So here's my story: Early February I was driving home in my car from a concert. On the way home I hit a piece of pavement that was slick as could be. It was a combined factor of smooth road (very smooth, no texture on it whatsoever), a busted water main (wetting down the road), and me taking the corner too fast for those conditions. My car lost traction on all four wheels and I slid into a curb. I limped the car home at 20 miles an hour, because that's as fast as it could go without falling apart or damaging itself even more. For seven miles that thing shook like an epileptic baby on crack cocaine.

I finally got some time away from school where I could diagnose my problems. The rear suspension had a bent lower control arm and a broken bushing in the trailing arm. The front simply had a dented wheel. I think the rear might also have a dented wheel, but I'm not certain.

Well, coming across the lower arm wasn't too difficult in itself, but my trouble lies in finding a useable bushing in a trailing arm. The first place I went to had the trailing arm I needed, but when the incompetant workers were taking out the arm they broke the bushing I so desperately needed. After calling countless numbers of other places I finally found a place that had a trailing arm for me. I went to go look at it, but just my luck the bushing was wrecked. The left side bushing and trailing arm was in good condition though, so I went ahead and bought it. I figured I can just take the bushing from the left trailing arm and stick it in the one I've got on my car on the right side. Well, only after I got home did I realize what an idiot I am. Replacing a bushing in a trailing arm costs roughly $80. So now I've got a useless trailing arm sitting around that I have absolutely no use for. I'm going to go out tomorrow and find the right part I need with a good bushing as well as buying 2 new wheels. I'll hopefully be able to get it all installed by tomorrow afternoon so I can go get an allignment done in the early evening so my car is actually driveable.

Coming home today and realizing I had bought a completely unuseable part that was unreturanble was one of the worst feelings I've ever felt. I actually almost cried. Almost.

Tell me some of your stories where you work on something and have it break on you after all the time or money you put into it. Make me feel better people. 

Ah yes... I know it well...

First car - '85 Nissan Pulsar... 

Everything was wrong with it when I bought it.  One by one I replaced all the things I needed to replace...  It had a problem with the windshield wipers and a missing 1/4 molding next to the windshield...  When the wipers were on High or the wind blew, the wipers would slip over the edge of the windshield and get stuck...  I decided that a new 1/4 molding would fix the problem.  So, I went to a junk yard and found the part...  The guy asked me if I wanted to pull it or have them pull it for $20...  I decided to save the money and pull it myself.  In my divine wisdom I went at the 1/4 molding with a flat-head and RIPPED the thing off...  Breaking EVERY SINGLE clip in the process...  I didn't even think about it and walked back to pay for the part...  When I got home I realized what I'd done...  Then I realized that there was no way I could possible get the part on without the clips...  So, I called around to see if I could find the clips...  NOPE!  I would have to buy a whole 1/4 molding again... NO WAY!  So...  I fixed the windshield wiper problem by screwing a bolt into the body next to the windshield...  It looked like crap, but the problem was solved.

Then the trans went...  So, I got a rebuilt one for $1500 and had it installed...  Then 29 days later that one went.  Luckily it was under warranty...  So, I had the next new one put in...  Then 40 days later that one went...  No more warranty...  The car was towed to the junk yard.

Next Car - '69 VW Beetle... 

Everything was wrong with it when I bought it...  Again I went through trying to fix each thing...  The guy I bought it from was a total non-mechanic that worked on his car anyway.  He rebuilt the carb all wrong... So I got a new one, but found out that the engine was out of a bus... So, I returned it and got another new one...  Then found out that the intake was off of a different year bus...  So, I returned it and got another new one.  The old owner also installed the generator...  Well, he did it all wrong... So I got another new one and put that in... 

One day I got the bright idea to take out the points and install an aftermarket electric dohicky...  Well, on the box it had a picture of a coil, so I bought that too (trying to get another horse out of it)...  About three days later I went to start the bug and it wouldn't start...  I eventually figured out that I had no spark and that the little dohicky had fried...  So, I went back to the shop and told the guy what was up.  He said he couldn't refund of replace the part if I used the wrong coil...  I told him I used the one on the box...  He told me that I should have referred to the list inside the box, but I didn't get a list........  He eventually replaced the dohicky and gave me the right coil.

So... The old owner used to have a great time doing e-brake slides in wet parking lots...  One day he hit a curb sideways and bent the trailing arm and 1/4 shaft....  The car drove slightly sideways and wobbled...  The rear wheels rode like this:  / /  One day I was driving to work when I pulled away from a light and heard a loud POP...  Then no power.  After my friend towed me home with his GTO, I finally figured out what the problem was...  Six of the eight bolts that connected the trans to the wheel were gone and the remaining two were broken...  So, I went out and got new bolts and replaced all eight (after two hours of trying to extract the two broken ones)...  Two days later I decided to check on my bolts...  Four were gone and the other four were loose...  I got new bolts again and a big bottle of loctite...  De-greased the whole area, put loctite all over the bolts and replaced and tightened all eight...  Two days later I checked again...  Two were missing again and the other six were loose.   I decided that it was time to replace the bent trailing arm since that was probably causing some of the problems with the loosening bolts.

So...  I searched for a part and eventually found it...  I got home and thought I'd just pop the new one on, no problem...  Three greasy, frustrating days later I realized there was no way I was ever getting the training arm off without an impact wrench...

That was about the time my friend offered me his '79 Jeep Wagoneer...  I decided to sell the bug and buy the Wagoneer...  Little did I know about the curse of this bug.  It hated to be sold...  When the owner (three before me) was selling the bug the first potential buyer came by and started it...  Right then it blew a gasket and started spraying oil everywhere...  Eventually he sold it for about 1/4 of what he wanted...    The next owner decided to sell it and parked it in front of his house so people could come by to look at it...  That night, for the first time ever, the e-brake bracket bent and the e-brake came undone...  The bug went rolling backwards down a hill into a ditch and totally dented the roof, rear fender, decklid, and passenger door.  Eventually he sold it for about 1/4 of what he wanted....     The next guy was the guy I bought it from...  When he decided to sell it, he thought it would be a good idea to do the last e-brake slides in a parking lot...  That's when he screwed up the trailing arm...  On the way home, the generator pulley decided to fall off (probably due to him installing it wrong)...  He eventually sold it to me for 1/4 of what he wanted...

So, then I decided to sell it...  My Brother-In-Law was interested in buying it.  I wasn't driving it, so I let him borrow it for a weekend...  While I owned it the gas gauge mysteriously stopped working and I told him that.  I told him to get gas right away and fill it up after so many miles...  Well, he didn't listen.  He ran out of gas and thought the bug had died...  So, in his infinite wisdom, he thought he would push the bug home with another car.   He carefully matched up the bumpers and started driving...  About 0.5 seconds into it, the pushing car slid over the bug's bumper and totally mashed the (NEW && PAINTED) decklid...  Which was the only undented and shinny part on the whole car.  Well, he decided not to buy the bug (or pay for the damages  and he lied to me about it... Long story).  I eventually sold the bug for 1/4 of what I wanted for it.

I have more...  But, this post is way too long already.   

I feel better already.

Don't even get me started on my Ford.

Here you go, Pandy's already absolved me of my sin so...

Last weekend or so with the weather getting better here in South Carolina, I decided to finish up the front brakes on the 90 rebuild. After cleaning, repainting, and rebuilding my calipers  and master cylinders front and rear, it was time to fill 'er up, bleed them and move on to the next task to get this baby rolling.

I was so proud of the Galfer SS lines and my ebay skills a getting them. They really look good with all the new paint. "Let's do the front end first", I said.

Before cinching down the banjo bolt to seal the copper washers, I decided that the angle of the banjo was a little off for the line drape. "I'll just bend it a little to make the lay better." <fade in ominous music>

Using my best, large adjustable joint pliers, I managed to change the angle to nearly 0 degrees. Seeing that was easy enough, I tempted fate for just a little more angle. <music reaching crescendo>

"CLICK" went the interface of the banjo neck to the line crimp.....  "Damn!" said Doug holding the line still in the pliers.

$60 worth of BRAND NEW Galfer line rendered useless. <music fades...> The sucker broke in two. Damn.

Well, at least the banjo bolt is new and the copper washers are uncrushed.  

FORD = fix or repair daily.

Ford = found on the dead.

Ford = @#%ked over rebuilt dodge.


Shall I go on?

Quote from: un1261 on March 13, 2006, 08:15:00 PMFORD = fix or repair daily.
Ford = found on the dead.
Ford = @#%ked over rebuilt dodge.

Shall I go on?

I've come to realize that "Built Ford Tough" means that it breaks whenever it feels like it... Then it costs at least 1k to fix whatever the problem is...  So...  No need to go on.  It was my first and last Ford...  I talked to about 10 people that all said the newer Fords weren't like the 80's Fords...  Yeah... They're not...  They cost more to fix.

Could not help myself...had to get in some type of dig on Ford's whenever possible.

last week I hit a pothole on PCH that damaged my rims beyond repair. I now have 4 new rims coming and am still hobbling around in a car that shakes badly...I hope to god the wheels come before my trackday...that was $1000 I didnt need to spend (tires and wheels).

I havent had such an intense experience as you Alpha in a long time, mostly because I choose not to wrench on my cars anymore. I had enough of that in my teens and early twenties.

Quote from: pantablo on March 13, 2006, 11:44:41 PM
I havent had such an intense experience as you Alpha in a long time, mostly because I choose not to wrench on my cars anymore. I had enough of that in my teens and early twenties.

I can understand not wanting to work on them anymore. My dad gave up doing the same thing around his 30s too. He said the same thing, had enough of it in his teens and twenties. Unfortunately for me, being a college student causes severely limited funds with which to fix cars, so I have no other option than to fix it myself. And when you fix something yourself you tend to run into problems, some greater than others.

My father's reasoning about not wanting to work on cars anymore is his logic behind buying nothing but Toyotas, which is completely understandable. My Honda is right alongside them in longevity and reliability too, had I not gone and f%&ked it up. It's also the reason he doesn't want to get a project café racer bike with me to build and restore. Sell the dirtbikes we haven't ridden in a year and a half and get an awesome vintage 1970s café racer to customize? Sounds like a good idea to me... Apparently not to him though, unfortunately.

yeah, in high school I customized my 66 bug, california style. dropped a big motor in it, dropped it to the ground, custom bodywork and paint...then I got my first 240z which I autocrossed (and street raced illegally lots), then totalled it and started on another 240z. The whole time these cars got lots of go-fast parts and I did all the work myself, including the various repairs...decided I wanted to do other things on my weekends, like drink and get laid.

I still dont like wrenching now because I'd rather be riding or hanging with my family...although my wife thinks of me as a "tinkerer" because I still like to do things now and then (like the mods to the gs and the RR I've done).

It can be very rewarding to wrench on stuff, and it can be equally rewarding to pay others to get it rideable and spend that time doing other equally rewarding stuff. I see your point though...ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on March 13, 2006, 05:51:58 PM
Replacing a bushing in a trailing arm costs roughly $80.

If you're a student perhaps you can swing by the school shop and borrow their press?  Just a thought.

Bah, 4-wheel independent suspension.  I had a Mitsu with beam suspension that worked just fine! 

My buddy and I went bowling one time a year ago.  He drove a Lincoln LS that was leased and he was way over his miles on it so he also bought a '93 Taurus as a crutch for like $2000.  Anyway, we bowled like 3 games and drank like 5 pitchers of beer.  On the way home, I looked over at him and I don't even think his hands were on the steering wheel.  Seconds later we hit a midian strip at a 90 degree angle going about 40 miles an hour!  It was wild!  The Taurus launched into the air like the family truckster in Vacation.  We were like the Duke boys.  Anyway, when we landed, the Taurus (which we called Barney because it was purple) was FUBAR.  The front wheels were wobbling like a clown car and making a gawd awful racket.  We limped it home.  The next day we went to the wrecking yard and pulled two used wheels off another Taurus and tried to fix it but the problems were way beyond the wheels.  He ended up donating it to the Nation of Islam (no joke).  Anyway, we had a pretty good time with it.  I'll never forget jumping that car. 

Quote from: pantablo on March 13, 2006, 11:44:41 PMI had enough of that in my teens and early twenties.

Yeah...  I'm about the same...  But, my excuse is that the car I've owned for the last 6 years has been a '94 Exploder...  It's not like I can just open the hood and wrench on a few things.  It's all computer controled  under there.

I still tell myself that if I had a garage, I'd get a bug 'cause I could work on it myself.  Somehow I don't think I would.

Alright, here are some pictures of what I'm working with:

The bent lower control arm:


The broken bushing:


And my rear wheel. Notice how the inside of it looks like a slick? It isn't supposed to...

I almost couldn't find my Clymer manual, yesterday, when I needed to look up the torque specs on the rear sprocket nuts.

You don't have your Clymer memorized yet? 

You can hammer that out!  And once it rides straight, you won't need the worn part of the tire...

No problem man! 

Quote from: RVertigo on March 14, 2006, 02:25:35 PM
You can hammer that out!  And once it rides straight, you won't need the worn part of the tire...
No problem man! 

I was thinking about hamering it out, but I think I'll trust Honda parts more than an Alpha's Ghetto-rigged Crap part. The problem I've run into at the moment is the brake line. I can't get one end out because it's somewhere inside the car (and it would require taking apart the floor panels and such to find it) and I can't get the brake shoe end out because I have no idea how yet. I need to get it out of some end so I can replace that damn trailing arm.

I got new wheels and tires too, so I'm good to go (almost)! A few hours of wrenching and then off to get an allignment and I'll be set! Sweet deal.

I was joking about the hammering anyway...  It's a lot harder than you think to do that...  You need a really heavy mallet and a lot of skill to pull it off...  (and it might weaken the part).

I wish I had before/after pics of the bumper on my Exploder (after the wife got to it).  After I spent 4 hours hitting it, it went from "DAMN!" to "That sucks."   And the wife said, "OMG WOW!!!  It looks sooooooooooo much better.  You can hardly tell!!!"