You know the Murphy I'm talking about.....the guy who wrote all those laws...the ones like: When it is raining tomato soup, you will get hit in the face by a bale of hay instead. That Murphy! He needs to die!
Today I ran face first into Murphy's Law Number 187: Any and every job you start out doing thinking that it will be an easy job, will turn into a freaking nightmare!
Day off today. Pay day as well. So off to the car parts store to pick up a new wheel hub for my "new" car...96 Chrysler Sebring LXi coupe. $75 later and
I am on my way home to do some mechanicing. Loosen the lug nuts, jack up the left rear of the car, slide in two 2-ton jack stands (can never been too
careful when working under a car), remove the wheel, remove the brake caliper and pads, get the bottom bolt on the caliper girdle out. The top bolt won't
budge. I spayed it with PB Blaster (rust breaker) three times. Tapped it with a ball peen hammer. Beat the hell out it with a ball peen hammer. Split a socket in half. It simply refused to move. It has been in that spot for 16 years and it bloody well wants to stay in that spot.
So, I figured I put the car back together, drive it down to Eddie's (an old Sunocco station with good old fashioned grease monkey mechanics) and pay them 10 bucks or so to break that bolt loose. Good idea....let the pros do it before I screw it up and end up having a twisted off bolt and the need to replace the suspension knuckle.
I get the brakes all back together, tire on, jack stands and jack out, lugs torqued. Grab my wallet, tell the wife where I am heading and why. Hop in the car. Put the key in the ignition, put on my seat belt, turn the key......and nothing. The motor cranked over like a charm, but would not start.
Thinking that all my tapping and hammering had jarred around some rust and plugged the fuel filter, I tap on the filter...did nothing. The fuel pump was running. My nephew's buddy comes by...he's a mechanic...and he determines that there is no spark.
So begin digging into the ignition system and find that the rotor button is cracked pretty badly. Off to the parts store and 7 bucks and some change get me a new rotor button. It did not get the car running. While at the car part store the three techs said that the problem was most likely the crankshaft position sensor. It cost $61 plus tax....and after missing a day of work last week due to a bad tire on the car, paying taxes and insurance deductions, buying the new wheel hub and some plants for Deb, my lovely blue eyed wife, my bank account held $59.
Drat!
So, the part would have to wait a week for next payday. I arranged to ride back and forth with one of my co-workers who lives just a few miles from me. Then I was going over to my across the street neighbor's with a couple of beers to sit and talk and saw that he was over talking to the neighbor lady to the left, so I changed headings and went over there. He declined the beer as he does not like dark beer. So while sitting there talking to the two neighbors. the neighbor lady (having been told about the car situation by the across the street neighbor)insisted on loaning me the money to buy the part. I tried to refuse, but she was very insistent.
So, I drove her 4X4 S-10 to the parts store, bought the sensor, got it in after much knuckle banging and cursing, and the car fired right up...ran rough since the air intake tube is off, thus the main vacuum line being off...but it fired up. Ran out of day light and could not see well enough to get all the intake stuff and battery tray stuff back in place...so that will have to wait until Sunday.
Will still ride with my co-worker this week..simply because the noise from that bad wheel hub gets on my nerves. Next Friday, however, the car will be taken to Eddies, that pesky bolt will be broken loose, and the new wheel hub will be put on. Along with a new driver's door outside handle.
OBIO
Today I ran face first into Murphy's Law Number 187: Any and every job you start out doing thinking that it will be an easy job, will turn into a freaking nightmare!
Day off today. Pay day as well. So off to the car parts store to pick up a new wheel hub for my "new" car...96 Chrysler Sebring LXi coupe. $75 later and
I am on my way home to do some mechanicing. Loosen the lug nuts, jack up the left rear of the car, slide in two 2-ton jack stands (can never been too
careful when working under a car), remove the wheel, remove the brake caliper and pads, get the bottom bolt on the caliper girdle out. The top bolt won't
budge. I spayed it with PB Blaster (rust breaker) three times. Tapped it with a ball peen hammer. Beat the hell out it with a ball peen hammer. Split a socket in half. It simply refused to move. It has been in that spot for 16 years and it bloody well wants to stay in that spot.
So, I figured I put the car back together, drive it down to Eddie's (an old Sunocco station with good old fashioned grease monkey mechanics) and pay them 10 bucks or so to break that bolt loose. Good idea....let the pros do it before I screw it up and end up having a twisted off bolt and the need to replace the suspension knuckle.
I get the brakes all back together, tire on, jack stands and jack out, lugs torqued. Grab my wallet, tell the wife where I am heading and why. Hop in the car. Put the key in the ignition, put on my seat belt, turn the key......and nothing. The motor cranked over like a charm, but would not start.
Thinking that all my tapping and hammering had jarred around some rust and plugged the fuel filter, I tap on the filter...did nothing. The fuel pump was running. My nephew's buddy comes by...he's a mechanic...and he determines that there is no spark.
So begin digging into the ignition system and find that the rotor button is cracked pretty badly. Off to the parts store and 7 bucks and some change get me a new rotor button. It did not get the car running. While at the car part store the three techs said that the problem was most likely the crankshaft position sensor. It cost $61 plus tax....and after missing a day of work last week due to a bad tire on the car, paying taxes and insurance deductions, buying the new wheel hub and some plants for Deb, my lovely blue eyed wife, my bank account held $59.
Drat!
So, the part would have to wait a week for next payday. I arranged to ride back and forth with one of my co-workers who lives just a few miles from me. Then I was going over to my across the street neighbor's with a couple of beers to sit and talk and saw that he was over talking to the neighbor lady to the left, so I changed headings and went over there. He declined the beer as he does not like dark beer. So while sitting there talking to the two neighbors. the neighbor lady (having been told about the car situation by the across the street neighbor)insisted on loaning me the money to buy the part. I tried to refuse, but she was very insistent.
So, I drove her 4X4 S-10 to the parts store, bought the sensor, got it in after much knuckle banging and cursing, and the car fired right up...ran rough since the air intake tube is off, thus the main vacuum line being off...but it fired up. Ran out of day light and could not see well enough to get all the intake stuff and battery tray stuff back in place...so that will have to wait until Sunday.
Will still ride with my co-worker this week..simply because the noise from that bad wheel hub gets on my nerves. Next Friday, however, the car will be taken to Eddies, that pesky bolt will be broken loose, and the new wheel hub will be put on. Along with a new driver's door outside handle.
OBIO
Ah, that's better.
