Do Washing Machines Eat Socks?

Do washing machines eat socks? Yes. Yes, they do.

They'll deny it, but we caught this one with the evidence. On top loading washing machines, there's a gap between the top of the basket and the top of the frame. Small items like socks can easily fit through there and get sucked into the drain pump.

If that happens, it can jam the drain pump like this one and cause the washing machine's motor to stop turning.

This sock was jammed in there so tightly that the drain pump wouldn't turn. This picture is after we played tug-of-war with the sock and the pump. It was in there so tightly, I had to use two hands on the needle-nose pliers while my friend Rex pulled on the pump.

The sock must have gone over the top of the drum and went right down the drain tube into the drain pump. 

The motor didn't appear to have sustained any damage and the washing machine is fine now. I can't say it learned its lesson though. Once they get a taste for socks, there may be no going back. 

4WD Truck Pulls Left Then Right Then Left Then Right

The Problem

Every once in a while, my truck would pull left then right, then left, then right, and eventually settle down and not do it again for weeks. It started out as a very faint pull to one side, then the other. I thought something was wrong with the power steering gear box. Then I noticed it would sometimes start doing this after going around a corner. This week, I almost hit a curb going around a corner because the steering didn't return to center like it normally did. I had to force the steering wheel back to center.

Here's a video of the truck pulling left then right.  I was doing my best to keep it in a straight line, but it looked like I was weaving a little:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIU7SdVY1O4

Diagnosis

So I took a look under the truck. I found nothing wrong with any of the steering linkages. I had my son turn the wheel left and right as I watched the steering linkages move. Still nothing wrong. Well, my axle dust shields were shot, but that wasn't causing the problem.

I then jacked up the front axle so the front tires were both off the ground. I turned the manual hub lock on the passenger front wheel and found that the front right wheel would turn just fine as long as the steering was pointed straight. But when I turned the wheel either right or left, the wheel would jam. This was because two of the four joints on the U-joint were binding up.

Why the U-Joint Causes the Problem

This truck is a 2008 Ford F-250 with a solid front axle with U-joints at the wheels. When it's not in four wheel drive, the hubs are unlocked and the front axle doesn't rotate, so the U-joints stay in the same position and don't rotate when the truck is rolling.

When the wheels steer left or right, you can have only two of the U-joint bearings pivot with the steering while the other two don't turn. The axle may stay in the same position while driving as long as it's not in 4WD.

The problem shows up when the axle rotates a quarter turn and the seized U-joint bearings are now in the vertical instead of horizontal position. This makes steering more difficult and causes it to pull to one side or the other. Then when the axle rotates another quarter turn, the problem magically goes away and doesn't show up again for a while.

It's My Fault

I've had this truck for a year and a half and hadn't greased the U-joints in the front axle . . . ever. So I cleaned off the grease fittings and pumped some grease in the U-joints.

For a test drive, I kept the front right hub locked manually, but the switch on the dash was not engaged in four wheel drive. As I pulled out of the driveway, the steering wheel would pull as the wheel rotated. Then it stopped pulling as the grease worked its way into the U-joints.

This wasn't a Ford problem. It was because of bad ownership. The truck wasn't properly maintained and the U-joints lost their lubrication. This steering problem can occur on any similarly configured 4WD pickup with U-joints on the front axle, be it Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, or other.

What's That Scraping Noise?

After replacing the shocks, I heard a new scraping noise while driving. I'll show you the picture in a minute. 

Since replacing the shocks is pretty easy, it wasn't a blog-worthy project, so I didn't take any pictures. One thing I found wrong was that the front shock top mounts were loose. Maybe that contributed to the shake. I also have a wheel that needs to be balanced, but the new shocks make it ride better.

After installing the shocks, I drove to the corner gas station to fuel up. I was headed to a family get-together about 45 minutes away. After pulling out of the gas station, I rolled down the windows and heard a scraping sound. It wasn't loud, but that noise wasn't there before I changed the shocks. I figured I had better take a look under there and see if I can see what it was. 

I actually debated whether or not I should stop and check, or just keep going. It's a good thing I stopped. 

So I was using a wrench to hold another wrench from getting jammed in the spring while I loosened the rusted bolts on the top of the shocks. It kept dropping, so I'd grab another wrench on the ground and use it. I must have missed the fact that that wrench didn't hit the ground. I also don't have a dedicated place for that wrench since it's not in a set. So that's why I missed it when I put the tools away. 

It's kind of like life. You can see if you can fix those small annoyances, or you can ignore them and risk them turning into much bigger problems. 

Floppy Subaru Visor Failure Analysis

This visor from this 2008 Impreza wouldn't stay up. So after getting a new one, I decided to take it apart to see what failed.

The mounting end can just be pulled out.

After cutting the vinyl cover open, I pried apart the clip.

To separate the two halves, I pried around the edges.

There it is. The plastic surrounding the metal rod had broken. The black metal part that's in the visor below is springy. It squeezes the rod. It keeps tension on the rod to keep it in place. I had to pull the broken parts out before I could get the two halves to separate without breaking it.

Here's the inside of one half.

And here's the inside of the other half.

Do your shoelaces keep coming untied?

Years ago, when I was a teenager, my Father noticed that I was tying my shoelaces wrong. He said that if I tied the first knot the other way that the laces would lie across the shoe instead of lengthwise.

It was humbling to know I'd been doing it wrong all these years.

I was too stubborn and proud to change my ways. I didn't care if the shoelaces were a little crooked. I would rather go around with crooked shoelaces than admit I was wrong. Besides, I wasn't going to admit I was doing something wrong that most kindergarten students have already mastered. It was working for me, or so I thought.

Little did I know that there's a strong form and a weak form of the knot. I just figured that it was the shoelaces on certain shoes that made them come untied so often. Several times a day I would have to stop and re-tie my shoes. I should have had listened to my older, wiser, and more experienced father. I don't know why that memory stuck with me, but I'm glad it did.

There are many videos on the internet showing that the incorrect form of the knot goes lengthwise, but it can still be unclear if you're doing it wrong. Here's my suggestion on how to tell if you're tying the strong or weak form of the standard shoelace knot.

Pull the loops out - not like you're untying your shoes - more like you're trying to cause trouble.

Then you're left with that dreaded double knot that takes several more seconds to undo so you can get your shoes off. Examine this knot. If it's a square knot, you're tying your shoes correctly. If it's a granny knot, then you're doing it wrong.

The granny knot is not symmetrical. You're doing it wrong!

The square knot is symmetrical. Congratulations, you're doing it correctly!

One TED video explains that the way to fix it is to simply go the other way around the loop. Hmm. That muscle memory is really hard to re-learn. You can get the same results by changing the direction of the first knot. I think that's much easier.

Correctly tied shoelaces

I told my mom that I was tying my shoes incorrectly. She was shocked. "Who told you that? I was the one who taught you how to tie your shoes!", she responded incredulously.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Ian for the neat new way to tie the same knot.

Ford P1443

I had the code P1443 come up on my 1996 Thunderbird way back in 2003 or 2004. I replaced the evap canister purge flow sensor. The problem went away for nearly 200k miles. Now it's my daughter's car and the same code came up. So I measured the resistance between the power and ground pin. It was between 500k ohms to 1.5M ohms, different each time I measured it. The replacement part measured 96 or 97 ohms. Bingo! The old sensor had failed.

The sensor is located on the passenger side under the headlight. I got to it from underneath. It was kind of tight getting in there, but not so tight that I had to take anything apart to get to it.

Here's the wiring diagram for the plug. I got it from this website.

Here's a picture of the replacement part, CP509. The funny thing is, the local auto parts store had it in stock, but their online catalog didn't have it listed. You could find the Thunderbird under the compatibility tab, but you couldn't look it up in the catalog.

The pin on the left in this picture is the ground pin. The top right is the power, and the bottom right is the output voltage.

DIY Homemade AC Service Machine

Here's one of life's lessons I take a while to learn.

Just because I can, doesn't mean I should.

But just because I failed doesn't mean it was a terrible idea, because I learn from my failures, even when they cost money.

Sometime around 1997, I spent about $1000 trying to install an air conditioning system in a 1981 Ford Econoline E100. That thing had a 4.9L straight six and a manual transmission. We called it the big brown van. We had some good times taking it camping and on vacations. But I made two major mistakes on that AC system.  

1. I thought it would be a good idea to have the refrigerant enter the bottom of the condenser and exit out the top. I didn't know that the refrigerant turned from a gas into a liquid inside the 'condenser'. Its name should have been my first clue. Having a hard time getting the fittings and hoses to fit right should have been my second clue. You want to send the liquid refrigerant to the evaporator. Since liquid is heavier than gas, the bottom tube is the exit.
2. My second major mistake was thinking that the oil stayed in the compressor. I didn't realize that the oil circulated in the system along with the refrigerant, so I didn't add oil to the system and the compressor made a lot of noise and had a lot of vibration.

So even though I had a thermodynamics class in college, it still didn't prepare me to work on a real-life air conditioning system. There are some real-world need-to-know things they just don't teach in class.

So this is for all those out there who are like me that want to do it themselves and can benefit from learning from my mistakes.

Too many people try to fix their own AC by just adding a can of R134A. Usually, when the refrigerant is low, it's because it leaked out. Sometimes adding a can works . . . for a while. Other times, the refrigerant just leaks out, or only lasts a day. Sometimes the system gets overcharged. Sometimes, there's another problem in the system and adding refrigerant would be a mistake.

Building My AC Service Tool

Since I didn't want to pay shop rates for my AC service, I made a contraption to service car air conditioners. With it, I can

• Recover refrigerant
• Evacuate the system
• Recharge with the exact amount of refrigerant needed

- all without having to disconnect any hoses. That way, no air gets in the system.

To repair leaks or replace components, we don't want to just open the system and let the refrigerant out. That's not only wasteful, it's bad for the environment. We need to be able to recover the remaining refrigerant. So I picked up a recovery unit and a couple recovery tanks from the local classified ads.

I got my vacuum pump from Harbor Freight. The 30 lb refrigerant containers can be obtained from the local auto parts stores. I found a refrigerant recovery machine and a 50lb digital scale in the classifieds.

Most of the fittings and valves are 1/4 inch. For the first couple years, I was having trouble with leaking valves. The 1/4" air valves were wholly inadequate for this type of service. I had to replace them all with 1/4" valves made for water. Although they were much more expensive (around $11 each), they worked.

Here's the schematic diagram of the AC service machine.

I bought a manifold gauge set and took it apart to use the hoses, service port valves, and gauges shown here. I also bought a few more hoses connect the vacuum pump, recovery tank, recovery unit, and refrigerant canister. I got all the other brass fittings and adapters at the local hardware store.

Since I had a red toolbox on wheels and it was the perfect size for it, I loaded all the components onto it. On the other side, I have the refrigerant recovery tank. The recovery unit and vacuum pump are on the bottom shelf.

Operation

Setting up the Machine

1. Connect the refrigerant canister to the charging port (center rear in the photo). 
2. Close the charging port adapter valves. Open all the valves except the recovery machine's input valve stays closed.
3. Vacuum down the system.
4. Close all the valves. 

Recovering Refrigerant

1. Connect the red hose to the high side service port, and the blue hose to the low side service port. Turn the service port valves clockwise to open them. The high and low side gauges should read pressure if there's any refrigerant remaining in the AC unit being serviced. 
2. Turn on the recovery machine. Its intake valve should be closed at this point.
3. Open the valve behind the low side gauge. Ideally, I should have an oil separator unit between this valve and the recovery machine, but I don't. So I just recover slowly to avoid pulling oil out of the system. 
4. Slowly open the input valve on the recovery machine. Keep the pressure less than 20psi. There are other steps unique to this recovery unit, so I won't go into detail on that here. 
5. Stop when the input valve is fully open and the gauge reads -10 inches Hg or greater vacuum.
6. Purge the recovery unit into the recovery tank.
7. Remember to close the valve on the recovery tank. 

Evacuating the System

1. Shut all valves. 
2. Turn on the vacuum pump. 
3. Open the valve to the vacuum pump (on the lower left of the above picture where the blue hose on the left comes in).
4. Open the valve above the vacuum gauge (bottom center valve).
5. Open the valve to the left of the low side gauge and the valve going to the refrigerant tank hose. The refrigerant tank's valve should still be closed at this point. 
6. When most of the gas is evacuated, also open the high side service port valve and the valve to the right of the high side gauge. 
7. After enough time has elapsed, shut the valve going to the vacuum pump. The gauge should not move. At this point, we have evacuated all the air and gasses from the air conditioner and my AC service machine. 

Charging the System

I usually dump the refrigerant into the high side service port. Here, I need to pause and think it through so I don't make mistakes.

1. Close the service port valve at the high side service port. 
2. Close both valves on either side of the vacuum gauge. Disconnect the vacuum hose from the vacuum pump so that it doesn't suck oil out of the vacuum pump. 
3. Close the valve to the left of the low side gauge. 
4. We want to put refrigerant into the hoses, but not in the air conditioner yet. So I open the valve on the refrigerant tank. It goes all the way up to the service port, waiting to go in the system. 
5. Weigh the refrigerant tank and note it. Subtract the weight of the refrigerant we want to put in, and that's where we stop when it gets to that point on the scale. 
6. Open the high side service port valve and watch the scale weight go down. If it doesn't deposit the full charge, then start the AC and slowly and intermittently open the valve to the left of the low pressure gauge to allow small amounts of refrigerant into the low side. We don't want to go too fast and send liquid refrigerant into the intake of the compressor. 
7. Close the valve on the refrigerant canister. If I'm going to store the machine for a week or more (and that's usually always the case), I recover the refrigerant in the hoses so it doesn't leak out. 

Enjoying the Results

The machine works great. 

Troubleshooting

The system may be low on refrigerant if the high side pressure is low and the low side pressure is too low and the compressor cuts off even when the fan is on high.

If the high side pressure is normal, but the low side is low, that could be a symptom of a clogged orifice tube (or expansion valve). In this situation, many people may assume that the system is low on refrigerant and add more. The excess refrigerant makes the high side too high pressure, resulting in loss of efficiency and not solving the problem.

There are other sources of information on troubleshooting, so I'll stop here.