Why is it just when you start doing okay, sh*t happens?

[hart]

Boy you guys are hard on an optimist.........:smiley24:

 

[AUFred]

I try to be an optimist but never had the best of luck with mechanics.

 

[Jackass master]

When the Toyota dealer said they wanted $4-600 per axle to put brakes on my Prius I bought a low profile floor jack to do it myself. The pads will cost me under $50 to do all 4 wheels. The only reason it goes to the dealer for oil changes is the plastic pan under it makes you have to lift the car at least 4ft. in the air.

 

[End Of All]

WHAT? You own a F****** Prius?

Anyway, that's the way it normally goes, you get a vehicle and just as you're about to get it paid off, it laughs and says, "Haha gotcha you f****** stupid a**!"
I couldn't even count how many times this has happened to me.

 

[hart]

Well Joe does do a lot of stuff on the car and truck, as a matter of fact he did change the brakes on the truck. Hopefully, I get my car back today. I miss it, the weather is perfect for driving w/the top down and BOY, Parking that big truck is sure not as easy in parking lots, I have to really pay attention! Funny, when I'm home I look out the window and think, Oh Joe is home, then I remember no stupid, you are home, Joe is coming by motorcycle.....LMAO.

 

[porterjack]

why can't Joe change the clutch and save some money

 

[hart]

Boo Hoo, transmission didn't come in. Car won't be ready until Monday or Tuesday. At least this happened in the summer when Joe can ride the motorcycle easily enuf. If this would have happened in the Winter we'd be scrambling.

 

[Jackass master]

Seems nobody stocks many parts these days. They will have lots of cheap parts but not more expensive items. I will tell you now if the clutch was slipping that long you probably need a flywheel and they normally don't stock them. As far as why it happens when it does years ago my Chevy van burned to the ground 11 days after we paid it off. Had a hard time getting a replacement vehicle till the title came back from the bank.

 

[NoDak]

why can't Joe change the clutch and save some money

Unless you have a shop full of metric tools, jacks, lifts, etc, that's not a job for the squeamish. Front wheel drive cars have everything packed under the hood. The front wheels have to come off, the axles must come out. The engine must be supported for the removal of the transmission. Sounds easy enough, but, one never knows what braces or A-arms have to be removed to make room to slip the transmission away from the engine. Once that's done, the flywheel has to be removed and taken to a machine shop to be "trued up", new pilot bearing installed, possibly the clutch release fork replaced, throw-out bearing replaced. Then, the reverse has to be done. If you have a shop and can put the car on a lift, it's much easier. If you've got the car up on jackstands in your garage, the job will take twice as long and produce twice the swear words.

Mechanics have taught themselves a lot of shortcuts that the average Joe would not know, which is why the job would be twice as hard at home. Changing brakes out is a walk in the park if you're halfway mechanically inclined. I've done dozens of them, both, drum and disc brakes.

 

[hart]

Wow NoDak, you sound like a man who knows of what he speaks!:eek Joe said just getting around in the engine as it is was difficult. Joe has a lot of tools, but we don't have a big Shop, in fact our garage at home is a little one car one. That's another reason we need to get on the property to get the big old dream garage Joe wants, Joe is pretty handy about a lot of things. I do appreciate a man that can fix things, 'cause my dad was like that and I thought all men were...NOPE!

Then again, I'm not a domestic type, to be fair

 

[dkwrtw]

Just the way life works it seems like Good to hear the dealer is working with you on things though.

 

[hart]

Yeah, and lucky we each got transportation!

 

[NoDak]

Thanks for the compliment, Hart! I hope I can live up to it! I had a thought, which I failed to post. It's in reply to the title of your thread. I remember, back in the earlier days of our marriage, we were pretty sure that our vehicles knew when we got our income tax refund. Usually, something would go kaput that cost almost as much as the check was, leaving us with a few bucks left over to buy groceries or something. I feel your pain.

I replaced the clutch on my '94 GMC 4X4, quite a few years back. Blocked the front end up on RR ties and laid underneath with a tranny jack to do the job. I must have had about 12 hrs into that project. Saved myself $500-and-some, but I'm not sure it was worth it.

 

[End Of All]

Had a beautiful tractor with a great engine in it, Was down less than 50 bucks, and the d*** engine blows the f*** up!
Costs me $500 just to get a used motor.
:mad