Mr. Overthinker, that's me

Got the manifold stud drilled out, the harmonic balancer pulley off (the original one has this rubber isolating band that slips and squeaks when cold and is prone to catastrophic failure) and the head nice and clean. Just need to figure out if i can get the threads chased or if i just need to drill it and bolt it up. I didn't get very far yesterday but just getting to where i did worked well enough.

But after watching Serena's unraveling i tried to sleep. But i was awake for over an hour sorting through just how i was going to get everything done. Sorting in my head and not making much sense of it.

Among the things rolling around were, needing to get a metric tap set (Harbor Freight - out of the way or Autozone Great Neck) and when, get it in the morning and take the girls over to the car and try tapping it out before having to get to an audition, that's a bunch of extra driving around with them... and then when would the shopping happen. Got to factor that in for the day. It would be nice if the car was right outside my door. But no, it isn't and that adds a whole layer of complexity. That and single car getting here and there. Heck I've worked on the cars out there for a while but always managed to get them apart and back together in a day. Oh well, now after this I will have a tap set to go with the rest of the tools acquired from "oh shit now how to fix THIS problem" situations. So getting it tapped was rolling around, then what. Well when it is tapped or can't be tapped, it is time to get the special bolts. And either a stud or something else. But then since it is all apart might as well do the timing belt. I wasn't going to, but having it all off, even though it isn't in bad shape might as well change it now so i can ignore it for the next 60k miles. And the tensioner has a bit of it busted off (where the two prongs go in), should probably just put a new one in.

Okay so i can go pick up the parts but I couldn't do that till tuesday. But if i order it monday it would get here tuesday afternoon. So might as well wait to do it. But then the whole complexity comes in... there is dance practice tuesday night, ballet on wed. Not to mention the smack down, but man that's the first on the chopping block. Training? yeah right. When? Well on the one side this is a rest week (working backwards a bit from the middle of Dec). The girls have a half day on wed and the dog has her annual vet check up that i'm taking her to.

Some how I managed to fall asleep, fitful strange dream filled sleep. Waking up starting to make some french toast it fell into place. A little. At least the immediate future. First order - take a break, then get the bike ready. Might as well get it ready to race as soon as possible in case an opportunity to ride presents it self, and then I won't be trying to fit that in during the week before friday.

Just want to get it back together. Which shouldn't be too bad. Then a flush of the coolant... a couple flushes maybe if time, an oil change (before starting but after bolting it back together). And hopefully a car that works better than it did when it came apart. At least a car that will get me through the next couple weeks of cross season...

But the best part about these trials and adventures in taking shit apart. You learn more than you expect. And well, at this rate I will still have black grease around my nails for the Waterville race (NH - 19th - be there).

I just remembered I was thinking about the cat. It's blocked. Needs to be remedied. Almost thinking about a place in VT where there is reportedly a welder sitting in a garage, roll it up on ramps, sawzall the cat off and weld a bit of pipe in there... but then there isn't that kind of time on a race weekend usually. And don't worry - it is a diesel, the cat does very little, esp since i'm buring waste veggie oil turned into biodiesel (oil used once to make people fat, then energy efficiently turned into fuel, as carbon neutral conventional fuel supply compatible source as possible).

I didn't over think working on it - that was nice, just turned the brain off and took stuff off, one thing at a time, problem solved really without thinking. Now, damn, I'm thinking!

Time to go measure a chain, swap a chainring, adjust some ders and re tape bars...

heddwch
G

One thing at a time



oops - i didn't segregate the tools - chain and cassette tools and pretty much most of my 5mm wrenches are with the car... and i don't feel like working on the bike with a multi-tool.

Guess that will have to wait.