VW Mark IV Ignition Coil

If you own a VW golf/jetta IV and have noticed a loss of performance and an occasional engine misfire ( especially if it has rained recently) you might need to replace your ignition coil. But don't sweat it, it's actually sounds much more complicated than it is. You just need to remove the secondary air pump that is in front of the ignition coil and have at it. You'll need a socket set and some hex wrenches. However, while you are at it, it is a good idea to replace the spark wires and spark plugs too. This will require some really long extensions for your socket driver and maybe one of those super long needle nose pliers.

A great parts resource is ECS Tuning.

DIY Attic Sheet Rock Jack

This thing looks like a piece of technology from medieval times, but it actually worked. I was able to sheet rock my attic ceiling without much help ( my wife help me carry the heavier sheets up the stairs and onto the jack ). I built a frame out of 2x4's and used an hydraulic jack to raise the sheet rock up and down.

Recycled Motor Oil

Recycled motor oil. I would have to say, this is a very good idea for sustainability. I even bought some today, it was on sale for 2.99 a quart. Why not?

Can Used Oil Be Recycled? | Scientific American

Link Roundup

Band Saw + Block of Wood = Deer | Make
Apple iPad: A Linux Administrators New Assistant | Linux Magazine
Arduino: The Documentary | Spark Fun
Two Million Sketchup Model Milestone | Popular Woodworking

Jetta Water Pump Nightmares

I have a 2001 Jetta IV with only 70k miles on it, but was unfortunate enough to have the heat go out on one of the coldest days of the year. It also was over-heating. After a little sleuthing on the car repair forums, I came to the conclusion the water pump was toast.

You see for reasons I don't think anyone can explain this car was shipped with a plastic (ppe plastic) impeller on the water pump. Perhaps it was to save a few pennies or maybe to lighten the car.. who knows? However, you can imagine the hostile environment the water pump has do endure with all the heating, cooling and constant forces. Actually, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

It's not an easy job, but not impossible either for the adventurous DIY'er. The book time on this job is 4.5 hours and will cost between $1000 and $1400 dollars at a repair shop. You can save some serious money considering the parts cost less than $200.

The water pump is on the timing belt so naturally you'll replace the timing belt, main belt, water pump and timing belt tensioner (need special tool for this).

There's a really awesome post on VWVortex with detailed replacement instructions that has everything you need to know. Make sure you buy the right timing belt kit for your engine and get the special tool to adjust the tensioner.

Ultimate Timing Belt DIY | VWVortex
ECS Tuning Ultimate Timing Belt Kit | ECS Tuning
Timing Belt Tensioner Tool | ECS Tuning

Simple Tutorial on Compiling C programs with GCC

GCC is the GNU c compiler that can does a lot of heavy lifting in the programming worlds.

The basic format for compiling a Hello World program is:

gcc hello.c -o hello

In this statement 'hello.c' is the program, '-o' is an option and 'hello' will be the name of the executable program. The '-o' option just specifies that compiled version of your program will be saved to an another filed called 'hello'. If you exclude this option, the the compiler will save to a default 'a.out' file.

Breif Review of Harbor Freight 1/2 inch Air Impact Wrench

Having never bought anything from Harbor Freight (Fright), I decided to grab this ultra inexpensive air tool to make quick work of rotating tires. For less than $20 bucks, I thought I should give it a try. The bottom line was - it did work fine, but seemed to lack torque. I guess this shouldn't be a surprise, but I really wonder if it really has a max torque of 250 ft-lbs.

In the end, I did return the item without any problems, so no major complaints, but probably not the best tool for stubborn, rusted bolts. Considering higher end air impact wrenches are many times the price ( over $100 ) of this one, one can't be too critical.

Links:
Harbor Freight Tool Reviews | Tool Crib