is nothing to play around with! I lifted up the heaters which were mounted on little metal hangers nail to the wall. I unscrewed a little plate to access the wiring. I removed the caps to release the wires. There was also a cable clamp where the electical wires came in the back. I loosened the screws on these, and pulled the heaters away from the wall. I removed the hangers with a nail puller.
I found the wires first came into the 3 foot unit, then came out of it, and went to the 6 foot unit. Since I wasn’t replacing the 3 foot unit, I used wire caps to connect the wires straight through.
Using a screwdriver I removed the punch-out where the wire would enter the new baseboard heater. I used the cable clmap from one of the old heaters. Upon removing the access plate, I found a red wire and black wire twisted together with a cap. I removed the cap. I ran the wires in the back, connected the black wire to the black wire, the white wire to the red wire, and the copper ground to the copper ground. I tightened the screws on the cable clamp. I moved the heater into position. There were little “X”s where the mounting screws could go. I found the “X”s closest to where the hangers had been figureing this is where the studs were located. I drilled small holes through 2 of the “X”s. Using a couple scews, I fixed the heater to the wall. I reattached the access plate.
Now for the test. I flipped on the breaker. It didn’t snap off, so far, so good. The thermostat was on but not sending power to the heater is it was above the set temp. I cranked up the temp on the thermostat until it turned on. I went over and felt the baseboard heater. After a few second I began to feel it heat up. Great! Another thing accomplished! One down, and about a thousand to go! It never frigging ends!