Burt's Tinkering

Changing out the shocks on my 2001 F250 Powerstroke. All of them are changed out taking about 2 hours total time.

2014 Passat TDI. I had a check engine light pop, investigated with my code reader and found something I didn't really like. Code indicated cylinder 3 injector was failing so I figured since I was going to be into it that I would replace all 4. At the time of this repair the car has about 120k miles on it. I sourced the injectors from https://vw.oempartsonline.com All other required parts are from https://www.idparts.com

The final big time lapse video of the cabin build. This is the trusses being built and the steel roofing going on.

This is the fourth video of my small cabin build (10x20) its not quite off grid for now. The features I plan on having in the cabin will be good proof of concept and at a later date could be switched over to be completely off grid. This one is the second floor construction and knee walls.

This is the third video of my small cabin build (10x20) its not quite off grid for now. The features I plan on having in the cabin will be good proof of concept and at a later date could be switched over to be completely off grid. This video is the complete construction of the first floor walls.

This is the second video of my small cabin build (10x20) its not quite off grid for now. The features I plan on having in the cabin will be good proof of concept and at a later date could be switched over to be completely off grid. This video is the complete construction of the supports and entire floor of the cabin.

In this video with the assistance of my Dad we cut a cabin site out of the hill. This is also where I broke my skid steer cut edge. The machines I am running are both Caterpillar, one is a 242D the other is a 303CR.

Simply put, changing the oil (with an oops) and some general maintenance of my 2001 F250 powerstroke.

One of the many projects....Caterpillar 242D. As you may have seen in a previous video I mentioned that there was water leaking into my fuel tank and pointed it out in the video https://youtu.be/jentOXBfNPo (about 7:50 in). Well this is the fix that I came up with. In addition to fixing the leak I also go through replacing the fuel filters as well as the air cleaner elements.

Just a quick and easy video replacing the blinker on my truck. Start to finish real time (with the exception of getting the actual light).

Its been rather busy since the weather has become nice. I have pretty much finished the shipping container remodel, during that time I was also unpacking/re-packing all the "stuff" that was stored. Not a whole lot of videos of me finishing the shipping container though. I will also be fixing my Caterpillar 242D and begin that task in this video as well.

A little bit of a change from what I normally post but thought some of you may enjoy it. On the evening of June 5th we had quite the thunder storm and I set up a time lapse in the window. These are the pictures I got. I hope you enjoy.

The second installment of my shipping container remodel. In this one I am building the large work bench indicated on my design. I do spare you watching me move all the stuff out before I begin building. This work bench is about as custom as custom gets as other than the idea of where I want it and the approximate length there are no designs to follow. The third and final video will be finishing the small bench, wiring all the outlets and a final overview of the remodel.

I bought a 20' long shipping container last year and built a bunch of storage shelves in it. Now I am turning it into a small workshop with a storage area in it.

As the title says I am finally done with cutting apart the home built brush rake. This took me some time to do, I did take my time to maximize the amount of steel I was able to save so it could have gone much faster had I not done that. With cost of materials though it was well worth taking the time to save as much as I could.

What better way to test if the repairs worked than running the machine? In this video Dad and I clean out the cows feed area, this muck is from the winter and is about 2 feet deep. Now that the 303 is repaired its time to get to work!

The completion of repairing the travel valves for my Caterpillar 303 CR, mistakes included.

I use my Titanium plasma cutter to disassemble a home made brush blade.

My Caterpillar 303 CR leaks hydraulic fluid from the travel valves. It has done this since I bought it and I suspect quite a while before that. With the help of my Dad we dig in to see if we can get it fixed. Having never done this before and not finding any technical data we muddle around for a while trying to figure this out. Mistakes are included in the video.

A quick repair of my truck. 2001 Ford F250 7.3L Diesel needing a steering stabilizer shock replacement. Actual time required to do this is about 20 minutes.

Replacing factory lights on Caterpillar 242D with Harbor Freight replacements. Nothing too fancy, although there is a slight modification required with the new lights.

The first major snow at my new place 2021, plowed with a standard bucket on a Caterpillar 242D. I had my assistant Calypso (my German Shepherd) during the making of this. Unfortunately this was the only good snow storm I was able to capture as I was ill and not able to work for a couple of months.

This video is the beginning of my Caterpillar 303 CR mini excavator. This machine is a 2004 model and has seen some use, it has just over 5000 hrs on it now and I purchased it used about 9 months ago. Of course I knew there would be needed repairs and this is the first major one. So my Dad and I get to work.

This time around my Dad and I get into the glow plugs. When I bought this machine it had an "extra" glow plug button. This button was directly wired from the battery (without a fuse) to the glow plug power rail. I am guessing that this was done because the old ones were getting weak. We remove all that extra stuff and re-install the old power rail, along with some brand new glow plugs. While we were working on it we discovered a fuel leak and fixed it. We changed the oil and found some broken brackets on the hydraulic cooler. I used the plasma cutter and drill press to fabricate new pieces.

This is me using my brand new TITANIUM 45A plasma cutter from Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight is not a sponsor I just happen to buy and use a lot of their tools and accessories. I have been impressed with their new tool lines and this plasm cutter is what I have come to expect from Harbor Freight. You may also notice almost every tool and accessory in this video also happens to be from Harbor Freight.