What's your most satisfying mechanical repair (bike or anything else)?

[Fastpedaller]

I'll start this off with my car trolley jack, a big beast which has been used for about 25 years and slowly (but surely) becoming less able. I went to use it last week and it wouldn't go up at all. Off to Youtube, I looked at and tried various handle movements to try and get an improvement. I looked online for a new jack and they all promised to be either lighter (Hmm...... about as accurate as cycle component weights), not very reliable, or hugely expensive. I bought a can of jack hydraulic oil, carefully removed 2 screwed plugs, and using a small syringe added a total of about 100ml of it into the jack. Slowly moving the handle up and down ejected air bubbles, and with a final topping-up of about 15ml, the jack works better than it has for the last 5 years. Very satisfying for an outlay of £6.

 

[Jameshow]

Tried up a pair of r550 wheels that after a crash two lbs said couldn't be trued!!

Built two pairs of wheels during covid!

 

[cyberknight]

over the 1st lockdown i set about refurbing an old bike that the paintwork had bubbled badly around the bottle cages which turned from a touch up job to a complete strip and spray.
Luckily an auto shop spray paint manager was on facefluff local group when i asked where i could get it done and got it redone cheap .
I then rebuilt the bike from frame up

 

[Joffey]

I fixed the kitchen extractor fan. A shoddy previous installation by the builders had caused duct tape to drop into the motor. I removed it all and replaced the tape with the correct foil tape. Problem solved and £150 saved.

 

[dan_bo]

With bikes, removing a stubborn bottom bracket can be most satisfying.

At work, the removal, full no- spares clean and rebuild, refit and successful test of a Q-TOF Reflectron used to give me a big ol' chub on. If you know you know.

 

[toffee]

A couple of years ago I fixed the gear linkage in my wife's car for about £15 for parts and tools. Garage wanted £550 to supply and fit a new linkage.

 

[gbb]

Given spanners is my day job, a few spring to mind, some I have told here before...
Polish colleague turned up at my then workshops, driveside crank and sprocets in his hand...can you fix please ?
One look, the BB axle had snapped and was still in the crank. Errr no, nothing I can do.
Pleeease, I need to get home.
Hmm maybe, separated the broken parts, deep chamfered both and mig welded them back together, gently shaving away excess material until the taper fitted snugly.
DO NOT stand on the pedals, DO NOT push too hard, MAKE SURE you get it fixed ASAP, I give no promises, guarantees .....BE CAREFUL.
he was still riding it weeks later Ffs....

Fixed several broken or worn drive shafts on machinery in similar ways, always satisfying to get something running against the odds in a Saturday afternoon, ready for the next days production.

Also solved a problem a Spanish packhouse was having with a specific pack format, flew out there, made machine adjustments, mechanical and timing, worked a treat.
Like selling coals to Newcastle, they're the experts but couldn't fix this one.

Alloy Bianchi frame, the downtube cable adjusters had sized solid in the threaded bosses then snapped off when I tried to release them. A lot of thought, they're close to the frame so you can't get a drill chuck near....got an extended drill bit to drill it out, about 6 i nches of 1/4 drive extensions and a modified 5mm tap to redo the threads, worked a treat, allowed me to use a drill away from the frame.

 

[Fastpedaller]

gbb's story above about welding the bb axle reminded me of......
Six years ago I took car for MOT (Ford type 9 gearbox if you are familiar with them). Tester didn't know to push gearstick down to get car in reverse, so forced it in the 'correct direction', resulting in a broken gear stick (right near the lower end of course. I removed it from the gearbox, he MIG welded it and it only lasted about 50 miles (only tens, not hundreds of gear-changes). I removed it and found the MIG had only penetrated about 2mm (diameter 10mm at a guess). I chamfered the parts, got out the old buzz box (arc welder) and put some serious heat into it. been ok since ...... oops I've jinxed it now

 

[presta]

I've repaired that much over the years I'd have difficulty in picking out one in particular, or even remembering them, but the thread reminds me of a TV series in which people were given the chance to learn a craft: stone masonry and stained glass windows are the two that spring to mind. What struck me was the number of people who had gone through life having never discovered the satisfaction and enjoyment to be had from actually making something for yourself. A sad sign of a consumer society in which there's more status to be had in having the money to pay others to do your jobs for you than in being able to do them for yourself.

There was one job I did which got increasingly unsatisfying the more times I repeated it.....

My aunt didn't like mowing the lawn, so she used to let it get overgrown, thrash her tiny little mower that was hopelessly overloaded, then ask me to repair the gearbox she'd wrecked. The motor had a small diecast pinion driving a large nylon gear on the blade shaft, and when I took it apart the damage was always the same: a toothless nylon gear, and a pinion crusted with a coat of melted & burnt plastic. I had the same (Qualcast Rota-Mini) mower which was used far more often, and never failed once, but repeated attempts at coaching her how to treat it gently fell on deaf ears.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

I have a collapsible airer at home where one of the sliding hinges snapped rendering it useless. I was able to remove the one from the other side and scan it to an STL file for my 3D printer. An hour or so later I had a replacement part fitted and the airer back in use.

That was around three years ago and it is still going strong.

 

[Fastpedaller]

I have a collapsible airer at home where one of the sliding hinges snapped rendering it useless. I was able to remove the one from the other side and scan it to an STL file for my 3D printer. An hour or so later I had a replacement part fitted and the airer back in use.

That was around three years ago and it is still going strong.

good to hear of a part being 3D printed, which is useful rather than being a purely cosmetic exercise!

 

[CXRAndy]

Most satisfying is rebuilding carburetors after a clean, to find the machine purrs like a new one. I must say of the 5 or 6 I've done in the last 2 years, only one has been my own machine

 

[Jameshow]

Most satisfying is rebuilding carburetors after a clean, to find the machine purrs like a new one. I must say of the 5 or 6 I've done in the last 2 years, only one has been my own machine

Didn't know Tesla's have carbs!! 🤣🤣🤣

 

[november4]

Anything car related as that always starts at £400 at a garage quote, so easy money saved

Probably most satisfying has been outdoor garden projects like drains, as it solved problem and cost buttons diy

 

[Gunk]

Tried up a pair of r550 wheels that after a crash two lbs said couldn't be trued!!

Built two pairs of wheels during covid!

Me too, it was a new skill that I taught myself, really enjoyed it and very satisfying.