Simple auto repairs gone bad.

[VINMAN]

U-joint replacement in my p/u. Easy one hour job, then hit the beach for some fishing

Except when the 3 of the 4 tiny 5/16 bolts on the yoke strip. ( Why does Spicer use little tiny bolts on something designed for a 1-ton truck..??) No biggie, except for when they all snap when trying to get them out.
Ok I'll just take the yoke off and drill them out on my drill press. Hold on, why don't my 1 7/8 socket fit?? Because you need a special socket that is designed for that nut. No I'm not about to grind down a $30 socket to get it to fit. Ill just have to drill the bolts out by hand. Ive done that plenty of times. except when you break the drill bit off in one and an easy-out in another. Many hours later with some careful creative work with a few tiny bits and a dremel, I manage to get said broken pieces removed. Run a tap through the holes to clean it up. Good as new. Oh, and forgot to add the 2 hours it took to get the u-joint out of the drive shaft with my 12 ton press and a torch....

Easy1 hour job started Friday night at 5PM. finished sun at 11 AM

[GH85Carrera]

My wife calls it "Male optimism".

She asks me how long a project will take and she then multiplies by 5 or or more.

Her corrected time seems to be closer to reality.

[fastfredracing]

Welcome to my world,. But then my phone rings, "is my truck done yet? you said it would be done by 3 pm, I have to pick up my kids from school".
The one thing I have learned to accept is that no two jobs in this biz are the same. sometimes , the simplest of jobs turns into a steaming pile of yuck.
Glad you got it done.

[Jim Richards]

It's like déjà vu all over again.

[pete3799]

The fish are happy.

[Baz]

You need to get a Silverado Vinny....then it will just be fuel pumps....not U joints.

[herr_oberst]

What is it about life that throws us these curveballs? I've done tasks and chores where everything falls into place, and others take 7 trips to the hardware store (My record for a single day/single project)

I wish there could be a small test task - if it goes well, Providence is smiling, if it goes badly, take the day off, wait out the cycle til things are falling into place.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

My wife calls it "Male optimism".

She asks me how long a project will take and she then multiplies by 5 or or more.

Her corrected time seems to be closer to reality.

No, your estimate is correct. It's your wife's inquiry that causes a cosmic shift which screws you.

No different than when you are on a several hour road trip making great time and she say's "wow, we are making great time" and then BAM!!! around the next bend is a 10 mile backup.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Baz

You need to get a Silverado Vinny....then it will just be fuel pumps....not U joints.

BTDTGTS. Pulled the tank out of my wife's Tahoe by myself. Not a fun job. Worst part is her fuel gauge had been acting flaky which she was complaining about. Figured sticky float but was not going to deal with it. When the pump went assumed I would get both issues fixed for the price of one.

Finish the job, toss in a gallon of gas and run up to the station to fil lit up.

Get back and she asks if the fuel gauge is behaving.

Uhmmmmm, well, No. Now it does not work at all.

[HHI944]

Happened to me with replacing the alternator on the Landy.
Every single bolt was seized, then one of the cables came clean out of the plug, then I broke the pulley trying to get it off the old alternator.
Should have been a 45 minute job........I spread it out over 4 days with breaking the damn pulley

[notfarnow]

pulled the rear shocks on my wife's e500 wagon last night, with the intent of swapping them with a low-mile set I bought on ebay for $400 (a *cough* bargain). get the car pulled apart, only to find the ones I bought were for a sedan and they do NOT fit.

So now the car is apart leaving me in a pinch, and the shocks are $750 each at the dealer. Found them for $400 each at parts.com, but they'll only ship to the US, so I have to drive to Maine on Friday to pick them up!

[hardflex]

The Cosmos definately have a role in this.

I have wrestled small tasks for hours and can't get it apart. Next day, try again, and it almost falls apart in your hand for no real reason. Weird

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by hardflex

The Cosmos definately have a role in this.

I have wrestled small tasks for hours and can't get it apart. Next day, try again, and it almost falls apart in your hand for no real reason. Weird

I have found that most of the time, a difficult problem is often resolved, by simply walking away, and going at it again later with a fresh head, and different perspective. Sometimes hard to sell this to a customer though.

[VincentVega]

Ouch, glad you got it back together.

Just put a fuel pump in my Silverado. Tank out in ~15 min. Locking ring was rusted and I couldnt get it back on, mucked with it for 30 min. Bought a new ring and on in 15 seconds. Get tank back in and fought the filler neck. Test truck and fuel is leaking everywhere. Metal line near charcoal canister rusted through. Of course, you cant buy the line.

I planned for 2 hrs and it ended up on a flat bed. Love it.

Last year it was the dif cover and brake lines, now its fuel lines. I guess GM really did spec the cheapest parts they could find.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

I have found that most of the time, a difficult problem is often resolved, by simply walking away, and going at it again later with a fresh head, and different perspective. Sometimes hard to sell this to a customer though.

This is absolutely true but of course in the retail auto repair biz, you don't always have the luxury of time. The trick, (and believe me I have not mastered it), is to be able to walk away for just a few minutes, do something else, and then look at the frustrating problem anew.

I've never been beat by a machine yet but I've had to run out and buy a new tool plenty of times.

[RANDY P]

In Kalifornia as I write this. Friday AM incident- pulling into SD off I8 I pull up to light in Silverado. Light goes green pull away, turn left and I feel steering get heavy.

WTF?

I pull over, fire engine back up, everything seems fine, nothing weird on gauges. I shut stereo off (that's the problem. 500WRMS and it was cranked) and it sounds like a tin can rattling.

Pop hood, alternator is smoldering. All ****ed up, hissing, smoldering and just toast. I limp it to a gas station 1/2 mile down the road and since no tools, I had to pay the guy $80 to yank it - 4 bolts and serpentine on top of engine. Easy job.

The alternator was too hot to touch, and had to carry it to a rebuilder that happened to be around the corner (who happened to be a cool as hell guy who owns a 996TT)- bought rebuilt, had gas station drop it in and I'm on my way.

Saturday, on my way up North to Corona, damn alternator light comes on about Escondido. Rebuilt one lasted about 50 miles. No tools, again.

I wound up going to an Oreillys (since I was far away from SD and rebuilder closed anyway) and buying a NEW alternator, and bumming tools from people so I could install it.

As I type this, have 100MI on new alternator. So far, so good.

I seriously hope I can make it home tommorow without a ****ing alternator explosion.......

[speeder]

That sucks, Randy, but maybe you can get your $$ back for the one that lasted 50 miles? Do you think your stereo is over taxing alternator or no relation?

That's one of the nice things about an American PU truck, parts are easy and everyone works on them.

[oldE]

GM trucks and their fuel pumps. Ah yes, Grasshopper.

in 2004, my Sierra ended up on the front page of the Halifax paper. A burned-out wreck, in front of the garage which caught fire around it, because the mechanic was trying to 'hurry up' the job to have the truck ready when he thought it would.

Just a series of things you shouldn't do, all creating the perfect scenario for a conflagration. Fortunately, no one hurt.

Big laugh? The insurance co. wanted the second set of keys before they would cut the cheque!

Best
Les

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

Last year it was the dif cover and brake lines, now its fuel lines. I guess GM really did spec the cheapest parts they could find.

Dont even ask me about the brake line replacements on mine...

Can someone explain how in this day and age, brake lines rust out on a modern vehicle?? Both my truck and jeep , I had to replace my brake lines. Unfortunately on the truck I found out at 60 mph....

My 50 y/o Mercury, the lines look like the day they were intstalled..

[VincentVega]

x10

I found a company at Carlisle last weekend selling late model GM lines in stainless.

It's pretty telling how my 'old' Porsche, BMW, Honda... dont have rusted brake lines. I have t shirts older than my truck, no excuse for so much rust.