Dorsai Posted August 10, 2019 Author Share Posted August 10, 2019 GM used hot injected plastic.You just heated it with a torch until the plastic started boiling out.... then you smacked them out.DO NOT stand in the way of a bearing cap.If it's wet in there and that water turns to steam, the cap is launching like an F18 off the flight deck.Amen! I was just trying to find out when they started using the plastic and found a post where a guy said that a cap came off and traveled 85', out the open garage door and through a window on the house on the other side of the street.He said his wife was NOT amused that their son had been there with his father and just happened to not have his face in front of the cap. I just realized that I need to get cracking on the rest of my to-do list: not only is the truck show just six weeks away, but I also have to get our robot ready for Robot Battles at DragonCon in just three weeks!We had a pretty good run last time around, which was our first time competing - Dominic (with his quick teenage reflexes) is the driver, and I'm the head engineer and pit crew (I'm the guy in black behind Dominic): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 I just realized that I need to get cracking on the rest of my to-do list: not only is the truck show just six weeks away, but I also have to get our robot ready for Robot Battles at DragonCon in just three weeks!We had a pretty good run last time around, which was our first time competing - Dominic (with his quick teenage reflexes) is the driver, and I'm the head engineer and pit crew (I'm the guy in black behind Dominic):Matthew - That was cool! Dominic certainly did well. (And you did a good job picking the robot up and placing it back on the platform.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted August 10, 2019 Author Share Posted August 10, 2019 (And you did a good job picking the robot up and placing it back on the platform.) Everybody is good at something, I’m good at picking things up. I’m also apparently not half-bad at robot engineering; Dominic came in second place overall, only losing to the son of the guy he’s fighting in the video. He had a really good wedge bot that we just couldn’t do anything with. But Dominic did set one gal’s robot on fire, so it was a pretty good outing. In truck news...I got the rear diff oil changed today. Well, sorta changed...I was only able to get about a quart of the old stuff out, no matter how I worked the pump tube around in there. But the old oil looked pretty good, so I added a quart of new and called it a day. I also couldn’t take the mold, mildew, and general sludge on the underside of my hood any longer, so I broke out the pressure washer and blasted it clean. Finally, the new gasket arrived today for the transmission pan swap, so the rest of those parts (new pan with drain, new transmission filter) should arrive this week, hopefully to go on next weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 (And you did a good job picking the robot up and placing it back on the platform.) Everybody is good at something, I’m good at picking things up. I’m also apparently not half-bad at robot engineering; Dominic came in second place overall, only losing to the son of the guy he’s fighting in the video. He had a really good wedge bot that we just couldn’t do anything with. But Dominic did set one gal’s robot on fire, so it was a pretty good outing. In truck news...I got the rear diff oil changed today. Well, sorta changed...I was only able to get about a quart of the old stuff out, no matter how I worked the pump tube around in there. But the old oil looked pretty good, so I added a quart of new and called it a day. I also couldn’t take the mold, mildew, and general sludge on the underside of my hood any longer, so I broke out the pressure washer and blasted it clean. Finally, the new gasket arrived today for the transmission pan swap, so the rest of those parts (new pan with drain, new transmission filter) should arrive this week, hopefully to go on next weekend. A wedge would seem to be a good profile for that competition. But, setting one on fire? Did he use a flame thrower or stall the motor long enough to burn something up? Anyway, second is good, especially when I think you said it was his first time out. On the truck, you are making good progress! You are way past "ready" for the trip, and should have an easy time of it. Can't wait to meet you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 A wedge would seem to be a good profile for that competition. But, setting one on fire? Did he use a flame thrower or stall the motor long enough to burn something up?Well, I'm giving us a bit of extra credit in saying that he set her robot on fire...but she was fighting him when it happened, so it's only a little extra credit. :nabble_smiley_happy:As to what happened, I suspect it was a design or construction flaw; you can see in the video below that she was never stalled for more than a second or two, and she was free when the magic smoke came out. This was a huge surprise for us, given that she's one of the 'pro' builders (Team Valkyrie) competing on Battlebots.Anyway, second is good, especially when I think you said it was his first time out. We were thrilled with second. Besides Dominic having some fun, my only goal was for the robot to not disassemble into a pile of parts and shame at the first hit. On the truck, you are making good progress! You are way past "ready" for the trip, and should have an easy time of it. Can't wait to meet you!Same here...I'm looking forward to meeting you and as many of the other people as possible who have been so helpful over the years. The truck wouldn't be able to make it to OK without you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 A wedge would seem to be a good profile for that competition. But, setting one on fire? Did he use a flame thrower or stall the motor long enough to burn something up?Well, I'm giving us a bit of extra credit in saying that he set her robot on fire...but she was fighting him when it happened, so it's only a little extra credit. :nabble_smiley_happy:As to what happened, I suspect it was a design or construction flaw; you can see in the video below that she was never stalled for more than a second or two, and she was free when the magic smoke came out. This was a huge surprise for us, given that she's one of the 'pro' builders (Team Valkyrie) competing on Battlebots.Anyway, second is good, especially when I think you said it was his first time out. We were thrilled with second. Besides Dominic having some fun, my only goal was for the robot to not disassemble into a pile of parts and shame at the first hit. On the truck, you are making good progress! You are way past "ready" for the trip, and should have an easy time of it. Can't wait to meet you!Same here...I'm looking forward to meeting you and as many of the other people as possible who have been so helpful over the years. The truck wouldn't be able to make it to OK without you. Now that all the parts (oil pan w/drain plug, filter, fancy gasket) are here for the transmission fluid change, it's time to decide what fluid to go with. I figured I'd use what's stamped on the dipstick as a starting point, and found this:I sure hope Valvoline synthetic fluid meets spec ESP-M2C138-CJ, because I'd hate to void my warranty.Incidentally, if the fluid I linked above is for some reason inappropriate for my 1980 C6 transmission, I'd like to hear about it. Preferably before I go to Walmart at lunch to buy some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 Now that all the parts (oil pan w/drain plug, filter, fancy gasket) are here for the transmission fluid change, it's time to decide what fluid to go with. I figured I'd use what's stamped on the dipstick as a starting point, and found this: I sure hope Valvoline synthetic fluid meets spec ESP-M2C138-CJ, because I'd hate to void my warranty. Incidentally, if the fluid I linked above is for some reason inappropriate for my 1980 C6 transmission, I'd like to hear about it. Preferably before I go to Walmart at lunch to buy some. This evening I started on the transmission work - I was able to get the torque converter drained. It was nice for the drain plug to be waiting for me at exactly 6 o'clock when I popped the access cover off: I got somewhere between 5 and 6 quarts out, which seems about right. So now the torque converter is closed back up and the old fluid poured off into jugs for recycling/disposal, and tomorrow I'll try to get the pan off without taking an ATF shower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 This evening I started on the transmission work - I was able to get the torque converter drained. It was nice for the drain plug to be waiting for me at exactly 6 o'clock when I popped the access cover off: I got somewhere between 5 and 6 quarts out, which seems about right. So now the torque converter is closed back up and the old fluid poured off into jugs for recycling/disposal, and tomorrow I'll try to get the pan off without taking an ATF shower. You got lucky on the torque converter's drain. Let's hope you get equally lucky on removing the pan w/o taking a shower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted August 17, 2019 Author Share Posted August 17, 2019 You got lucky on the torque converter's drain. Let's hope you get equally lucky on removing the pan w/o taking a shower. All things considered I suppose my luck held - I didn't get a shower, although I ended up with a lot more ATF on the floor than I had expected; I thought I was pretty smart laying down some disposable painting dropcloth beforehand, but that stuff gets holes really easy, and before I knew it my garage floor was swimming in fluid. All in all this was probably the dirtiest job I've done on the truck, and that includes replacing the engine oil pan a few years ago. But...the job is done, and successfully as far as I can tell. The good news is that someone's been in the transmission before, so this isn't 40 year old fluid. The bad news is that I could tell someone's been in there, because of this: That's one of the bolts holding the transmission filter on, and it was hanging just like that once I dropped the pan. I had initially thought it just backed itself out over the years, but when I went to put the new filter on I realized that the hole was stripped out - I guess Florida Man's Oklahoma cousin Cletus got a little too torque-happy last time he was in there. The filter is held on with 11(!) bolts, so losing one is no big deal. At any rate, the filter went on fine and the new pan and fancy Moroso gasket went up without a hitch. I put about 11 quarts of new fluid in there, then gave the truck a good test run to the local Mexican joint for dinner and then up and down the highway for a bit. Drives fine, shifts fine, dipstick level is good, and no apparent leaks. I'm declaring this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 You got lucky on the torque converter's drain. Let's hope you get equally lucky on removing the pan w/o taking a shower. All things considered I suppose my luck held - I didn't get a shower, although I ended up with a lot more ATF on the floor than I had expected; I thought I was pretty smart laying down some disposable painting dropcloth beforehand, but that stuff gets holes really easy, and before I knew it my garage floor was swimming in fluid. All in all this was probably the dirtiest job I've done on the truck, and that includes replacing the engine oil pan a few years ago. But...the job is done, and successfully as far as I can tell. The good news is that someone's been in the transmission before, so this isn't 40 year old fluid. The bad news is that I could tell someone's been in there, because of this: That's one of the bolts holding the transmission filter on, and it was hanging just like that once I dropped the pan. I had initially thought it just backed itself out over the years, but when I went to put the new filter on I realized that the hole was stripped out - I guess Florida Man's Oklahoma cousin Cletus got a little too torque-happy last time he was in there. The filter is held on with 11(!) bolts, so losing one is no big deal. At any rate, the filter went on fine and the new pan and fancy Moroso gasket went up without a hitch. I put about 11 quarts of new fluid in there, then gave the truck a good test run to the local Mexican joint for dinner and then up and down the highway for a bit. Drives fine, shifts fine, dipstick level is good, and no apparent leaks. I'm declaring this one... Now you see why I won't put a transmission pan on w/o a drain plug in it - I might have to take it off again and I do NOT want that mess. Anyway, you did a good job and the truck is going to do great on the trip - in 5 weeks? Can you believe that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts