RV canopy collapse reveals need for underbelly repair

     An unexpected storm with high winds and heavy rain rolled through one recent summer night. Though normally I retract the canopy in anticipation of mayhem, I was asleep at the wheel on this occasion. A 5 am inspection revealed that the one of the two canopy side supports had broken away from it's mount on the side of the camper. In fact the entire mount was rather rudely ripped off the camper. Luckily the canopy was intact and the the screen house as well, but the RV itself would be needing a repair.

     An examination revealed that one of the support bars, the one on the front side of the camper, had pulled completely away from its mounting bracket on the camper. To my surprise, I found the bracket strewn under the camper, with the two three inch lag screws still in the holes. At first I thought that this was a design feature: have the bracket mounted so it could break away, thereby preventing damage to the canopy. I checked the other side and found the screws to be soundly affixed to some solid wood running along the bottom edge of the RV.
     The next step would be to open up the under-board or belly board, the piece of thin but strong material enclosing the bottom of the camper, and providing a physical barrier against road hazards as well as a vapor barrier. Cutting it apart in the area of the problem resulted in a bunch of wood splinters and dusty debris falling out. It was rotted away under there and that's why the support bracket pulled away. This was going to have to be fixed and it wouldn't be that easy. Granted, this is rather odd repair, but it does show some of the principles useful in repairing any kind of rot damage to wood.

                                                          The job at a glance

• Tools: Saws, reciprocating, hand, circular or jig, oscilllating tool, drill, utility knife.  
• Materials: 2x6 board or material appropriate to the size of the rot needing repair, poster board, wood screws, wood filler, tape and spray adhesive
• Parts: NA  
• Cost of parts: 
• Time: Several days of intermittent work 

Disassembly

1) Open up the under-board with a utility knife and examine the damage. 

This is not good

2) Check out the parameters of the damage. A piece of a 2x6 board would fit in here nicely, providing more solid material that the original under- support. 

3) Cut the replacement board to the rectangular dimension needed. 

4) Make a pattern of the form needed. This is the step that is common to any rot repair like this. I use poster board and cut it into pieces that can be fit around the specific edges of the repair and then taped together. There was a 1 1/2" square piece running right through the middle of the repair area that my replacement had to fit around. Do this step and the next two carefully and sanding and filing of the replacement board can be avoided.

building up the pattern

5) Transfer the pattern onto the replacement board. Again, try to be exact to avoid work later.

6) Cut the board to the shape needed. Several types of saws will likely be needed. Be exact!

The finished pattern on the cut wood block

7) Apply wood filler under where the board will fit. The necessity of this depends on the job. I had to account for some missing particle board so I put in several layers of filler to build it back up to where it would meed the replacement 2 x 6 board.

8) Set the board into place. Since I was working underneath, I used a jack to hold it there for the fastening step.

A nice fit

9) Fasten the board to the good exisiting wood under and around the repair. The length of the screws will depend on the situation. I used 2 3/4 and 3 inch wood screws. I consider this like an outdoor job, so I used galvanized screws.

10) Repair the cut belly board with tape and adhesive. I experimented with several tapes and found Gorilla tape and spray adhesive worked best. There is a special tape made for this application. 

11) Finally, I drilled new holes and attached the canopy bracket with weather resistant lag screws.

finished repair

              

How to remove and replace seized caliper pins on a 2005 Scion tc or Toyota

       The 2005 Scion front brakes were pulsing and needed some work.                                                    


                                                          The Repair Basics                                          

• Safety: Safety glasses, gloves, ear plugs and a dust mask. 
•  Tools: A scissors jack, breaker bar,  21,17, and 14mm 1/2" drive sockets and a ratchet, a hammer, large screwdriver or chisel, .  
•  Parts and materials: Two front caliper pins and boots, caliper grease, sandpaper, lacquer thinner. A penitrent such as PB Blaster.
•  Cost of materials: Pins, $16.87,  boot kit, $12.65
•  Shop labor cost for the job: $100 on average. 
•  Home mechanic estimated time: 2-3 hours   

                             
1) Loosen the front lug nuts with a 21mm socket and a breaker bar.
2) Block the back wheels
3) Jack up front with a scissors jack. This vehicle sits so low to the ground, I couldn't get my floor jack under it. I used a scissors jack positioned at center of the cross-member, which is 25” from the inside of each tire. Place jack stands left and right.

4) With 14mm socket remove the caliper mounting bolts, not the pad bracket bolts.
5) Separate the caliper from the pad bracket. Hang it or rest it on the above.
6) Examine the pads. They are worn evenly.
7) Examine the rotors. They are acceptably smooth and even.
8) Examine the rotor pins (mounted in the pad bracket). The lower one is seized. I worked it out with back and forth with a 17mm socket and ratchet. Then I was able to get it out by clamping vice grip pliers on it and turning and pounding outward on the pliers at the same time. This was the right side . The left is seized too, but even worse and even a breaker bar and hard blows with a hammer would not dislodge it. I then turned to soaking it with PB blaster. This one is moving now, but has a ways to go and has not moved outward with the hammer and pliers.

    I got the left one out but it was a battle royal. I used large flat blade screwdrivers as a wedge to drive the pin out a bit. I cut the boot out to allow some view and access. I used a ¾ inch chisel to drive it apart further. Sprayed some blaster and turned it back and forth with a rachet. When I got the gap a bit wider I was able to clamp down a large vice grip pliers and then hammer it outward. After numerous hard blows the pin began to move. A few more blows  while twisting it and it came out
9) Remove the pads and then the pad bracket with a 17mm socket and ½” ratchet. Now clean out the bore where the pin was seized. First use a round file , then some 100 grit sandpaper wrapped around a pencil. Let it soak in solvent and then clean up good with a piece of rag. More sanding, more solvent. When satisfied put caliper grease on a long cotton swab and coat the bore.

10) Seat the new caliper boot with a 20mm socket and a few taps with a hammer. Coat the new pin with caliper grease and slide it into the bore
11) Mount the pad bracket with the 17mm bolt and torque to 39 ft lbs.
12) Mount the brake pad.
13) Mount the caliper on the bracket and torque the 14mm bolts to 29 ft lbs.  I had to hold the pin with a vice grip pliers to keep it from turning.
14) Remount the wheel and torque to 100 ftlbs.

                                

How to troubleshoot and repair an electric clothes dryer that will run but not heat up.

      Our Kenmore clothes dryer would run but did not heat up. This problem can result from either a household power problem or will be in the dryer itself. A dryer needs a full 240 volts to fully function. The loss of one phase of 120V will result in a cold dryer. This post will cover troubleshooting the drying circuit and replacing an open heating element.

Troubleshooting and dis-assembly

1) Unplug dryer and move it into position where it can be worked on.

2) Remove back lower cover (7, ¼” hex-head sheet metal screws).

3) Move the lower back cover and exhaust duct out of the way.

4) Trouble shoot components with an ohm meter to find.fault. Components are easy to identify using electric schematic attached to the back upper cover of the dryer. The four elements in the 240V heating circuit (the thermal cutoff, operating thermostat, hi limit thermostat and the heater) should all have a low ohm reading. If all the components check out fine, there may be a problem with the incoming power. A person experienced and able to work safely with a 240V live circuit may be needed to troubleshoot the supply circuit.

The four components on the bottom line make up the 240V heating circuit

 The heating element should measure around 8 to 10 ohms.  The heating element is open.

FSP heater 696579  is burned open

5) Unplug two spade connections for each of the three components on the heater housing. Don't worry about polarity of the wires. Just make sure to plug each back with the correct set of wires when re-assembling.

6) Remove the electric mains cover from the middle of the top back cover. Observe through the opening the mounting bracket and screw at the top of the heater housing. ( 5/16 hex-head sheet metal screw)

 7) Remove 5/16” hex head sheet metal screw and the mounting bracket from above the upper heater housing.

8) Wiggle the heater housing while pulling it toward you, until it comes free. Lift it up and off the lower housing holders that it rests on. Now it can be twisted and set down, held to the machine only by the two sets of heat sensor wires.

8) Remove the 5/16” hex head sheet metal screw at the bottom of the element that holds the element in the housing.

9) Remove the heating element

Install element


1) Slide the new element into the housing and fasten at the bottom with the 5/16” hex head sheet metal screw. 

2) Put the little mounting bracket in the slot at the top of the heater housing. Rest the housing in the lower holder slots and push the housing into the dryer. Fasten the housing bracket with the 5/16” hex head sheet metal screw. It is helpful to look through the electrical mains opening  to help with the screw and bracket.

Hold the mounting bracket in place as the housing is mounted with the new heater
I'm working on Kenmore model 110.96220100

3) Plug the wiring back into each of the three components on the heater housing.

4)  Mount the electrical mains cover with a ¼” hex-head sheet metal screw.

5) Install the back cover with 7  ¼” hex-head sheet metal screws.

6) Test the dryer and start drying clothes again.

Here is a link to a good quality OEM replacement heating element:


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