Replacing the glass screen on my macbook..

So a while ago the screen broke on my computer, I wasn't going to replace it right away because the small cracks were on the black border and only two or so cracks actually went onto the screen. But since I'm leaving on my mission I decided to replace now before I go. So my first step was to go online and find a screen. I found several places that sell them and decided on one I found on Amazon for $48 and a heavy duty suction cup for $10 including shipping. These are the only tools you will need, and a hair dryer but that is a little more common. The screen is held on by a very adhesive double sided tape that is behind the black border of the screen. Use the hair dryer on high heat and low fan speed and move back and forth about three inches away from the screen. 

Next you use the suction cup to pull on the screen and pull the class away from the backing. Normally once you got it off on the bottom use a card to keep the glass away, and use another card and the hair dryer to soften the tape and use the second card to pull the glass away. I broke the glass free on the bottom and then could not get the side. The cracks that were already on the screen spread even more and was making it more difficult to not brake the screen but pull enough to get the side of the screen free. My screen ended up breaking from the suction cup, so it got ugly real quick. I ended up breaking the screen off just inside the border on two of the sides. So I had to go around with a knife and break off the glass border that was still on there. 

This took the longest, I spent about 20 min. taking the glass off and about an hour and a half. After I got all the glass off, I had to go back over the border and scrape the tape off, there needs to be a clean surface for the new screen to adhere to. BE VERY CARFUL NOT TO SCRATCH THE LCD SCREEN! The new screen has the tape already on it you just have to peel off the backing on the tape and stick it to your computer. I placed the bottom in first and and slowly started leaning the screen back make sure the bottom is tucked inside the rubber trim to make sure it will fit under the top trim. You also have to be careful to make sure the webcam is lined up with the hole in the border. Firmly press your way around the outside of the screen to ensure a snug fit. This step took me about 10 min. So give yourself a little over 2 hours...

 The old screen took on some cracks.....

Stay tuned for changing out your worn out shocks!...

Full Brake Upgrade

This project was upgrading the front brakes on my 1999 Toyota 4runner. The front brakes on my generation 4runner were made a little too small. The brakes were fine for around town driving but heavy braking or continual braking they got too hot and would start to warp. I noticed this on the way back from a recent trip to Sunriver. As a side note, to test if your rotors are warped, get going about 40-45mph and slowly start to press the brake pedal. If you keep pressing the pedal in and you slowly start to brake then your brakes are straight. If your car brakes but it brakes with a pulse then your rotors are most likely warped.

To start, make sure your are on flat stable ground. Then, break the lug nuts free (but don't remove them) with BEFORE you start to jack up the car. This will save you problems later. Then jack up and car and place the jack stands on a sturdy part of your car. On unibody cars the factory jacking points are at the base of the front doors behind the front wheels and at the same place in front of the back wheels. If your car has frame rails then anywhere on the frame rails or on a joint of the suspension. Once the car is up on the jack stands, do a "wiggle test" use your body to push the car side to side and front to back to check how stable it is. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP. If you can see your car is going to tip, don't tip it over just readjust the jack stands or place them somewhere else. 

Once the car is up and sturdy, finish removing the lug nuts and the wheel will come off. Do this for both front wheels. I slide the wheels under the car, this gets them out of the way and is also a safety measure incase the jack stand fails.

On the back there are two bolts that need to be removed and the brake line. CAUTION: The brake like nut is made of a soft metal, If it starts to strip at all with a open-end wrench, use a line-wrench. Once the brake line is removed it will start to drip so put a bucket or jar to catch the brake fluid. Then remove the two bolts. This will remove the brake caliper.

Once the caliper is removed the caliper will pop off. It may be a little stuck from being on the car for a while, so a couple hits with a hammer will break it free. 

Now it is time to open up the new rotors. The new rotors are the same diameter but are much thicker so they can take a lot more heat before they start to warp. If your brakes are only slightly warp it is possible to have them turned so that they are smooth again, but this can only be done once, maybe twice before they become unsafe because they will be too thin. Les Schwab is where I would go or down to my local high school (Corvallis High School) They have a new brake lath and can be trusted and will do it for free.

Even though they are new they still need to be sprayed with a brake cleaner because they are packaged with a film of oil on them to keep any rust from forming. Any spray brake cleaner will work, this is the one I use.

 I set my rotor on a cinder block with plastic underneath and sprayed heavily to make sure all dirt and grime is removed.

Then place the rotor on the car, try not to touch the surface, just the outside. 

The next step is to prepare the new caliper to be placed on the rotor. Here is the new rotor compared to the old rotor.

There are two pins and two springs that come with the new caliper to hold the brake pads in place.

These are a little tricky to set in place so I took a couple pictures to help show all the components.

Here is a look at the back side of the caliper once the brake pads are in place.

The next step is the toughest, slide the caliper over the rotor until the bold holes line up. Then get the bolts started with your hands.

Tighten both bolts until they are up against the caliper, then tighten to 91 ft-lbs.

Next reattach the brake line again being very careful not to strip or cross thread.

Here is a look at the drivers side.

Now that the hydraulic system has been open, there is air in the system, which is not good so we must bleed the brakes. To do this, you must have a partner. Open the hood and find the brake booster reservoir. As you can see on mine it has dropped from when I took the brake line off of the caliper. 

Now that the brake lines are connected add brake fluid into the reservoir until its up to the max(it will go down). Have your partner pump the brake pedal 5 or 6 times and have them keep the brake pedal to the floor. While they are holding the pedal to the floor loosen the bleeder screw with a wrench and on mine just air came out the first time but there may be a little fluid coming out. Then tighten the screw back up and have them start pumping again for a couple times and hold again. The pedal should get hard on the 3rd or 4th pump and have them keep the pressure while you open the screw again and there should be more fluid and less air coming out each time. Make sure you check the fluid level in the reservoir after each time and the whole process should only have to be done 3 or 4 times for each brake assembly. Then put the wheels back on and tighten the lug nuts in a star pattern and you're good to go! The first time I drove the brake pedal was soft and the car wasn't really braking but after having the car running for a couple minutes and using the brakes a couple times it is good to go, and will not be a problem after.