What did you do this weekend? Participation required

[429CJ-3X2]

FINALLY found and fixed the issue preventing adjustment of the headlights on my '04 Sport Trac! When I bought it a year ago in August, the driver's side headlight hit the ground 10-15 feet in front of he truck, while the passenger side light pointed up at the signs and trees on the side of the road. Adjusting the passenger side light wasn't a problem, but I went too far. The driver's side light would never adjust no matter what I did. Driving in unlit areas was actually dangerous.
I finally saw that the nylon cone on the back of the light that is supposed to go through the header panel and get locked in place, wasn't through the header. The top of the light wasn't locked in place, so turning the adjustment screw did nothing. Turns out that cone was too big for the hole it's supposed to go through. The lenses are perfectly clear, so I didn't want to swap the light. The cone attaches to the light with 2 screws, so I swapped cones with an old light, and now I can adjust the headlights! What a difference!! I need to tweak it a little, but now I can actually see the road!

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Headlight went out on the 2002 ST last night. Went to change the bulb this morning and found 2" of water in the housing along with pieces of the broken bulb. Fortunately, it's been above freezing! That's a Ford headlight and perfectly clear, so I'll get the water out and run some clear silicone around it. Meanwhile, I put another headlight in that's not too cloudy, but has a yellow tint somewhat like those yellow night driving glasses.

Transmission has been shifting weird lately. It was way low on fluid. Added fluid and it's shifting better. It appeared to be leaking where the hose going to the cooler connects to the hard line. Added another hose clamp, and discovered part of the dripping was coolant from the top radiator hose which was loose and working its way off. That explains why I couldn't tell exactly what was leaking since coolant and trans fluid were mixing before they hit the ground. Re-positioned and tightened the radiator hose, which fixed that leak. For the trans leak, I added a second clamp, which didn't stop the leak. The leak is actually due to the hard line rusting at the anti-vibration clip that attaches to the radiator. As a temporary bandaid, I cut a piece of hose from the '01 parts truck, split it, slid it over the bad section of hard line and used 2 clamps. That not only didn't work, it made the leak worse. Fortunately, the hard lines between the cooler and radiator on the parts truck look good, and the fittings have been apart since I replaced the radiator in that truck twice. The radiator in the '02 might be original. I sprayed those fittings with PB Blaster. Unfortunately, winter is coming - tonight! Snow in the morning, and the temps are going to drop like a rock, with lows in the single digits and highs in the teens to low 20s for at least a week.

As I was putting the lower cover back on, I remembered how last year started. From early Jan to mid-March, it was one thing right after another. Mountaineer window off the track, dead battery, 4x4 shift motor in the '04 ST not working, then the starter went bad, followed by the starter in the Mountaineer. I've been working on clearing out my hoarder father-in-law's basement, but maybe I should have been clearing out the garage!

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Got the trans line from the radiator to cooler swapped without issue - after 2-3" of snow. Temperature was around 30, and not too bad for January in Iowa. No more leaks! Now it's a matter of getting the right amount of fluid in it.

I knew I was forgetting a thing or 2 in the list of repairs last year, like upper control arm and tie rod ends, new tires, the alignment issues, all on the '02, shackles on the Mountaineer, rear struts and front end parts on our Escort, and probably more. One thing after another, sometimes simultaneously, from Jan 1 into June.