ARGGGH! freaking rubber boot ruins a whole install project

[alkemyst]

I have been buying a lot of parts for my car, but with the two hurricanes that came through here...time hasn't cooperated.

I started this a few months ago and just had to pay for a couple used tires ($60) as my alignment is off....

Last week I got the basic maintenance / tune up stuff out of the way....do all my belts (non-serpentine, so 1 for a/c, p/s and alt) to find out my crankshaft's front seal is leaking.....$3 part is going to cost me another 2 hours in doing the belts for a 30sec job....oh well...

Yesterday was to be a good day (cool and dry)....so I decide to do my VLSD, Coilovers, sways, and braces, along with a spindle.....get through the VLSD install....easy and no noise....do the rear coilovers and get lucky....was looking for a 25" ride height at the fender well and got 24.625....like a 1/3 of an inch off but close enough to not worry about adjusting it. Sways and braces go on easy....

get to the front of the car...get everything down and find out my ball joint boot is torn a bit....this is non-servicable. A new balljoint is $30, but you have to press it in....a new lower arm is about $180 retail....make some phonecalls....best price is $115 on the lower arm, but not until Friday, maybe Wednesday....same thing with the ball joint....no one has it in stock. Bolt everything back up and hope next weekend is a good day.

Anyone else want to share their part was made wrong, screw stripped, bolt broke, didn't have the right size tool, dealer sent the wrong piece stories?

Å

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

I woke up two weeks ago to a knock on my door from the apartment maintenance guys.

They had been cutting down a tree next to the parking lot, and didn't think that it might be a good idea to have me move my car first. Ended up with a tree branch straight thru my taillight.

I've spent about two weeks waiting for my apartment complex to approve the quote on the damages to the car. Just got the check on Friday, going in for the repair tomorrow.

[EDIT} Yeah, I know, not a repair job story, I just wanted to rant.

 

[alkemyst]

I have been there too....that is such BS. 'Oh sorry, we thought it would be ok'.

 

[acemcmac]

Had my whole exhaust system removed and rewelded and it only cost me $15.

Not too shabby considering the reason I needed it was from a 90mph bottom out....

 

[RossMAN]

Still have that Saturn?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Still have that Saturn?

nice try, but no....it was a college car for me...and yes I paid 10,300 for it and that was a good deal.

not a bad college car...and I poured money into it in the tune of several thousands of modifications while I learned more.

I sold it for a little under $3k....$5k was market....I had much more into it if I parted it out.

I could give a crap though, to me my time is more valuable.

Honestly, though, I don't associate a car's price to it's owner's viability....that is often a declining scale. You have welfare exploiters in lexus coupes and those living in a 7 figure home driving an Accord.

 

[Evadman]

When I was changing out the brakes on my Zuk, I snapped off a 15mm bolt on the passenger side. So I ordered a new caliper, because I couln't find just the bracket anywhere.

Wait 2 days, get the caliper in, find out that they were wrong, and it didn't come with the damn bracket, so I tried to use a bolt extractor on what was left of the stud, and snapped off a hardened tool steel extracter in the stud.

Great, now I have a hardened stud with a hardened tool steel center nougat. Awesome. Now it is 3:00 pm sunday, and I have to have it ready for the comute to work on monday.

I decide to drill it out, and tap a larger bolt in. I bust out a 1/2" drill bit and my 2 hp drill press, and proceed to break three hardened bits trying to drill it out, and in the process, flung machine oil all over my shirt. Of course, I was wearing a hugely expensive $3 hanes shirt, but it still sucked.

I finaly get it out using my 1 hp handheld hammer drill with a concrete 3/8" bit. Horray! I use my last bit to drill the rest of it out, and clean the threads with a tap. I change the pads, put on the new rotor, and we are good to go.

It is now about 5:00 pm, and I still have another side to do. It hen proceed to round off the head of the same bolt ont he other side. God Damnit!

I get really pissed off at the bolt and cuss it out for about 5 minutes, attracking neighberhood kids. "Hey mommy, what does God damn motherf**kin g@y homo butt lovin sh*t faced c**k sucker" mean?"

I finialy decide, damn the torpedos!. I get a impact socket that is 2 sizes smaller, and use a sledge hammer to smash it onto the bolt. Then, i tried to get the 1/2" ratchet into the socket, but I mushroomed the head too far, and it wouldn't go in. So out comes the sledge hammer again, and with a few whacks, it goes on.

The rest of the brakes went just fine, and I finished the drivers side in about an hour.

Then, on my way to work, i excanged the ratchet and socket (what I couldn't get apart) for new ones. The bolt was still stuck in the socket too. lol

Yay craftsman!

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Evadman
[snip]
, and snapped off a hardened tool steel extracter in the stud.

[snip]
Yay craftsman!

Jesus me too...drills just don't like hardened tools.....sucks

craftsman = the best on getting tool replaced on a sunday.