Windstar Idle Air Control Valve

1999 Windstar with 80,000 miles has caused a little trouble with start up. It doesn't bother me because I just give it a little more juice and it usually settles down once it warms up a bit. But mum got stuck in Massachusetts by herself once and that wasn't good. Anyway, the battery died at Windsor Hills and a volunteer named Mike helped diagnose the problem and changed the battery. He even drove to Walmart to get a new one for us. While he was at it, he noticed a slow idle and even stalling. He looked for a vacuum leak and sprayed carb and choke cleaner around the engine to see if a vacuum leak would make the engine run faster. Nothing happened so he said it might be the idle solenoid and I should get a good mechanic to take a look when I got home.
So I called the car parts shop and they said they didn't have such a thing. Then I called Ford and they said what do you mean, tell me where it goes. Then he said do you mean the IAC valve, and I said yes, not wanting to sound like I didn't know what I was talking about. That was about $170. So I called the car parts shop again with the right name, and they said $80.
A quick search on the internet told me to take the thing off and clean it out. So that's what we did. At first I couldn't really see in and we just sprayed in some cleaner. That didn't make any difference, so we took it off again. This time I poked a scribe in the hole and was able to move the piston back so that the valve opened the hole between the two halves. The unit is a little valve that allows air to bypass the normal intake system when the idle is too low, i.e. at start-up. It was stuck closed and that's why the idle was too low when cold, making the engine stall. So we got it unstuck. The car started up and idled properly.
We didn't really do a good job of cleaning it, and it started to stick again. So today we took it off again and soaked it in carb and choke cleaner. We also tried to scrape out the gunk and clean it up better. Hopefully it will stay good now (so we save $80!).
Now the 'check engine' light is on again so we'll have to find out which codes are outstanding. The car automatically fails inspection if the 'check engine' light is on.

Summer Summary (so far)

"It only takes a spark..."

In mid-June C spoke on "The Power of a Woman" at a Nazarene Women's Retreat in New Hampshire.

A roaring Acts chapter 2-like wind picked up on campfire night, scattering sparks everywhere.


Late June: As a family we attended the Nazarene General Conventions and part of the General Assembly in Orlando, FL. ) We connected with several old friends --a reminder of the many people who have invested in our lives. Thank you! The kids made themselves at home in the exhibit hall where they collected mementos. High points were NYI worship led by the Aussie group "By Grace" and the "valedictory" sermon of Rev. Nina Gunter (Sunday night) which culminated in a parade of flags carried by Nazarenes from 155 world areas (We missed the GS elections). The kids enjoyed their first experience of Cici's Pizza, the buildable, raceable toys at Downtown Disney (the closest we got to the Disney parks) and the pool at the condo. The family favorite recreational activity was an airboat ride with Boggy Creek Tours in Poinciana, FL. After the swamp boat ride, we all got to hold this alligator (above).




Early July: On the way home from Orlando, we had time to enjoy rellies and the beach in Daytona, and a day on the Mall and in the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. An international festival was underway on the Mall featuring artisans and performers from various countries. The potter, weaver, stone carver and boat builder from Wales were amazing.


Mid-July brought us Boys' Camp in Windsor, NH., S as counselor, Ja as CIT, D as camper, the female family members as program assistants. Camp featured swimming, boating, archery, Bible Quizzing (D learned over 60 verses to win the first place trophy) , worship and a pine car derby (D's pine car pictured below). Ju. caught moths and a teeny frog at camp, but we failed to snap a photo. Sorry, Phil! On the way down the mountain we stopped at the Franklin Pierce house where an artisan fair was underway. Our first time to watch a pewtersmith in action. Next week we head to Girls' Camp at the same place with C as speaker.


Other new experiences this summer included geocaching with friends in Fitchburg (after S. preached there) and the kids' discovery of mica (shiny, mirror-like flakes common in the granite rocks of north central Mass. and New Hampshire).


The very latest excitement is that A. lost her first baby tooth.

Sea Mast

A. was reluctant to move up to the next size bike (which someone discarded), although her pink one has a broken pedal and is difficult to ride. So she decided to paint her new bicycle yellow. She cleaned it carefully, and sanded some trouble spots, then painted it with a yellow spray can (with help from dad on the painting). After the paint dried she peeled off the "Tiger Shark" stickers, which exposed the red paint underneath in the shape of sharks. Then she took some black paint and painted "Sea Mast" ('sea master' wouldn't fit) to continue the marine theme. We are all very happy with the results.

Plum File Handle

Follow-up to October 8, 2008 post.

Last year I was ripping apple wood and cut some nails, so I needed to sharpen the chain saw. The file didn't have a handle, so I made one out of a branch of plum tree that grows in our yard. I started with a draw knife, cutting through the heart and sap wood so the grain would contrast light and dark.

Then I used a rasp to shape the handle. I was going for a kind of peanut shape, which was always my theme for everything I made in highschool (like a carved paddle which we made with a spoke shave). Not too successful on the peanut theme but the shape came out OK.

I cut a ferrel from a piece of half inch copper pipe. Then I marked the handle for cutting to accommodate the ferrel. First I marked a tenon saw with masking tape so I wouldn't cut too deep.

Then I chiselled the unwanted material off. The chisel is from a set I have had since I was little. I don't know where the green paint came from. Maybe my brother had it for a while and painted it for identification. The mallet I made in Dad's garage with some wood Rhoda left (kauri for the mallet, and cherry for the handle). I added the dowel much later because the handle kept working it's way off.

Finally I sanded the handle. I had to wrap it with a rag because the oak in the vice jaws was marking it. I thought oak would be nice and hard for vice jaws, but now I realise that a soft wood is better. Anyway I put the grain the wrong way in the vice jaws and the front one has split (still not fixed either!).

The handle has been sitting around for nearly a year because I couldn't find the file after all that. It turned up recently...in the file drawer! It was hiding in a corner, the sneaky little fellow. Now to sharpen the chain saw and get some firewood for winter.

Alphabet Stamps

For a long time I have wanted alphabet stamps. I remember seeing them for sale overseas, but didn't buy them. Since then I have never seen them for sale. I decided to have a look on ebay and found a few options. For about $20 (half of it shipping!) I got the 3mm size (made in China). It has the alphabet and numerals. The kids have been stamping all their books, and any leather, wood, or paper they can find. I just tried it out on my new hair clippers tool. That steel proved a bit hard but made a legible impression. Sheet metal or copper should work nicely. Now, the 3 mm is a bit small; shall I buy a 6 mm set now?????

Making a Tool for the Hair Clippers

About 10 years ago I made tool to adjust my hair clippers so it wouldn't make that loud clackity sound. Usually the clippers would need adjusting as they warmed up so the tool was very handy and I was ruining scissors trying to turn the adjustment screw with them. The first tool was cut out of thick sheet metal with a hacksaw. It looked like the key to a wind-up toy and it worked fine. However, it's been missing for years.

I have been getting by without it by letting the clippers warm up before using them. But last time I tried to use them, they wouldn't work at all, even after a warm up period (they buzz softly, but the blades do not move). So it was time to make another tool. I looked around for some more thick sheet metal, but then decided on a different design. This was made cold (to save the bother of firing up the forge). I hammered a steel bar flat at one end; shaped it further on the bench grinder; then drilled a small hole near the end. This hole was opened up with a hacksaw, and then smoothed out with a rat tail file. Then I put it in the vice cold and hammered a turn in it; cut the handle to about 100 mm with a hacksaw, and cleaned the whole thing up a bit. Now we are all looking smart with our summer haircuts! Beware dog! You're next!

More New Tools

The person who gave me the scythe just gave me some more tools as she cleans out getting ready to move.

1. Cross cut saw (Disston PHILA)
2. Tenon saw
3. Three small specialty spanners
4. An unknown crimping tool. I have another of these but I haven't figured out what it is for. The handle clamps closed. It may be for shaping hot iron, or holding various shaped stock for hammering.
5. Two small screwdrivers.
6. Three drill bits, two of them for brace and bit.
7. A steel cube for hammering nails straight.
8. A plumbing clean out snake.
9. A wonderful heavy vice, which unfortunately has some steel broken off so that there are three or four dead winds when changing direction. (PARKER MERIDEN CT. / PAT JUNE / 20, 1954 / EXT'D. [reverse:] PAT MAY 28 / NOV. 26, / DEC. 17 1867 / No. 1)
10. Bevel. I have never had one of these before, although my father has one. (CRAFTSMAN)
11. Some kind of impact drill. Maybe it is not supposed to have a drill bit in it. The other small drill bit is sharpened the same way: to a chisel edge (i.e. one flat edge instead of two chisel edges for drilling).
12. A sawsall blade.
13. A hacksaw blade holder (SKODCO-HAWERA, INC. ELM GROVE VILLAGE, IL 60007)
14. A beautiful two-man saw with handles perfectly intact (they are usually gone or badly broken) and very sharp; nearly no rust. I think this is the best example I have ever seen (DISSTON & SONS / STEEL WARRANTED / PATENT GROUND / PHILADELPHIA / US PAT OFF).