What have you done to your rig today?

[AlpineAccess]

And on that note if anyone needs some wiring stuff but doesn't want to get all set up for the job feel free to hit me up. Provide the proper guage wire and beer or whiskey (a cigar would also substitute) and head down to Littleton and I'll be happy to help.

There are also low temp solder heat shrink butt connectors which work with a heat gun and/or lighter if you want to avoid having to bust all your gear out too. They work really well depending on the job!

 

[Rzeppa]

The original clutch slave cylinder (1969) finally gave out with the last super cold night so I got it gravity bled and managed to move it to from behind the shop and out of the snow so I can get the new one in before more winter hits. You'd think Toyota OEM parts would last a little longer..........

View attachment 109639

Is the wire mesh over the air intake to keep the mice out?

 

[BritKLR]

Is the wire mesh over the air intake to keep the mice out?

10-4.....They love building condos in there with the paper element!

 

[rushthezeppelin]

You put the heat on the work, whether it’s a fine pitch chip or a huge wire and bring everything to temperature then melt solder into it. If you can’t get the solder to flow then you need a larger soldering iron. That could be watts or mass, eg a heavier tip. You are 100% right about it being thermodynamics of heat transfer.

What you got I’d guess is a small tip 25w, suitable for electronics. The flip side of too little heat is too much. That little pencil iron is intended *not* to overheat small electronic stuff. I’d use a 50 or 75 watt for that ga wire. I also have a 100 and 200 watt monster for leaded glass. For very large wire you might even use a gas torch to get the heat. Do this stuff long enough you end up with a few different ones for different jobs, like anything. I really like my bench Hakko but it’s not much use in the field. I usually use a butane fueled one working in the truck.

When you just melt the solder like that you run the risk of what’s know as a cold solder joint. That’s where the solder didn’t stick to the conductor, literally because it wasn’t hot enough. It’s one if the first things you’re taught in soldering class.

There’s a lot of information on Youtoob but it’s not always right. But it sounds like in the case of the videos you watched it was. What you did I’d wager is what 100% of new soldering people do. We ALL made this mistake. And manufacturers aren’t immune to it. Bad solder joints even occur (rarely) at NASA-level once in a while. But a touch up isn’t unheard of.

Ah. That makes sense. I bought a 30w with a fairly small tip but not the smallest. It was the most powerful one they had at microcenter. I did hear the advice about cold solder joints and was trying to make sure I was reflowing it deeper into the joint. It does make sense though that even if I got the solder up to temp to melt but don't get the wire up to temp it can affect the bond.

 

[Rzeppa]

The term "cold solder joint" has nothing to do with the temperature or heat. It has to do with the parts being moved while the solder is phase changing from liquid to solid. It is easy to spot: a solder joint that is done well stays shiny if the parts aren't moved during the phase change. A "cold solder joint" looks ashen and grainy if it has been moved during that phase change. I could go on and on; I spent decades in the electronic device manufacturing industry, in areas of production, R&D, and quality assurance. Cold solder joints are bad juju, but again, they have nothing to do with temperature or heat. I have no idea where the term came from, but it is certainly misleading to novices.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Good to know, my joints did look nice and shiny.

 

[Rzeppa]

So my 1971 FJ40 seemed to be getting louder and louder. It sounded like an exhaust leak under the hood. I spent en evening under the hood tightening up manifold nuts and it didn't seem to help. Several evening later I had the bright idea to peek underneath. Um, yeah. That could explain it!

Tried Stevinson and couldn't get through to anyone at the retail parts counter who could help. I ended up getting this kit from $OR, which included the tailpipe and all hangers and clamps:

All better now!

In all fairness to Stevinson, Derek did return my voice message the next day, and he had the Toyota part number and offered to order it in from Kansas City, but I had already ordered the kit from $OR,. I returned his voice message with another voice message thanking him for getting back with me. End of the day, I got a new muffler on my '71. That last one only lasted 22 years since the last time I replaced it. Dang!

 

[BritKLR]

Replaced three hoses, six clamps and a clutch slave cylinder and only needed a 12mm, 14mm, 17mm and 1/4" drive.....gotta love the old rigs!

You know that old saying of "if it an't broke, don't fix it"? Well, I took the Pig up to get gas and check for leaks and noticed a little stumble in the idle and at low speed. So, I got back home and cleaned the carb and checked the cap, rotor and points. Noticed there was rust on the rotor and carbon buildup on the cap and points. Cleaned it all up with some light emery cloth and boom.......won't start and no spark from the plug wires. Damn.....must have messed up the rotor and points with the emery cloth. And, of course no one carries a points set in stock any more so I'll have to wait till Tuesday for them to get delivered.....grrrrr

 

[Rzeppa]

Paul, I'm pretty sure I have a spare points set, lemme check and ping you back.

Edit: I have a couple new Toyota ones here in Kittredge. Snow is forecast for Tuesday so you would probably want your plow pig back up and running by then. I called and left you a voice message.

 

[fjc man]

Replacing the clutch in the FJ Cruiser. Finally down to just the trans, almost there.

 

[BritKLR]

Paul, I'm pretty sure I have a spare points set, lemme check and ping you back.

Edit: I have a couple new Toyota ones here in Kittredge. Snow is forecast for Tuesday so you would probably want your plow pig back up and running by then. I called and left you a voice message.

View attachment 109688

Thank you Jeff! I truly appreciate your wonderful and thoughtful offer. My parts are due in Tuesday but, if they are delayed or the wrong one I'll reach out to you for these! Thanks again.

 

[PVCsnorkel]

DIY Dizzy recurve done by noon. Christmas tree on top by dark. The life of a 60 owner.

 

[WVU fan]

Christmas tree on top by dark

Decorate that tree and throw it back on top for an awesome Christmas card pic!

 

[PVCsnorkel]

Decorate that tree and throw it back on top for an awesome Christmas card pic!

I was seriously considering buying another tree just to carry on top. I wish I had gotten better pictures of it with the tree for a card.

 

[Cruisertrash]

DIY Dizzy recurve done by noon. Christmas tree on top by dark. The life of a 60 owner.

Glad to see my old rack is still putting in the work. I actually picked that up from a somebody here, so it's a RS heirloom now!

 

[PVCsnorkel]

Glad to see my old rack is still putting in the work. I actually picked that up from a somebody here, so it's a RS heirloom now!

I've loved everything about the rack except for how it pulls down my fuel mileage. I'm probably going to ad some lights in the spring so she'll be around for a while.

 

[Cruisertrash]

I've loved everything about the rack except for how it pulls down my fuel mileage. I'm probably going to ad some lights in the spring so she'll be around for a while.

Gotta stop paying attention to mpg if you're driving a 60!

I actually do clock my fuel economy at every fill up, but I know that removing my rack, sliders, and rear bumper wouldn't really gain me much.

 

[PVCsnorkel]

Gotta stop paying attention to mpg if you're driving a 60!

I actually do clock my fuel economy at every fill up, but I know that removing my rack, sliders, and rear bumper wouldn't really gain me much.

I know MPGs aren't going to be great in the 60, I'd like to get as much as I can though so I don't run out of range on long trips. Now that the distributor is recurved after de-smogging, I need to put smaller jets in my Weber and it should improve drastically. It soots like a diesel at idle right now.

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

charged the battery and drove it to the store.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Good to know, my joints did look nice and shiny.

Per NASA-STD-8739.3, " Soldered Electrical Connections"


Wetting is the term used to describe solder movement and it's like it sounds, how it "wets" or flows. You're looking for the solder to easily turn from solid to liquid, flow smoothly into the joint and cool evenly.

Solder is a actually not simple topic but suffice to say it generally refers to using an alloy of lead, zinc, tin or/and other elements to make a substance that melts onto the base material, in this case copper. It's not welding, where the base material is actually molten but is hot enough to make the solder become essentially a metal glue that grabs the copper at the molecular level. It's the same as brazing. Copper melts at 1,073°C while most solder becomes liquid at about 300°C to 400°C. It's technically going from solid to liquid and refreezing into a solid, but it's a bit more complicated due to the alloy needing all it's component elements to do so at the same temperature going up and down, so there's some black magic that happens in finding the right ratios that don't end up with debris or cracking or other failures.

The key is the solder has to flow in and all around the copper at an atomic level. It's a permanent modification of the wire, e.g. when you "tin" the wire the solder will have flowed into the copper to the point that you will never be able to remove it all. It's like if you dye your clothes (or wash your white socks with a forgotten red shop rag). You can wash and wash and wash and only make the socks fainter pink but never white again.

To make it even more confusing is you add a flux to assist in the wetting and cleaning. Once a copper wire is made it begins to oxidize immediately. Sometimes the manufacturer will tin the wire as they make it, in which case it's already got a base coat of solder. Often they will not. In this case the flux when you heat it re-exposes the copper to help the solder adhere at a molecular level.

The whole process is patting your head, rubbing your belly to get right. You touch the iron to the joint, it heats rapidly but not to the point of damaging the wire or something else (melt a ton of insulation, for example, or making the flux into charcoal), then you touch the solder, it flows sufficiently, you remove the solder feed and iron and it cools quickly but not too quick into a smooth joint. There's about a thousand ways to go sideways.

In any case, this is an extreme example of not having enough heat resulting in a cold joint. The joint never reached high enough temperature for the solder to fully bond with the copper. The solder did melt a little but did not flow, e.g. wet, correctly. It might work but it's not a reliable joint for a lot of reasons.



This is what happens when you have enough heat to completely solder the copper conductors.



As an additional point no one cares about, there's actually a preferred (or in aerospace, "right") way to make a butt splice by twisting two wires and soldering for reliability.