http://fromthescratch.com Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:20:50 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/General-Automotive/Troubleshooting-massive-oil-leak.html Problem: My car is leaking oil from every opening! Solution Difficulty: Moderate Volkswagens are notorious for consuming oil over the span of a regular oil change. I've talked with many VW owners who have to periodically add oil just to get by for 3000 miles. Rumor has it that the rate of oil consumption is related to the break in period of the new engine and if it is done "incorrectly" will result in an oil burning motor for the remainder of it's service life. Minor oil consumption is not a bad thing as long as there is no carbonization in the engine. However if you find that your car is consuming more than a quart per 3000 miles and there is no noticeable smoke from the tailpipe then you may have an oil leak. The problem is often masked by the noise insulation beneath the car as it tends to catch small droplets before they can accumulate on the concrete. Typically you will first notice an oil leak either by visually seeing the oil or more frequently smelling a slight burning smell. Depending on location and heat of the component this smell can range anywhere from burning plastic to a slight petroleum stench. Regardless of the smell an oil leak is often a warning sign of other trouble. In the Garage - Engine and Mechanical Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:24:48 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/General-Automotive/Timing-Belt-Replacement.html Problem: Car hits 100,000 miles. Now what? Solution Difficulty: Very Difficult There are several major maintenance procedures that most cars require in their lifetime. At the forefront of this list would be inspection /changing of the timing belt or chain. Typically it's recommended that you begin checking the belt or chain and accompanying pulleys and gear on a regular basis after your car hits 75,000 miles. The importance of checking and replacing your timing system cannot be understated. If the engine timing fails it can lead to serious damage of your engine. Likewise, improperly changing the timing system can also damage your engine. This operation is recommended for experience shade tree mechanics with the proper tools and factory service repair information. When in doubt visit your local car care professional. I've conducted several timing belt changes over the years. Below you'll find a link to two different changes that I've made. The first was done several years go to a '99 VW New Beetle which has a transverse mounted four cylinder engine in which the timing belt accessed via the passenger side of the car. The second procedure was conducted more on a 99 VW Passat in which the timing belt for the longitudinally mounted engine is accessed from the front of the car. VW New Beetle timing belt change (http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/Engine-and-Mechanical/Timing-Belt-Replacement-New-Beetle.html) VW Passat timing belt change (http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/Engine-and-Mechanical/Timing-Belt-Replacement-Passat.html) This article contributed by ERSWeb Read more by this author at http://ElectronicRealitySolutions.com (http://ElectronicRealitySolutions.com) In the Garage - General Automotive Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/Engine-and-Mechanical/Timing-Belt-Replacement-Passat.html Problem: Car hits 100,000 miles. Now what? Solution Difficulty: Difficult More information to be posted shortly. Read more to see the pictures. In the Garage - Engine and Mechanical Mon, 05 Feb 2007 20:17:09 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/Around-the-House/General-Household/Changing-air-conditioner-filter.html Problem: My air conditioner is not moving much air. Or I have indoor alergies. Solution Difficulty: Easy An often-overlooked piece of home maintenance that can make a vast improvement in both the cooling of your home and the alleviation of indoor allergies is one of the quickest and simplest fixes. Experts suggest that you change your heating & air filter at least every three months. Products vary in cost and filtering capability so it's important to know what type of filter you need in addition to its size. Around the House - General Household Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Kitchen/General-Kitchen/Tomato-Sauce-From-Scratch.html Problem: I have a bunch of garden fresh tomatoes Solution Difficulty: Easy When most people hear someone say "from the scratch" the first thing they think of is food. We are no different and it's with great pleasure that I share the following article with our visitors. Several years ago it occurred to us that tomato sauce, though useful in many dishes, is also fairly expensive. After doing the math and several taste tests we determined that typically most of what you pay for is the packaging and branding, not the actual ingredients. So we set out on a journey to learn to make sauce the old fashioned way. Since none of us have any Italian grandmas we instead drew upon the collective knowledge of several cookbooks, our own taste buds, and a few Olive Garden commercials. The following is by no means the only way to make sauce, and we are by no means an authority on the subject. Hopefully this article will give you a few starting points so you can begin on your own "journey" of making the sauce. The most important ingredient in tomato sauce is tomatoes. Though it may seem obvious, the importance of this ingredient can not be overstated. While you may be able to survive with dried herbs instead of fresh, the quality of your tomatoes will largely determine the palatability of your sauce. This being the case you have two options. In the Kitchen - General Kitchen Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/High-Tech/General-High-Tech/Building-a-cantenna.html Problem: I'd like to extend the range at which I can use my wireless router Solution Difficulty: Moderate If your not the type to play around with computer with computer hardware you may be wondering what a cantenna is. Simply put it's a form of wave-guide antenna that focuses a radio signal and extends the range at which you can receive it. The science behind it is fairly simple but I will spare you the lecture and will proceed to the project. So why do you build a cantenna? For starters it's a great way to track down rogue wireless access points within a building. Because of the direction nature of the cantenna, you can easily figure out which way the signal is coming from and by using the overall signal strength, track it down. Another nifty advantage is that you can set up a peer-to-peer connection between two wireless computers over a much further distance. And last of course, is that you can easily poach wireless connectivity off anyone in the vicinity. High Tech - General High Tech Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/Emissions-ODBII/Mass-Air-Flow-Sensor-Replacement.html Problem: Check Engine Light is on. Scan reveals codes: P0172 - Fuel Trim; Bank 1: System Too Rich P1128 - Fuel Trim; Bank 1 (Mult): System too Lean (Intermittent) Solution Difficulty: Moderate Mass Air Flow or MAF sensors can cause lots of problems on most new cars, but they can usually be fixed by replacing the sensor. This can sometimes be a simple fix, but other times it can require removing parts of the air intake. Since many new cars are rather crowded under the hood, you may want to consult a Haynes or Factory Service Repair Manual before trying this. They can often be full of helpful hints for routine service like this. We scanned our car, a 1999 VW New Beetle for codes and found that we had two. One was an active fault code P0172 - Fuel Trim; Bank 1: System Too Rich, and another pending code P1128 - Fuel Trim; Bank 1 (Mult): System too Lean (Intermittent). After trying a few of the procedures in our Bentley Service Repair Manual and doing a little research over at NewBeetle.Org (http://www.newbeetle.org) we determined that we'd need to replace the MAF, or Mass Air Flow sensor in order to clear the code. In the Garage - Emissions ODBII Thu, 23 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/High-Tech/General-High-Tech/Custom-game-controller-desk-mod.html Problem: Can't clamp my Logitech Momo steering wheel on to my desk Solution Difficulty: Straight forward This problem frequently happens when the dimensions of the edge or molding of a desk is too wide to accommodate the clamping mechanism steering controller. Ideally you want a sturdy and stable horizontal surface on which to mount the controller. In this article we construct a removable mount for the steering wheel using basic parts from your local hardware store. High Tech - General High Tech Sun, 08 Jan 2006 22:34:44 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/Around-the-House/General-Household/Levolor-Blind-Mod.html Problem: I recently purchased a set of Levolor blinds, only to find out that one of them is too large for the window. First, how can this happen and second what can I do about it? Solution Difficulty: Straight forward Measuring for blinds can be a pain. Many places will send a contractor out to measure the windows. However if you're a do-it-yourselfer and measured them yourself you may have signed your rights away if the blind didn't fit. Typically the store won't take the item back, and you're out of luck if you want the manufacturer to modify the blind. In most cases the store will recommend you purchase a new blind. But hold on a minute, if your blind is very close to fitting why couldn't you trim it down? You can. Believe it or not, some window frames are not symmetrical. The measurement you originally took may have been at one edge of the window frame, but for some reason the other edge isn't exactly the same width. If you come out a little on the narrow side you should be OK, but if you happened to measure a little too wide you could be stuck with a ¼" - ½" overlap. To fix this problem you'll want to trim the blind down by taking half that overlap off each side. In other words if your ½" too wide you'll want to trim ¼" off either end. I don't recommend trimming more than this since you'll run into problems with the blind hardware. Around the House - General Household Thu, 01 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/Engine-and-Mechanical/Timing-Belt-Replacement-New-Beetle.html Problem: Car hits 100,000 miles. Now what? Solution Difficulty: Very Difficult There are several major maintenance procedures that most cars require in their lifetime. At the forefront of this list would be inspection /changing of the timing belt or chain. Typically it's recommended that you begin checking the belt or chain and accompanying pulleys and gear on a regular basis after your car hits 75,000 miles. The importance of checking and replacing your timing system can not be understated. If the engine timing fails it can lead to serious damage of your engine. Likewise, improperly changing the timing system can also damage your engine. This operation is recommended for experience shade tree mechanics with the proper tools and factory service repair information. When in doubt visit your local car care professional. In the Garage - Engine and Mechanical Sat, 15 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/General-Automotive/CV-Joint-Boot-Replacement.html Problem: Oily smell, greasy wheel hub and rim Solution Difficulty: Difficult It had been a while since I'd had any trouble out of my Passat. Then a few months went by and I began to notice a distinct oily smell from the car. I would only catch a whiff of it every now and then so I figured it wasn't a serious oil leak. Just incase I kept and eye on the level of engine oil so I could avoid any serious damage. The oily smell continued for a while and then one day when I had the car in the shop to change the oil I made a discovery. While checking the brake pad thickness on my driver's side I noticed that the inside of the wheel hub was incredibly dirty. In fact it was all greasy, more so than if I'd just splashed some gunk up from the road. So I removed the tire and took a look around. To my surprise I found wads of grease everywhere. On the wheel well, on the spindle and all over the brake caliper. In the Garage - General Automotive Sun, 10 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/General-Automotive/Volkswagen-Passat-Cruise-Control.html Problem: Cruise control stopped working suddenly, and failed to work afterwards Solution Difficulty: Moderate Few things are more annoying that losing your cruise control. I was on my way back from Wilmington, NC with the cruise set, when all of a sudden, it just dropped out and my car began decelerating rapidly. I fiddled with the system, but to no avail. The system was down. I went on the Internet and found very little information about this problem. However, after a few months I decided to investigate further. So I cracked open my Bentley manual (CD actually), and started doing diagnostics. In the Garage - General Automotive Sun, 31 Oct 2004 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/In-the-Garage/Emissions-ODBII/Secondary-Air-Injection-System.html The following is an article I wrote a few years ago about an error code I had on my 1999 Volkswagen Passat. While much of the information is model specific, it's my hope that this information well better inform you of what is likely the problem on your car. Secondary air systems are common on most new cars, and are related to the emissions system. So when there is a problem it's likely that your check engine light will turn on. It could be that a pump or valve is bad on your car, but more than likely it's just a loose vacuum hose. You'll want to check these if you can before you take it to a mechanic. Problem: Check Engine Light is on. Scan reveals codes: VAG Code P0411 - Secondary Air Injection System: Incorrect Flow Detected Solution Difficulty: Moderate In the Garage - Emissions ODBII Sun, 07 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/Around-the-House/General-Household/Building-a-Doghouse---Phase-3.html Today is the Big Day!! The doghouse is almost finished, and soon Mackenzie will be moving into her new home. But before we can start the move in, we will need to finish roofing the house. For this we will use Certinteed Timberline (http://www.certainteed.com/) shingles. Around the House - General Household Sun, 02 Feb 2003 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/Around-the-House/General-Household/Building-a-Doghouse---Phase-2.html When we last left our project, Backpacker and RAX had completed the preliminary construction of the doghouse. The next task is to attach the vinyl siding, which will help keep moisture out as well as add R-Value (http://coloradoenergy.org/procorner/stuff/r-values.htm) to the house. For this project we are using Ashland-Davis Vinyl Siding (http://www.ashland-davis.com/cside/csvs00003fu.html) in a cedar color. Around the House - General Household Sat, 11 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0100 http://fromthescratch.com/Around-the-House/General-Household/Doghouse-Phase-1.html Problem: My dog needs a new house Few things in this world come close to the feel you get from a job well done. That's why when we noticed that state of disrepair of our doghouse; we decided to undertake our own Do It Yourself project. Granted, we could go to Wal-Mart and buy a doghouse (http://www.petsmart.com/dog/shopping/houses___kennels/wooden_houses/psearch.shtml)(or Dogloo (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=729)), but we figured we'd have more fun (and Mackenzie would be happier) with her own Dog Mansion. (http://www.tennessean.com/features/home/archives/02/07/20302529.shtml) Around the House - General Household Sat, 28 Sep 2002 00:00:00 +0100