Thread: That wicked road of do it yourself

This a little tale that some of you will enjoy and some will shake your head in disbelief.

Last year my A/C went out on my knock around pick up. The air compressor went out. Now I'm retired from being a Heavy equipment mechanic and have repaired or replaced many of these items on very large equipment. So naturally i will do it myself. I bough a compressor from Auto zone and a drier along with a new low presser switch . I as a concerned about the environment person took said truck to the local garage to have the refrigerant removed instead of dumping it into the air. when i finished replacing these items i took it back to the garage to pull a vac. and charge. Cool air at last. For less that 2 days and the new compressor went belly up. I took said POS compressor back and got another one along with new drier . I repeat the process. Cool air again. 1 day and the bearings went out on this one. 3 rd. time around the compressor is working. 3 weeks i start having troubles again. This time it's a electrical night mare. I chase the system and replace the relay- now i know it's good but still no power to the compressor or to the relay now. I locate a used (parts like this are no longer dealer item) control panel at a salvage yard and install it. (I'm on blood thinner so it's bleeding all the way) Still no power to the relay. You know the old saying if it doesn't work try reading the instructions. I found a parts brake down of the a/C system for this 02 nissan and found that a tinny little sensor inside the a/C duct work would turn off the compressor if it starts to freeze up. And if that censor goes bad it turns off the compressor. Now this long story made short i changed it this morning. If this is't it the repair i make will be with a ZIPPO!

Oh i left out the expansion valve . It took a pint of A positive when i finished with it.

I feel your pain. DIY, means every little experience and oversight is yours alone.
Every success, and accomplishment is as well however, so I hope this ends up a win for you.

The AC is the only part I left out, on purpose, when I upgraded everything on my old Corrado, figuring I wouldn't miss the AC with the windows down. Hottest summer in a hundred years has me rethinking that decision now...

It looks like that the zippo will not be called into action. It was the censor in front of the evaporator bad and was turning off the compressor. Now that the summer is almost gone i have A/C.

Perseverance wins!

Congrats

This came to mind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEkOT3IngMQ

I am fairly handy. But over the last years I've decided that my time is more valuable to me.
For example, I am confident that I could build a working grinder. But I am even more confident that I could make a couple of razors in less time than I would need to build my own grinder, so I make the razors and buy the grinder.

We're planning an extension to the house (building a large kitchen to the back of the house, converting the existing kitchen in a hobby space). We have a good understanding with the architect, and explained that we will pay bills, and she makes sure that the thing is built. We don't want to shop around, we don't want to follow up subcontractors, or apply for the building permits, or do parts ourselves, or whatever.

It's not that I couldn't do those things. It's just that I'd rather pay someone else to do all that and spend time with my family / in my workshop.

Hot water cylinder has sprung a leak so today I am a plumber...

Being a DIYer all my life, I would like to offer 2 bits of advice.

1 - Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance... Do research and study on what it is that you want to do. Then, do it in your mind until you are familiar with it.
Make notes and have information resources handy. Gather all required tools and materials before starting. Please, the time spent planning before starting
a project has greater value than a freshly opened can of worms.

2 - Small steps allow for small mistakes, big steps allow for big mistakes... I find this concept the hardest to explain. Small mistakes are okay and are easily
corrected. Big mistakes can sometimes hide smaller mistakes, making them nearly impossible to correct. Take things in small bites until your abilities improve.
Speed comes with experience, not the other way around. I hope you can get the gist of my meaning.

You can do anything once you set your mind to it and don't get in a hurry. Have confidence in yourself, don't underestimate your abilities.

The older I get, the more I pay for certain things. Example: in '08-'09 I, along with only the help my wife and Father, who was 72 at the time, built our new house. I done everything, minus pour the basement.

Fast forward to 3 months ago (and 1 back surgery, and both rotator cuff surgeries) I wanted to build a new shop. 40'x80'. 1/2 is my retail gun shop and 1/2 is my machine shop. I chose to pay someone to build the structure and pour the concrete. I figure, it's cheaper to pay vs possible lay up and missed work from any bad thing that could happen during; setting 25' 8x8's, 40' trusses or all the metal on the roof. I got everything covered on the inside, but that climbing/hanging/heavy stuff, I'll leave to the younger guys. At 6yrs before I retire, all I need is to cripple or kill myself! THAT would piss me off!!

Any thing to do with roofing (higher than 20ft) is contracted out now. Not worth the trouble or the fall.


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