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Roland Munyard

Husqvarna Ride On Mower LTH 1742

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Traveled up to Pomona to see this Husqvarna LTH 1742, it wasn’t working so I took a chance on it, the chap I was buying it from was decent and honest and I felt fairly safe, he was not sure why it had stopped and thought it was the battery.

Husqvarna LTH1742 Model and Serial Details IMG 5030

I brought it home and tried a few things to get it going:

I took of the old battery and placed it on charge, one or two of the cell were low on water so I topped up all the cells, the battery charger claimed that the battery was full, so I left it on Auto Charge and after a will it dropped to below 50% and started drawing about 4 amps, I have left it on charge all day, hopefully it will recover.

I connected a spare battery to see if it would turn, it was free, but reluctant to turn past the fist compress, and I needed to assist it by hand turning the flywheel as I turned the starter, she spun nicely very once I got past the fist compression but did not take. – Good

I took the spark plug out and checked for spark, there was plenty of spark, and of the engine turned very nicely once there was no compression to hold it back. – Good

I checked the fuel pump by taking of the off one the fuel hoses, and there was plenty of fuel. – Good

I had previously the oil before purchasing which was very clean, so I continued by checking the air filter and it was reasonably clean, although I plan to purchase and fit a new filter at some stage – Good

So having check the battery, the spark, and the fuel pump and air filter, it has to be the carburettor so I felt about the carburettor looking for clues. – Wondering what it could be.

I gave it another turn. It fired !! and ran slowly as first with a bit of smoke and then took very nicely and ran smoothly and perfectly. – Excellent

I fitted a new Delkor Battery, – purchased from the Local Husqvarna Dealer – $110

I replaced the Deck Engage Cable, (Deck Clutch Cable) – purchase from the local Husqvarna Dealer – $65

I feel that the Husqvarna is well made and easy to work on.
Spares parts are reasonably well priced, and easy to get hold of.

Future:

There is a bit of rust I need to clean up
The bull bar need to be secured, some of the bolt need to be replaced .

The mower cuts very well.

Trailer Box Roof Cover Cap

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I built this “Trailer Box Roof Cover Cap” because I needed to transport 6 people and their music equipment from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney and back again. It was a bit of a mission, but I got it all done in time.

First things first, I serviced the trailer, which included fitting angle iron to the front panel to fill some rust holes, fitted two new trailer bearings and a new jockey wheel, and converted the light plug to a round shape instead of rectangle /square which it already had fitted.

Next I rust proofed the trailer, which work surprisingly well. A good friend (Dennis)advised me to paint over the rust remover as soon as possible. So I painted the base with all in one primer and metal paint protector form ALDI which I had in the shed.

Painted Rust Remover on Trailer Base IMG 4603

Then I build a box to fit over the trailer, which would keep the music equipment dry. I bought and cut the Marine Ply at Bunnings which worked out very nicely.

Catherine helped me assemble and screw up the trailer box, which fits very snuggly on the trailer.

Trailer Box Roof Cap

This is the finish product in Sydney, which we proved was water proof because we drove down in the pouring rain and floods.

IMG 4655

I still need to paint the Trailer Box Roof Cover Cap at some stage, and because it’s a very snug fit, I will need to widen the trailer wall very slightly. I plan to do this quite simple with a car jack. They simply need to be pushed about 2mm further apart.

Lessons Learned

  • I’d make the Trailer Box a little taller. Probably another 300mm taller
  • I’d make the lip fit outside instead of inside the trailer
  • I’d include a hatch door / access door for easy access to the contents without needing to remove the trailer box.

Intake Air Hose Replacement

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I noticed that the intake air hose between the Air Filter Box and the Carburettor had been repaired with tape, so I repaired the crack/tear in the rubber with by replacing the tape with ‘Gorilla Tape’, which lasted a few years.

More recently I bought a new hose from Mazda Spares, and pleasantly surprised that it cost $79 dollars.

The replacement was quite simple and only required loosening the Air Filter Housing to get enough wiggle room to unclamp the old hose an refit the new house

New and Old Intake Hoses

Ignition Coils and Spark Plugs for Mazda MPV or Tribute

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Here here we go again, after a trip to Sydney in the pouring rain our Mazda MPV started to miss fire. This has happened previously, and so I knew where to start solving the problem. Even so I pulled over at a Service Station three quarters of the way to Sydney, NSW and sprayed WD40 over parts of the electrics I suspected may be at fault. All I managed to achieve/create was create a foul smell in the engine compartment.

I purchased two new ignitions coils online, and this easily and painless solved the misfiring problem, however during my checks I notices that I had a spark plug with a very pointy ignition tip, which I initially thought was wear and tear but after a bit of reading I discovered that it was an iridium spark plug, designed to last a long time, and withstand very high temperatures.

So that leaves me with wondering if this single spark plug was replaced by my mechanic when I previously had this issue, or if when I replaced all my spark plugs a couple of years ago I had very wisely fitted iridium plugs? I’m not sure, so I shall check all thee plugs on the side of the engine to which I have easy access.

Wet Igintion Coil

The spark plugs on the far side the engine (fire wall side) are extraordinarily difficult to gain access to replace.

Alternator and Regulator Challenges

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I quite enjoy my van, however I have not really had an opportunity to take it on the open road, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly it’s winter, and camping and touring during winter is not as much fun as Spring Summer and Autumn

Secondly my van battery won’t hold a charge, which has left me stranded a couple to time, now,

I suspect it may be a simple earth leakage, which if it is, is easily fixed, however it would also be it’s a very new fault since it has previously held charge for a very long periods of time while it was in the car port waiting for roadworthy and for the few patches of rust to be removed.


Alternator after market for 1983 Nissan Urvan E23

Photo shows the alternator released from the engine but with the wires connected so that I can correctly refit them after it has been serviced.

Original Regulator for Nissan Urvan E23 IMG 4625

Wiring Display

Original Regulator for Nissan Urvan E23

Side View of Regulator

I have taken the alternator and regulator to Scott Mountain for servicing,

Hopefully Scott will get it to produce the full 14.x volts required to keep the battery fit and healthy.

Why not do my own welding?

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I’m Seriously considering learning to weld, and why not I say!

It would be very useful around the home, and I will be able use my new skill to design and make metal bases for my cabins.

These days you can easily source very affordable mig welders, and a good quality welding mask. Just check them out on eBay.

I expect I will need one of the more modern masks through which you can see very clearly while you are setting up, and when, you begin the weld, it senses light and activates to protects your eyes.

Building a Small Cabin Stage One

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The cabin is almost complete. As you may know, if you’ve have read https://www.small-cabins.com/building-a-small-cabin-2020/ (Building a Small Cabin) I began building in 2020, and here we are in July 2020. This is an update of progress so far.

Let’s say it’s very liveable but not yet complete.

 

Construction

Building a Small Cabin – The only way to begin is to start.
Building a Small Cabin Stage One – The Platform (on which to build the rest)

 

 

 

Journal

The Cabin, (some time ago in my journal)

I have made some progress, or let’s say that the base in very nearly complete, and I expect to have the sides and roof structure up this weekend, ready for the cladding and roof. If I say so myself it’s pretty well constructed so I reckon I could make another more easily and quicker. I am being careful to do it as inexpensively as possible, but still maintain the quality, also I being careful to modularise it. So things like buying in 6 m lengths and then cutting in half saved some cash, and using standard sizes.

 

 

IMG 2260

Two Bearers At 2400 To Fit Tow Truck.

Mistake #1 Don’t build in the shade, I should not have built under a tree, while this seemed like a very good idea in the heat of summer, when the winter set in it was very cool, even cold, which put me off working in the morning, since I’m a sunshine person. The tree also dropped it leave on the construction, and generally created a moist damp environment. It ended up being a pain, and I choose to move it to the sunshine later. So try start, build and finish in the right place place first time.

Nissan Urvan E23 (1983) – Part One

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I bought this lovely Nissan Urvan E23 (1983) from a chap who lives alongside where I work, I noticed the van in the his garden some time ago, and then one day when he was in the garden I asked him about it. He planned to do it up and was happy to show me around his van.

It has been sitting there waiting for nearly 6 years for him to fix it up, and he had purchased from someone further north up Bundaberg way.

Nissan Urvan E23 in my Garden after I had bought and brough her home

Months later, I greeted him in garden, and noticed the van was missing, so I asked where is van was? In the garage, he was probably going to sell it. A few more question about the price he hoping for, and I agreed to pop in sometime with my son Julian to look at it.

The following weekend we dropped in to see it, and I quickly fell in love with it, no windscreen, no roadworthy, a bit of rust on the corners, but it had a lovely pop top roof for camping, as well as an engine which I understood was in good condition.

He wanted $3000 and suggested that if it was for us and if we would use it, he’d part with it for $1500, I thought this was a fairy fair price for the vehicle and probably below it value.

I checked online, a 1983 Nissan Van was valued at between 1500 – 3500 depending on condition. Without further thought, I bought the vehicle and had Landsborough Windscreen fit a new windscreen and then snuck the van home one dark night.

The old girl sat in the undercover carport for a couple of months, while I considered the best way forward, the road worthy chap had a look at her and was happy that it was in decent condition and would pass once the rust was removed.

Filling the Pool with Creek Water

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Nearly a year ago, at the end of Spring or perhaps the start of Summer I filled the pool with river water or as it’s better known in Austalia creek water.

It wasn’t hard because I have a lovely creek at the bottom of my garden along border of my property. When it rains the the creek better described as river, and when it rains of a length of time it floods over much of the lower property and creates a lovey lake.

Having filled the pool I was surprised by how the water was was, a sort of black tea with a bit of brown in it. The sediment quickly settled to the bottom and I simply vacuumed it out to waste.

It wasn’t very long before it was a beautiful blue colour, and as good and any water. The and the whole process got me thinking about water purification.

The pools is 10 meters long, 5 meters wide and 1.2 meters at the shallow end andand probably 1.5 meters at the deep end and 2m deep at the three quarter length, (7 meter mark) I shall do some accurate measurements in inches and then work bottom of the to the upper edge.

I estimate the pool at about 80,000 litres, so that would probably cost me at lease $350 dollars to fill up.

As a matter of fact a dreamed last night about a very large pool that needed updating, there was some construction involve and a lot of water purification, so either pool or my water purification ideas are once again at the forefront of my mind, hence this musing rambling article.

I suspect that with a bit of work I may be able to design an above ground series of sand boxes, on the natural slope of my property which would allow for gravity feed water filtration.

I shall draw it out an upload photos for those interested