What a day!!!!! January 31, 2013, 07:43:58 PM Today started out very slow so i wanted to hit the Midnighter hard. Summer is around the corner and i need lots of time to finish the car. But then it happened. The wrecker dropped off a chevy 6.5 Diesel powered truck. The owner was very upset to say the least. Apparently he got an estimate of 2500 bucks to fix his truck. With that i asked the guy what was wrong? He asked me if i was RENZO. I said yes i am. He told me he had a water pump installed a month ago. He then showed me a bracket ripped off the front of the engine. Clearly the bracket was not tight. And the bolts fell out and snapped one off. It held the alternator belt tension-er and vacuum pump. I explained to the customer it was not looking to good. But i wanted to rip in to it and see what was up. So the customer agreed to pay an hour labor to find out. So i tore the front apart and sure enough one bolt sheared off the front of the head and it broke the 2 lower double ended bolts clean off. So i tried to drill out the bolt. NO DICE. So with that i called the customer and said i had an idea that would work. He agreed to another 3-4 hours of labor. With that my fabrication mind started working in high gear. Bingo i knew exactly what to do. I would make a brace from a spare hole in the top of the head to the exhaust manifold stud. So off to the metal pile and i found exactly what i needed. Here is the fix.Make a bracket!!!Modify the cars bracket to make up the space differenceUsed the double ender bolt in the exhaust manifole and ground down some of the manifoldBolt it to the extra hole and bracket i made for the manifold and weld it.Add a hole drill and tap it and bolt it to the engine. Add some home made studs and PRESTO Repair finished. Called the customer gave him a HEFTY bill. Not anywhere near the 2500 bucks he got an estimate for. And all is good in the world of chevy diesel trucks. Just thought you would enjoy the repair. The guy was so happy as not only saving a lot of money no down time to speak of. I asked the guy how he found us. He said everyone he talked to knows RENZO the MAGICIAN. And told him to bring the truck to me. Made me feel real good. Hope you like the fix. Just something different and i thought you guys would like it. Thanks Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #1 – January 31, 2013, 08:32:55 PM Necessity is the mother of invention. Nice work. Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #3 – February 01, 2013, 11:22:46 AM That was a great repair Tom, it does make you feel good when you can redesign something and make it work so you dont have to spend alot of money replacing it. Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #5 – February 01, 2013, 01:02:21 PM Well thank you guys. Personally i did not want to pull the head to replace it. That was a job i did not want to DO. Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #6 – February 01, 2013, 01:25:47 PM Quote from: tom renzo;408553well thank you guys. Personally i did not want to pull the head to replace it. That was a job i did not want to do. lol! Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #7 – February 01, 2013, 05:23:40 PM Quote from: 86T-bird;408554lol! Yes i rather work on the Midnighter. Much more fun and productive. Thanks Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #8 – February 02, 2013, 01:47:10 AM Nice work Tom that seems like the only way out of a complicated situation to meIt looks like there wasnt too many ways to skin that cat Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #9 – February 02, 2013, 02:28:09 PM YOU BET JAY. Pulling that head is a NIGHTMARE!!!! Quote Selected
What a day!!!!! Reply #10 – February 02, 2013, 05:12:32 PM "When you have the right tools you can work miracles." - Cmdr. Montgomery Scott Quote Selected
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