Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
How the universe says, "Screw you, hippie!"
I decided, given an unexpectedly free evening, that it would be a good night to go to the range. Given that it's somewhere below 30 degrees outside, the truck was the logical vehicle to take for this venture.
I loaded up, put the thing in gear, released the clutch, and... it wouldn't move. Finally I coaxed it forward, but something was clearly Wrong. I took a very low-speed stroll around the neighborhood, figuring maybe it was some ancient grease that needed to warm up a bit or something. Half a mile later, I stopped, and checked the brakes, to see if one of them was sticking. Sure enough, I nearly burned my fingers on the left rear brake.
Ok, so that brake drum is sticking. Crap. I definitely couldn't drive any distance with things in this condition. I also know I'm going to need the truck later this week, and so I decided to sit down and see if I could resolve the problem. I always enjoy problems that might be solveable with a Big Hammer.
Fortunately, Ford designed their rear brake drums the right way around, and once you get the wheel off, the drum just pulls off. Well, that's what it's supposed to do, but that doesn't work out so well when there's a brake shoe pressed hard against it. Out came the little hammer, and I slowly worked the drum off the axle.
There was nothing obviously wrong, and a bunch of fiddling finally allowed me to discover an adjuster wheel. I turned it in the "less" direction, and amazingly, the brake drum slid back on beautifully. A few test adjustments and fittings, and it appeared that I was good to go. Back on went the wheel, and I tried again.
After a few initial twangings and pingings, like the sound of a wooden ship under moderate winds, it seemed... No, it was stuck again. The drag came right back. Crap! So I pulled back into my driveway, and set the parking brake. More twangs, pings, creaks and ratchet noises occurred. Thoughtfully, I pulled out again, and tried my luck once more. Much to my surprise, the dragging rear brake had stopped dragging, and all seemed to be fine.
I glanced at the clock: 8 pm. I'd started this whole escapade at 7. There was still time to go, but it would be a brief session. I did another circuit of the neighborhood, just in case, and carefully checked for dragging brakes. All seemed to be good, so I finally pushed onward.
I made my way toward the freeway, stopping once to confirm that the left rear brake wasn't heating up -- all good.
Then, as I was about to get on the freeway, I noticed that my dash lights seemed a little weak. In fact, yeah, the voltage gauge was looking pretty limp. Double crap! I turned around and came back. The alternative, of getting somewhere between here and Bellevue, or worse, between Bellevue and here, with descending temperatures destined for the teens, and a truck that wouldn't run because the battery had crapped out, seemed too stupid to contemplate. Clearly the battery was struggling, and possibly the alternator wasn't up to the task. I'd rather find that out sitting in my driveway than somewhere on a cold, bleak freeway.
So, back I drove, noticing the voltage gauge get a little bit lower as the trip progressed (all 5 miles of it). Sure enough, the voltmeter revealed just under 12V at the battery terminals (it should be 12.8 or higher, particularly just after driving like that -- under 12 is kind of a death sentence for a car battery in that point in time).
It's comforting to think that at least the bicycle won't suffer from being too cold.
Posted at 20:45 permanent link category: /misc
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater