12/8

I ended up changing out a 5th wheel on a Semi. I had to use a heel bar to get the pins out of the bushings. It's heavier than it looks so I used the forklift to remove and replace it via a lifting pin. After assembling it I learned how to grease a 5th wheel properly.

I was asked to find an air leak on a 30 year old Kenworth owned by Tiger Construction. A co worker had spent all day on it and still couldn't find all of the leaks. He found some of them but the truck would still leak air overnight to the point of being empty. I ended up pulling up a schematic with Jeff and going over how the air system works and ways you can separate which system are actually leaking.

What I actually learned was using a schematic to systematically work my way across an air system until I found the big leak on this truck. I started from the Wet Tank and worked my way back until I found bubbles on the air lines after spraying with soapy water. It ended up being a section of air line near the rear axle. I couldn't tell if it was leaking due to chafing but there were many hose clamps on it in an attempt to repair it. Just that 8 feet of hose had over half a dozen leaks in it that were substantial. I replaced the air line with DOT approved 1/4" OD tubing which the truck didn't have on it to begin with. That's a violation and it wouldn't have passed a truck inspection at the scales.

Using a pin to lift off the 5th wheel.

Reused the bushings on the 5th wheel.

12/1

servicing turcks (PMI)

fuel filter

u joints and driveline

# 2 and 3 u joint after the transmission

slip yolks being out of spec (rocking inside the yolk)

broken  caps

11/24

ssc truck fabrication

mig weleding

checking air brakes

greasing

how the air brakes work

service brakes vs parking brakes

stroke, diaphragm, and sizing

11/17

Excavator tracks

lvl tracks to proper tension

trunnion

ssc truck fabrication

excavator circuit

testing my system pump 1

Coupler for the transducer being used on the test port for my pump.

2 inches was the spec for this cylinder on the drift test. Pretty small.

Again same concept but a longer stroke

bucket cylinder.

You use a tape measure to measure the tension on the track shoes.
You need to have the tracks off the ground though when adjusting.

Transducer used for testing my system's circuit.

Tire stacking contest. I lost but at the same time I've operated a much larger
excavator successfully.

component identification.

11/10

Took out a semi truck module to swap out with one that was good to test and see if it was the module or another problem. The marker lights on the truck weren't working so Bruce wanted me to test the module.

11/3

What I took away from lethal strike was never assume the hydraulic system you're working on is safe. Always take into account that there could be a leak somewhere and be mindful of that. I'm currently working within inches of several hydraulic lines. I have no idea what the psi for that system is but I'm sure it's high enough that I don't want to be getting hit by it. I've had to take a lot of precautions to protect those lines when I'm cutting close-by or welding. I'll use a piece of sheet metal or a rubber mat and even with that I'm sure there are times where I've been lucky to not have run into a problem. The other thing I took away from the video is always use something else besides your hand when looking for a leak. Use a piece of cardboard folded over or something else to protect yourself.

A witty pun

I've learned quite a bit

Straightened this rod out with a press.

This truck had a broken grease fitting. They're just taken off by a socket and one threads back into the port.

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You can see the welds I cut along the bottom of the angle iron.
That's just the ones on that piece.
I' wouldn't be surprised if I did 100 welds.