How do you lift a Ducati Monster?

Ducati Monsters can't be lifted from the bottom w. a jack or you'll crush the exhaust and oil filter. You have to pick them up by a strap connected to the rear subframe and the front tripple clamp.

1957 Performer Havoc speed boat restoration transom and floor

This is old boat I bought w. my brother Ben for $600 we put in about $900 or so into materials and weeks of labor. When I found it in the classifieds it looked a lot better and I had no idea it had a completely rotten floor and transom. It's been quite a project, but it sure turns heads at the lake and is a lot of fun now. There are only three of these out there to my knowledge. Theres one in Las Vegas NV that is stripped and dry docked, mine, and one fully restored in England http://www.mydadstoys.co.uk/Cars/Performer.htm Ours is the only one of it's color scheme. I also installed in it an ahw- oooo- gah horn I had from a 1912 Dodge to add to the classic nature and character of the boat. The gas tank had to be fiberglassed inside and out. We also created a sight window to view the fuel level from the outside. I didn't get pictures, (didn't want resin all over my camera and then was too pooped to photo) but this project entailed a tremendous amount of fiberglass on the ribs, runners, transom, floor and bow. The entire floor and transom had to be fiberglassed in.

2004 Suzuki Forenza check engine light code P0342

This car had the symptoms of an intermittent check engine light illumination. I was also hard to start in the morning. Fuel economy was decreased and it had a rough idle. I hooked it up to a CAN (computer area network- 0r network of computers) compatible scanner and got code P0342. This indicates low imput from the camshaft position sensor. I did a little checking to verify this and went to work replacing the faulty sensor. I found that AutoZone had it available to order three days out, no one else had it either and they wanted almost $90 for it. The local dealer had it in stock for about $45. The new sensor is slightly different than the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). This is likely to be that the new one is updated and therefore less likely to fail. The car only had 45,000 miles on it and Suzuki wouldn't cover it under the valid power train warranty.
Here's how to replace the cam sensor. To replace the sensor you remove the top engine cover by two allen screws on top. Next remove the air filter box. After that raise or otherwise support the engine slightly to take the weight off the passenger side engine mount. Now remove the fasteners from the top of the mount. The mount may be siezed and require an orange rubber mallet. = P Now you can access the M6 10mm head bolt that secures the timing cover in place. Take it and the plate out. Now you have access to the sensor. Note the whole timing cover doesn't need to be removed. Inside you'll see the bottom brassy metal half of the sensor. There's a special "E" socket required to remove the bolt on the sensor. I say "E" because that's what the sockets say like "E8" it's basically a female torx bit. Torx are like "T55" etc. You can buy a set at your local auto parts house. They look like a star as apposed to a hexagon. BE CAREFUL! While you remove the bolt have a magnet wand right there to catch it. If you don't you could drop it into the timing cover to eat your timing belt. No big deal, just hours of extra labor you don't have to do. (Suzuki engineers actually designed similar traps featured in the Indiana Jones movies = ) Just kidding) OK now you can pull out the sensor from the top and unplug it! You now just need to wiggle the new one in and Indiana Jones that Freaky Deaky "E" bolt back into it. Good luck!

1996 626 oil leak cam seal

This one is a 1996 Mazda 626. It has the 2.5 liter V6 that is also used in the Mazda Millenia and the Ford probe. The complaint was a severe oil leak. I traced the leak from dripping off the oil pan to the inside top of the timing cover. It appeared to be coming from a rubber plug, but turned out to be a bad cam seal on the front bank. The seal was burned out to just a metal shell. The cam oil journal had become clogged due to infrequent oil changes. The customer understandably thought that because other leaks required topping off the oil frequently that that was like a virtual oil change. I don't blame him at all. The trouble is that the filter isn't ever changed either and so the crud accumulates in bad places in the motor. Without lube the cam became red hot and melted the seal as well as severly scoring the cam and the cylinder head. The correct action is a $1500+ replacement of the head and cam. I told the customer I might save the both by clearing the oil journal and cleaning it up and installing a new seal all for $250 with no guarantee. That was several months ago and it's still doing just fine- not leaking at all.
= ) This customer was a gambling man and won!

Yukon front pump seal

This is a 2006 GMC Yukon Denali with a 6.0 liter (37K miles) The front transmission pump seal was a leak'n tranny fluid out the bottom of the bell housing. (Top-This is a view of the front pump and seal with the torque converter slipped out.) Note the depth of the torque converted with reference to the bell housing before removing it. It will install with three clicks and thus three depth increments. The final click is the two notches you see in the torque converter sleeve. You'll have to rotate it 1/4 turn back and forth to get it to seat properly. (second from top) The seal is secured with a retainer clip. remove it as shown by twisting a small flat head screw driver CC (counter clockwise). This prevents distortion to the front of the retainer. (third from top) Use a seal puller to remove the seal. Be careful to contact only the seal with the puller. It's like playing "hot lava" as a kid or Operation but with the intention of not scratching anything and creating a new leak. (fouth from top) Use loctite or gasket maker VERY thin around the outer sealing corner of the seal. (ort! ort!) This is cheap insurance against Murphy's law. (bottom) Use a mason jar to start the seal evenly. This allows you to see all around that you're even and they fit the groove perfectly. Use a leather glove on your right hand and bop the jar squarely to get a nice even seat. I've never broken a jar doing this. That's because I make sure everything is perfectly square. You can stand on a jar even if you're 250lbs as long as you're squared getting on and off. So after it's started on there press on one side with your thumb about 15-20 pounds worth and hit the other side with a ball pin hammer. then go around the seal in a circle lightly tapping it in. You know like Happy Gilmore tap tap tap-a-roo! Then you press the retainer back on using your thumbs on opposite sides. New seals from the dealer have some bearing grease in the valley of the rubber seal. Ones in a tranny kit don't. I recommend using a little on the seal or torque converter sleeve to help with install and break in. You know, it's a Murphy's Law kind of thing.