This is how I spent most of the day...
...under the lawn mower with dirt and old, dry grass clippings falling into my face and making my eyes water. I looked something like a light colored coal miner when I came in.
But...to start at the beginning of the day and the hydrolic part of the post title. I "fixed" the hydrolic lift in the wheel chair van. Mom called me out to see what I could do since I am rather mechanical and more than that, I enjoy it. The lift had come down, but it wouldn't go up all the way. I used the manual hand lever to lift it up and then let it down--and then it wouldn't even work manually. (Turns out that was because I had to tighten the manual release back up...I learned something new today!) I was on and off the phone with Daddy and ran back and forth between various tool boxes a couple of times. I ended up digging Grandpa's tool boxes out from under the RV in search of a socket wrench. I did find one...eventually. I also had a little conflicting advice from two good mechanics (Grandpa was sitting out in the doorway of the barn the whole time)...but that got resolved.
Anyway, I took the cover off the hydrolic lift's motor area and looked and stared and poked and prodded and talked to Daddy (over the phone mechanics again, you know). I put some more hydrolic fluid in (it was an inch below the "full" line), and then tried the lift. Nothing. It was somewhere in here that Daddy asked if I had tightened up the release valve and I went "Huh? I was supposed to?"
Once I did that, it worked fine--and apparently, there was no more problem with it.
After Mom and Katherine left with Grandpa (he had a blood draw today), I went to work removing the deck from the mower. It took me an hour, though it felt more like two. I ended up taking something off that I didn't need to which rather bugged me, but oh well.
Once I got the deck off, I put the mower up on the ramps. It took a while in the damp grass to get it up there because my feet were slipping. I did eventually get it up, only the first time I got it all the way up the ramps I was pushing too hard and it went right on over! The second time it stayed.
I don't know if it is just me or what, but this machine appears to be slightly over-engineered...though I don't know exactly how I would simplify it. Anyway, I spent another hour under the mower before lunch and then between two and five under and around the mower in various attitudes. I never did succeed in getting the V-belt off either. I loosened the plate that the front wheel drive is attatched to (I was going to take it all the way down, but that never did quite happen), and pulled and pushed and grunted and groaned and simply could not get the belt off! The drive belt at the back (there are two of them--the 'intermeditate' belt that the accelerator works which starts the actual drive belt [a shorter belt]) has to be taken off before you can actually take off the belt that needs to be replaced. I couldn't get that one off either. Plain and simple, I am not strong enough. I can see exactly what needs to be done, but I can't do it!
On here is sounds so...weird. How did I spend all that time on the mower? I guess it was because I was figuring out how the thing is put together at the same time that I taking it apart. I ended up putting the tools away, but leaving the parts on the mower (still on the ramps) in front of the old garage. I'm slightly bummed that I couldn't get the thing fixed today.
However, on a cheerier (or at least more amusing) note, was this:,
But...to start at the beginning of the day and the hydrolic part of the post title. I "fixed" the hydrolic lift in the wheel chair van. Mom called me out to see what I could do since I am rather mechanical and more than that, I enjoy it. The lift had come down, but it wouldn't go up all the way. I used the manual hand lever to lift it up and then let it down--and then it wouldn't even work manually. (Turns out that was because I had to tighten the manual release back up...I learned something new today!) I was on and off the phone with Daddy and ran back and forth between various tool boxes a couple of times. I ended up digging Grandpa's tool boxes out from under the RV in search of a socket wrench. I did find one...eventually. I also had a little conflicting advice from two good mechanics (Grandpa was sitting out in the doorway of the barn the whole time)...but that got resolved.
Anyway, I took the cover off the hydrolic lift's motor area and looked and stared and poked and prodded and talked to Daddy (over the phone mechanics again, you know). I put some more hydrolic fluid in (it was an inch below the "full" line), and then tried the lift. Nothing. It was somewhere in here that Daddy asked if I had tightened up the release valve and I went "Huh? I was supposed to?"
Once I did that, it worked fine--and apparently, there was no more problem with it.
After Mom and Katherine left with Grandpa (he had a blood draw today), I went to work removing the deck from the mower. It took me an hour, though it felt more like two. I ended up taking something off that I didn't need to which rather bugged me, but oh well.
Once I got the deck off, I put the mower up on the ramps. It took a while in the damp grass to get it up there because my feet were slipping. I did eventually get it up, only the first time I got it all the way up the ramps I was pushing too hard and it went right on over! The second time it stayed.
I don't know if it is just me or what, but this machine appears to be slightly over-engineered...though I don't know exactly how I would simplify it. Anyway, I spent another hour under the mower before lunch and then between two and five under and around the mower in various attitudes. I never did succeed in getting the V-belt off either. I loosened the plate that the front wheel drive is attatched to (I was going to take it all the way down, but that never did quite happen), and pulled and pushed and grunted and groaned and simply could not get the belt off! The drive belt at the back (there are two of them--the 'intermeditate' belt that the accelerator works which starts the actual drive belt [a shorter belt]) has to be taken off before you can actually take off the belt that needs to be replaced. I couldn't get that one off either. Plain and simple, I am not strong enough. I can see exactly what needs to be done, but I can't do it!
On here is sounds so...weird. How did I spend all that time on the mower? I guess it was because I was figuring out how the thing is put together at the same time that I taking it apart. I ended up putting the tools away, but leaving the parts on the mower (still on the ramps) in front of the old garage. I'm slightly bummed that I couldn't get the thing fixed today.
However, on a cheerier (or at least more amusing) note, was this:,
For those of you who've seen pictures of my grimy hands before (how'd you like Daddy's dog-bone wrench??), you'll notice something odd about my nails...
That's right--they are painted. Katherine has discovered some non-toxic nail polish and last night she painted all our nails for us.
So there I was, with the first paint job I've had on my nails in three years (and last time was to cover stains when I went to play a gig--more to please others than myself), getting grease and grim all over me. I just thought it might make someone else besides myself grin... :)
And just because...
So there I was, with the first paint job I've had on my nails in three years (and last time was to cover stains when I went to play a gig--more to please others than myself), getting grease and grim all over me. I just thought it might make someone else besides myself grin... :)
And just because...
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I don't have one of Katherine, because she was the one taking pictures! (That is Abby behind me...she's a nutty little cat. :D)
Racheal
P.S. I forgot to mention that Katherine came out and helped a little bit a couple of times. She did some tool running and later tried to help me get the short v-belt off.
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