Thanks Chris. I'm afraid that might be the next dumbass story.

 

Chris - x2 for Money & Dawn.
Mike - Good luck w/ stabilizing the hangar roof.

 

Thanks Norm, much appreciated!

 

Chris - LOL. I reread my post "x2 for Money & Dawn" which was obviously a typo and should have read "x2 for Monty & Dawn". Although, I think my original statement would equally apply! LOL

 

LoL Money certainly applies also!

 

Hey guys,

Cool with light to moderate rain right now, but it's supposed to stop soon and then we're not supposed to get much of anything tomorrow which is a nice change in the forecast. There will be another wave of heavy rain/storms moving in after midnight tomorrow.

Dawn got Monty off to the Vet fine and she has already gotten an update from the Vet that he is doing fine and the surgery is going well. After she got home from dropping him off, she decided to go down the street and do her weekly house cleaning job for our elderly neighbor friends. She figured it would help keep her mind off of the surgery, and then she'd be able to spend all day with him tomorrow when he's home.

I received an updated estimate from my Roofing/Siding guy for how much extra it would cost me out-of-pocket to re-Side the whole house. I'd be looking at another ~$10K out-of-pocket. A big chunk of change for sure, and Dawn and I are going to think on it a couple of days before deciding. We're definitely considering it, but that quote is at the very upper end of what we both agreed we'd even consider.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

 

Monty has been out of surgery and awake for about 3-hours now and is doing fine. Dawn gets to pick him up at 4:30. Apparently after he was awake for awhile and stable, they tried to put him in a kennel crate, when he's never been crated, and he wasn't having any of that. So then they tried to put him on a lead back in the kennel area by himself and he wasn't having that either. Then they moved him out to the reception area on a lead where he could greet clients and all was well. If they'd just asked we would have told them he's a people person!

 

 

Hint, hint. Chris, good to see that Monty and Dawn managed the surgery. Maybe get another quote on the siding? Mike be careful climbing around at the hangar. All of the cars there are insured I hope.

 

Chris -
Great news with Monty. Hopefully he is back to his normal routine in no time.

 

Thanks Keith, we're hoping the same thing! Thanks for the video, certainly made me chuckle! 👍

 

Monty's still very doped up, but resting comfortably. We're just glad he's home with his family!

 

Chris - Glad Monty's back home.

 

Thanks buddy, me too!

 

Good morning everyone.

Chris congratulations to Monty on a successful surgery. I'm sure all are relieved that it's over. Dogs are funny when they are still out of it and try to walk. We got my first boy Max when he was about 6 months old and he hadn't been fixed yet. We took him to the vet and he said you can pick him up this afternoon. He wandered around the house like he was drunk but he got a little too close to the stairs and I ran and grabbed him. That would not have been funny him tumbling down the stairs. Ah Max. He's been gone 20 years and I still miss him. I've loved all my dogs but they weren't Max. I was talking to Mom on the phone yesterday and she said I just let Max out. hehe That's funny.

I tell you another good place to meet up would be the Oldsmobile museum in Lansing. I was there in 1997, I'm sure it's different now. I hope it's different now. We'd have to find a good place to have lunch. Not sure we could top Mary Mac's Tea Room. That's where we went when several of us met up in Atlanta. What a great day that was.

Gonna start working on the hangar today. I'm sure it will be slow going. Probably will mow this weekend. Might wash the car.

And most importantly, He is risen.

Have a good weekend everyone.

 

I would love to get together with you guys! Chris, glad Monte is back and on the mend. Was it a actual surgery? Thru his mouth?

 

I was up before the dawn. Herbicide application complete.

 

F250 diesel tractor is in the man-cave. I'm going to deep-dive my evaluation of parts required for the propeller shafts, carrier bearing, U-Joints, etc. will likely mark the alignments. If for no other reason it's surely nice having a 4" lift - makes sliding under the chassis carriage a breeze.

 

Thanks Mike, we're certainly thankful he came thru the surgery fine and is doing well so far.

Thanks Greg, we really appreciate your concern and support. Yes, it was a full blown surgery, he was completely under and intabated. Actually, the poor guy had 3 separate surgeries. The most major of which was to trim back part of the "Soft Palate" at the back of the throat that covers their trachea. In many of the smushed nose breeds like Pugs/French Bulldogs/English Bulldogs /etc., this piece of soft tissue is too large and impedes the flow of air into the lungs. The surgeon goes in through the mouth and trims off part of that "Soft Palate".

He also had a surgery to open up his Nasal passages by widening his external nostrils. Kind of a roto-rooter process..

Finally he had a surgery to correct one of his eyelids where the upper edge of the lower lid was kind of turned in towards his eyeball, and the tiny hairs on the edge of the lid would touch his eye and was an aggravation to him. I can't really tell you exactly how the surgeon fixed this other than it involved cutting and restiching the eyelid so that all the tiny hairs along the edge are now pointed out.
He's obviously got alot of healing up to do. The Vet sent us home with plenty of pain and anti-inflammatory meds to keep him comfortable for the first 3 or 4 days, so he's resting comfortably.

 

Nice rig Norm! 👍

 

Greg - Just a follow-on to what I posted about Monty's surgeries earlier. The attached link will take you to the Staff Bio page for the Vet's Office where Monty had his surgery. The 1st Vet on the list, Dr. Mine Kondu, did all of Monty's surgery. Her Bio lists her areas of special expertise as being exactly the same surgeries she performed for Monty. I think we got the right Doc for him!

https://www.southwickvethospital.com/about

 

I've pretty much been sitting here since lunchtime evaluating tools I have or I don't have to disassemble the propeller shaft(s) center carrier bearing, which has led me down researching several rabbit holes - one of which doesn't even pertain to the propeller shaft, but instead front axle J-Joints (of all things). At any rate, I know I don't own a bearing puller (needed to remove the center carrier bearing) - I owned one many moons ago. I have to double-check if I own a 33mm socket, as well. Aside from that, I think I'm good. There are three U-Joints on the propeller shaft (I initially thought there were four but I was just trying to recall off top of my head). All three U-Joints appear to be in good condition (the most rearward [at the differential yoke]) I replaced the 1st time I greased the propeller shaft ~15 yrs. ago. I took pictures & have several questions I intend to pass by you guys for your consideration/comments before I carve out the time for disassembly/re-assembly. I've never disassembled a 4x4 propeller shaft from a transfer case. It looks to be no big deal; yet, I want to do the research to convince myself. I think I've had enough for today.

 

Norm - I know I won't be of any help to you since I've never done it. I'd bet Greg or Kenneth has. Anyway, you're always the "man with a plan" and I'm confident you can pull it off! Best of luck!

 

Hi guys,

I had been wanting another slow cooked Pork Butt for BBQ Pork Sandwiches and my wife bought this monster. I should get many, many meals out of this baby! It's in the slow cooker now.



I went out and mowed this afternoon before the rain gets here late tonight. I've got the front and side lawns looking nicer than they have in a few years. I think I got the pre-emergent down at exactly the right time this Spring.

 

Chris - Your lawn looks good. What grass species? I like the manner in which they developed the flagstone to accommodate the slope. I've eaten one-half of my BBQ pork tenderloin, remainder still in freezer. I don't blanket spray for pre-emergents - I spot spray (which was done 3-4 weeks ago). Today was a blanket spray for post ermergents.

 

Norm - Thanks for the compliment. I'm not great with grass types, but I've always had my suspicion it is mostly Zoysia because mine is always the last to green up in the Spring (compared to neighbors), tolerates the heat and dryness better in the Summer, and stays looking good into the late Fall. I put down a granulated combo weed & feed with crab grass prevention, and I put it down thick about a month ago, and as you're probably aware, we've had a $hit ton of rain since then. I haven't even turned on my irrigation system yet. As for post-emergents, I just spot spray as needed.

As for the wall, I can certainly tell it was built well on a solid foundation. It's 19-years old now and other than a small amount of slope creep it's doing great.

 

Chris - I looks like St. Augustine, I wasn't going to guess. It doesn't have the appearance of Kentucky Blue. The subtle difference between Zoysia & St. Augustine is the width of the grass blades. St. Augustine having wider blades than Zoysia. Zoysia blades are rather thin (in comparison to St. Augustine).

 

I finished my (seven) images & dialog box narrations (PowerPoint) for the propeller shaft. I'll start a thread @ FTE (Ford Truck Enthusiasts) rather than beat you guys up w/ my nonsense.

 

Glad the dog is better. He looked zonked.

Norm, despite liking the Wall very much, I don't believe I have ever seen the single's music video. Also, the single version of the song has a bit more intro than the album/movie/concert version as they just tear from the Happiest Days of Our Lives right into it. The movie is much wilder video, of course.

Sent some audio gear off on Monday, did some banking, then skipped town. Drove to TMMK in Georgetown, KY. Truck developed a whistling that I thought was insects. Got there ok and spent three days there. My Japanese senior manager, who I dislike and she the same, was impressed with my speaking ability as I taught some training. I routinely surprise people with skills, it's the downside for them of judging only by ***-kissing.

The fan clutch I think is gone. It spins some when cold like it should, but freewheels when hot, when it should be close to locked. I drove home today, had lunch, then took the belt off the accessories and found all pulleys to be fine except the tensioner idler which spins like a shopping cart caster. Ordered new clutch, fasteners, all 3 idlers, and a new belt. Should be here mid next week. Truck is ok for a while, but bearing is on the way out.

I then refurbed my cheap grill with a new burner, ignitor, and flame deflector. It's a cheap 120 dollar gas grill that has gotten me 2 years. I put 30 bucks into the wear parts and now we are good to go for more. It's the cheap sheet metal directly under heat that goes out on you and you get only one hot spot of heat then.

 

 

You're probably correct then Norm because the blades are not very thin.

Like I said, "the man with the plan"!

 

Thanks John. Yes, he was pretty much out of it the entire evening last night. He is doing better today, although certainly not a ball of energy. He's on some pretty strong pain and anti-inflammatory meds. He's drinking and eating ok which is a good sign.

I hope your truck holds on to your replacement parts get there. Nice job refurbishing the grill.

 

John - I empathize w/ your serpentine belt breakdown scenario - luckily you're going to (hopefully) catch it ahead of the game (meaning b4 it breaks). Mine broke mid-flight (so-to-speak) pulling into the golf club - no steering me go nowhere. I should have expected something was up over the previous 12 mos. - 16 mos. as the A/C was hardly putting out cold air. New tension idler, x3 new additional idlers, new A/C compressor, new A/C drier, new PS pump, & new ALT I was back in business. After I had it towed & did the complete R&R in my driveway - took me ~1 week. I had to remove everything (which included the kitchen sink). I've never owned a gas or electric grill - I'm a Joe Weber guy - love 'em.

 

Here's my thread on FTE >>> Propeller Shaft Center Carrier Bearing Questions

 

John, I finally bit the bullet about 8 years ago and bought a weber grille ($500. then)- No repairs on it since- except cleaning. Before we bought the cheap-$200.) ones at walmart, etc. That was usually 2-3 years use before it was junk. -1st year- great, 2nd year- replace burner, 3rd year- go buy another one... Norm, I'm gonna look at your FTE thread.- if I don't find it I have info on ft driveshaft... I'll look now.

 

Good morning guys,

If you've watched any national news you know we're getting inundated with heavy rain and storms here in StL that started around midnight last. The heavy rains, some possibly severe, are suppossed to be essentially continous through tomorrow with as much as 6 to 7-inches of rain total in places. The back way out of my place is already flooded and impassable.

We had alot of lightning/thunder at the start of the front coming thru around midnight last night. Of course Monty got overly anxious and upset when it started, with his usual heavy panting. The good news is he never got to the point where he was struggling and gasping to get enough air. It appears like the surgery was a definite success.

Keegan has the 2 hockey games back to back starting at 1230 this afternoon. I'm going to try to go if I can get out. I'll take my truck, no sense to put the Hyundai at risk of hail damage with the continued risk of severe weather all day. Dawn will stay home to keep an eye on Monty, and to just be here for him if it gets loud again.

Looking forward to watching the StL Blues tonight in the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. They were the last Wild Card team in their Conference to get in and have to play the #1 Seed, the Winnipeg Jets. It will be a tough challenge for the Blues.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, and if you're in the path of the storms I hope you don't experience any damage or issues.

 

G'day mates.

Just perfect here. I should be outside but waiting on laundry so I'm puttering around the house. And looking at the computer.

There's a guy who owns an old fashion junkyard not too far from me. The kind where the trees are growing up through the bumpers and the cars just strewn about. Been going there for years. I used to see him at the Summit cruise in's but haven't the past couple years, so I drove out to his place this morning. He's only open Saturday mornings. Got there about 10, no one. A guy across the street was out in his yard so I asked him if the junkyard ever opens anymore. He said, ya if you call him. I'm not that interested. Apparently he's still vertical the neighbor said he shows up from time to time.

Chris glad Monty's surgery was a success. If you were to turn on the radio and play storm noises would he still get upset? Maybe you could do that and try and condition him to not mind it so much.

People in Florida especially love St. Augustine grass. I don't. Up home we called that crab grass.

Norm is that going to be a one day job, the drive shaft project? If you get caught up you might have to hitchhike around for awhile.

John I thought that manager woman was down the road. Eh, as long as she isn't at your place all the time. I'm not a grille person, either. One thing my man card dangerously teeters on is I don't even cook on a grille. Wouldn't have the first clue.

Okay Awful house. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

 

Mike - Ya never know, it might work? I'd say it ain't gonna happen though. I believe Dawn would look at it as torturing him without any guarantee of success. I'm not ashamed to admit she's the boss in regard to the health and well being of the dogs, so I let her take the lead on all this kind of stuff. Thank you for the suggestion though!

 

Mike - If I was certain I had the appropriate bearing puller for the center carrier bearing it would be a one day job. Since I'm navigating uncharted waters I can't say.

 

Greg, I may get something nice some day.

Mike, she is down the road, I was on business travel.

Norm, parts are on order on the truck, should get here hopefully Wed.

Today, I rolled the mower out, changed oil, put in gas and air and battery charge in their appropriate places, shook out the air filter. Mowed the front, the side, and was working on the back. Got too close to a tree, hit a root, bent a blade, blew the belt. Replacements coming Monday, the cheap amazon ones are weaker than stock, but that protects the machine. I can change blades and belts no issue. At least the only part unmowed is in the back, so it looks ok.

Got a repaired amp via fedex, box looks weathered but ok, so I'll unpack it here in a bit.