Adding a Bar Holder to the HarborFreight Tire Changer

I am often asked about the modification I made to the HarborFreight Tire Changer in order to hold the bar in place as shown here with the arrow:

I find that the bar holder makes the tire change process a lot easier having the bar held in place rather than having to fumble for it while also holding the tire in position. Adding the bar holder is quite straightforward. It is made from a short section of 1-1/4″ steel pipe clamped to the tire changer using two-piece clamping collars like these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0063L0E9W.

If I remember correctly, I did have to grind out the inside of the collars a bit to fit the pipe since the collars have an inner bore of 1.625″ and the outer diameter of 1-1/4″ steel pipe is 1.66″.

To fasten the collars to the tire changer, I drilled and tapped some holes in the collars and then through-bolted them from the opposite side of the tire changer as shown here:

The bolts are M6 x 1.0 (6mm diameter, 1mm thread pitch):

I added a screw in the end to serve as a stop to prevent the bar from sliding all the way through:

The handle itself is just a short (maybe 3ft) section of 1″ steel pipe. The 1″ steel pipe has an outer diameter of 1.315″ which fits nicely inside the 1-1/4″ steel pipe which has an inner diameter of 1.38″ (a little over 1/16″ play).

Hope this is helpful!

Replacing the Rear Shocks

The following pdf document provides step-by-step documentation on replacing the rear shocks on a 2007 Honda Accord.

rear-shock-replacement.pdf

P1157, P0134 and LAF (Wideband O2) Sensor Replacement

 

The following PDF shows the procedure for replacing the upstream wideband O2 sensor (technically, the LAF, or Lean Air Fuel sensor).

p1157-and-p0134-laf-wideband-o2-sensor-replacement.pdf

Ignition Coil Waveforms

The ignition coil current waveforms can be monitored using a relatively inexpensive scope and current clamp. This technique can be used to diagnose problems with individual coils as well as some spark plug problems. The following PDF shows known-good ignition coil current waveforms as well as what they look like under a few fault conditions (ignition coil open and ignition coil short).

ignition-coil-waveforms.pdf

Inside a Lower Ball Joint

Here’s a quick look inside a Honda OEM lower ball joint.  Interestingly the ball socket has upper and lower plastic wear surfaces:

Fuel Pump – Current Waveform

The health of the fuel pump and its operating speed (RPMs) can be rapidly assessed by a quick look of its current waveform. The shape of the current waveform, pump speed and average current draw are good parameters by which to diagnose a failing fuel pump.  Details of the procedure and known good fuel pump waveforms are contained in the following PDF file:

fuel-pump-current-waveform.pdf

Relative Compression Test

The relative compression test monitors starter current (via a current probe and scope) during cranking to get a quick gauge of the compression of each cylinder relative to the other cylinders.  This is a quick and easy test which can be used to check for any significant loss of compression in a cylinder.  More details, including known good waveforms are in the following PDF file:

relative-compression-test.pdf

Starter Rebuild

The link below has a step-by-step write-up on my experience rebuilding the starter on a 2007 4CYL Honda Accord.  Feel free to add your tips or suggestions in the comments below.

starter-rebuild.pdf

Starter Replacement

Here is a step-by-step write-up on my experience replacing the starter on a 2007 4CYL Honda Accord:

starter-replacement.pdf

There is also a write-up on rebuilding the starter in the Rebuilds section.

Spark Plug Replacement

 

Here is a brief guide to replacing the spark plugs on a 4CYL 7th Generation Accord:

replacing-spark-plugs.pdf