Big Bald Bills DIY

Here is the Ford Econoline van rear door mechanism in its full naked glory, along with my fancy new shiny metal end pieces threaded into it.  So, the doors in the van stopped opening .... that is, when you try to pull the release mechanism, the doors don't open... like a child lock mechanism is on or something.  First it started with the rear door... outside latch, then inside one stopped working too.  Then the side door inside mechanism stopped.  What a PIA.  So, I found out that the rubber/plastic end pieces on the ends of the latch cables deteriorate over time and they had probably worn out.  Sure enough that is what it was. I ended up buying a 20 pack of metal ends off someone from Ebay. They worked great. After I took off the deteriorating rubber cable ends, I simply slid these on.  I found that I didn't need to crimp them, although I did use a hacksaw to narrow the diameter a little so that they would be easier able to slide into the latch ...

996-607-019-01-M100 Nearly all the posts I've read about replacing the Y-Cable on my Porsche 996 indicated that you had to remove the alternator.  I found I didn't.  Here is a diagram showing how I did this part of the task.  Hope it helps someone! Some background: I've been tracking down a hot start issue with my 2000 Porsche 996.... when the car is cold, it fires right up.   When it is warm, it acts like there is a low battery or something.  At this point, I've replaced the battery and installed a new fuel filter (had read some cars have similar issue when a fuel filter is dirty).  Neither have solved the issue.  I'm now going after the y-cable ( 996-607-019-01-M100 ) as that seems to be a common cause (happens in 997s as well from what I can read) of the same symptoms. Over time, this cable corrodes inside and makes the cable more subject to heat impedance issues. After reading a ton of different articles and posts by ot...

Welcome to a personal blog focused on sharing Do It Yourself knowledge with others.  A vast major of my DIY knowledge has come from other people willing to share their information on the World Wide Web.  As such, I want to share with others too, as a pay back or pay forward.  This blog is for that.  I'm no pro blogger guy, and I'm not going to spend countless hours making everything perfect on this website.  I'd much rather spend my time actually doing DIY stuff than writing/videoing/photographing it. So, please accept my apology in advance for any errors, or omissions, or whatever you don't like.