PT Cruiser broken motor mount bolt

I started getting a scrapping noise from the right front of the car when I was making a left turn.  It started out just a little bit every now and then but within a week or so it was happening all the time.   I thought it was a wheel bearing until it happened while the car was not moving. 
Took it to the shop and they said that the left axle was bad and it caused the engine to shift to the right causing a motor mount bolt to break.  $1,500 to fix!
Since I didn't think 1,500 was reasonable I told him to fix the axle only for $300.  When I took it home and looked at it I could see that the engine dropped about 3 inches on the passenger side.  Looking through the mount from the fenderwell I could see the bolt was gone and only the broken piece was left in the engine bracket.  Damn.
After researching what it would take to do it, I set out to get it done myself.
I put the car on jack stands and got the floor jack under the engine.  Removed the power steering pump, disconnected the AC line, loosened the alternator, removed the upper and lower torque arms, jacked the engine up, then down a million times until I realized I couldn't get it up high enough to remove the engine bracket unless I removed the crank pulley, for which I needed an impact wrench and a special Chrysler puller.  All of this is necessary because it is an extremely tight fit between the engine and the frame where the mount is located and you need to make room to have any chance of getting the engine bracket off.  Fortunately Pep Boys lends tools and had the puller I needed.     
Once the pulley was off I was able to raise the engine about 4 inches which gave me just barely enough room to reach behind the now loosened engine bracket to extract the broken bolt.   
Then it was just a matter of  'installation is the reverse of the removal' except I had to add the step of  installing the new mounting bolt which I got from Chrysler for $4, and I need to recharge the AC.  I also put in new torque arms because they were damaged from supporting all the additional engine weight when the bolt broke. 
After a few days work, lots of swearing, lots of scrapes and bruises I'm happy and satisfied that I got this approx $1,200 job done for $4 plus $66 for the torque arms.  I love a happy ending...

Here's the culprit:

No heat in the 67

The 67 has an automatic climate control system...a maze of vacuum lines, sensors, valves, and electrical switches.  Many years ago it all worked as designed.  Set the temperature and the system was smart enough to give me heat or air to maintain the temp.  But over time it got finicky and only worked if i set it on defrost to make the fan go on, and then moved it to auto to regulate the heat. 
Last weekend that trick didnt work and i couldnt turn the heat on at all.  I first checked the fuses and found all to be ok so i set out to check the vacuum system.  I lit a fat cigar and started blowing smoke in various lines until i found that smoke was pouring out everywhere on the vacuum valve that controls most of this mess.   I took it apart and cleaned up and lubed the little rotary valve in there. 
That sealed it up and now the heat is regulating again as it should.    :-)

Clogged drain

Not your typical clogged drain.  The driveway at the beach house has 4 drains which are supposed to handle the water when it rains.  But one of them was completely clogged and the water was accumulating and running under the house.  So i took the power washer to it and blasted the crap out of it.  Didn't work.  I then tried an old solid curtain rod kind of thing and poked and prodded until i opened it up.   Good to go now  :-)

Honda Engineers

These Honda engineers think of everything.  They even provide space to hide your nuts.

 

 

 

A New Toy

It's not mine but I get to play with it...

2005 Honda Rebel my daughter just purchased.  Actually I found it for her, called the guy, checked it out, negotiated the price, and did everything except pay for it...;-)   
I don't know much about these bikes but I will learn.   I know it's a good starter bike for someone who is just learning to ride.  It weighs 300 lbs,  and packs a whopping 14 hp!   

It seems to be in reasonably good shape but has been sitting for a while and needs to be cleaned up.  oil change, clean the carb, oil the chain... basic maintenance.  It also has some surface rust which I tried cleaning in some spots and it looks like it will clean up nicely.  But it runs, everything works more or less as it should, has a new battery, good tires, seems like its never been dropped.  It also has engine guards which seem like a good idea if my daughter ever drops it.   

No news is good news

I haven't posted in a while because nothing is broken, needs to be adjusted, removed, replaced or otherwise corrected.  At least nothing is bad enough that I have been motivated to do something about it.   the vette has developed a slight miss and the brakes are squealing.   The 67 exhaust is starting to develop a leak - I could hear it gettting a bit worse each time I drive it.  the 40 seems to be holding its own at this point.  I'll get back in the swing when the weather cools off a bit...or when something breaks needing more immediate attention. 

Vapor lock

I don't usually drive the '40 on really hot days so vapor lock isn't much of a problem for me.  But today I guess it was high 80's at least, with humidity, and it wouldn't start after running for a while.  The carb bowl was empty as was the pump.  Fortunately I have a siphon on the fuel line just before the fuel pump so I was able to get fuel in the pump and carb to get it started.  But it wasn't happy.  As I was driving home it started stumbling and coughing.  Got it home and had a heavy fuel smell from the gas that I guess was boiling out of the carb. 
I don't think a repair is needed except to clean up the carb and make sure i don't thave any more permanent leaks.  But it'll wait until the sun goes down for that. 
I also note that it was comforting to know I have a fire extinguisher in all my cars.  Glad I didn't need it but glad I had it just in case.