Coffee Aug 2nd 2014

Monday 0545, let dog out, dog chases skunk, skunk takes defensive posture, dog stops, drops and rolls-spits, gags, does more rolling. Owner takes bathing dog posture several times. How is your Monday morning starting?
Cracker

Just a normal day in the country GC--

Happened to ours too. So I feel for ya.
But ya know what? Ours learnt something! he barks from a distance now.
Good luck with the smell...

GA cracker wrote:Monday 0545, let dog out, dog chases skunk, skunk takes defensive posture, dog stops, drops and rolls-spits, gags, does more rolling. Owner takes bathing dog posture several times. How is your Monday morning starting?
Cracker

Dawn dish soap mixed with some water & hydrogen peroxide works well, skunk spray has an oily base & the dawn cuts it along with the peroxide to bubble it up a bit more. The bad thing is if they try & like themselves clean (my dog) their breath will take yours away.

The following is a recipe for a mixture that is amazing at removing skunk smell. The important thing is to use it BEFORE washing the dog with shampoo, tomato juice or even plain water, these tend to "set" the skunk smell on the dog and make it more difficult to remove.
You need:
• 1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
Depending on the size of the dog, you may need to double or even quadruple this recipe. Mix everything together in a large bottle or small pail then apply to the dog, massaging it in well and making sure to get it right down to the skin. Let it sit for about 10 minutes then rinse thoroughly. You may still detect a slight skunk odor while the dog is wet but it should smell MUCH better once dry!
If there is any left-over solution, just pour it down the drain as the reaction between the peroxide and baking soda does not last very long.
Whatever you do, do not try to bottle it and save it for next time, the chemical reaction that occurs can cause the container to explode!

Note: I sometimes add water for more volume... I keep peroxide on hand, but I don't keep 6 quarts of it!

Thanks guys,
Cracker

I guess my adventures in fur trapping during my miss-spent youth partially immunized me to skunk smell. The full strength spray is a bit overpowering for a while but after it mellows a bit I don’t find it anymore offensive than one of the old ladies farts. That said, the dog would be staying outside for a few days.

SMITTY wrote:Rust in the eyes - even WITH safety glasses .... busting studs, rusted bolts ... a typical wheeled toilet.

Thanks for the memories. or maybe I mean nightmares.

Got another one I just towed up from out back. '85 Chevy 3/4 ton 6.2 diesel. Off to a great start - after throwing the charger on the batteries for a bit, and cranking it over ONCE, now everything's dead. Batteries fully charged, connections are tight, fuses good and nothing out of the ordinary with the wiring. Here we go!!!!

SMITTY wrote:Got another one I just towed up from out back. '85 Chevy 3/4 ton 6.2 diesel. Off to a great start - after throwing the charger on the batteries for a bit, and cranking it over ONCE, now everything's dead. Batteries fully charged, connections are tight, fuses good and nothing out of the ordinary with the wiring. Here we go!!!!

Smitty, because you have the talent and probably as a matter of pride, you take on these train wrecks while others of lesser talent stick to the easy jobs and probably make more money. You have to leave some of these estimates open ended to allow for the usual problems with old and neglected vehicles. If that loses work, so be it. With all the years of work and knowledge gained plus your enthusiasm to tackle anything I just hate to see you still rolling around in the dirt and beating up your body so. you deserve a lot better.

Slow-blow fusible Link!
Or something else

SMITTY wrote:Got another one I just towed up from out back. '85 Chevy 3/4 ton 6.2 diesel. Off to a great start - after throwing the charger on the batteries for a bit, and cranking it over ONCE, now everything's dead. Batteries fully charged, connections are tight, fuses good and nothing out of the ordinary with the wiring. Here we go!!!!

YEP, my plow truck blew a fusible that ran the injectors--took 3 mos. to figure out that lil bitch:( Of course it had been rewired poorly so I had little to go on--just started playin w/ the old test light & finally found it on the firewall--plenty comin in, NOTHIN comin out---snipped, stripped, twisted---walla--put in a visible fuse:)

Smitty,O' Master Of The Wheeled Toilet,I'll be PM'ng You with some hopefully Helpful Info. What In God's Name Posessed You to take on this "War Wagon"? Please tell me that someone gave it to you...

This is another good friend's truck. I wouldn't torture myself like this for just anyone ...

Yeah, I was leanin' toward the fusible link - I was cranking it for much longer than I should have been. When I tried again a few minutes later, I had no buzzer, dash lights, radio or headlights - everything's dead. Double checked battery voltage & re-tightened both batteries connections - nada. I'll be getting to that eventually ...

Just ordered an entire injection spider for my other buddy's Tahoe - I want that shitbox GONE!! This had better fix the issue ... was almost $400!!

For now I've got a '00 or so Chevy 1500 with a dead bolt for a door latch! They won't give him a sticker for that ... Only in MA!

After months of gathering parts and a few specialty tools and lots of procrastinating today was the day I decided to do my two front wheel bearings and axle seal. This should have been a job for SMITTY. Before I started the job my biggest concern was that the ball joints may be a problem on the left side because the axle seal had to be replaced. In the end it was the bearings themselves that were the pain in the ass. Everything came apart with relative ease but both knuckles had to be removed so I could take then to a friend’s place where we had to use a press to remove the hub assemblies. They were corroded as if they were welded in there. I checked to see if new ones were still available and they are for about $150 each, I just wanted to be sure if we broke them I wasn’t up the creek. The hubs eventually yielded way with a bang and the new ones get anti-seize in the knuckle bore. With a little luck this is one job I won’t have to revisit. SMITTY; I may not feel your pain but I know what you have to deal with, sometimes.