I wish I didn’t remember how to change an alternator.
Then I wouldn’t feel compelled to do it.
But a dead car and limited financial resources has you staring down at an engine thinking… it’s just a couple of bolts. And a belt. You used to do things like this 30 years ago.
I thought 30 years ago I drank all that alcohol in order to kill off the brain cells that knew how to do these things. This was no ’68 Chevy with a 327 and everything easy to reach. This had sensors and computer chips and I swear I’m still not sure if it actually has spark plugs.
I never was much of a drinker, I can hear the old brain cells turning over and there was the alternator, right on top pretty much and easy to get to.
I had all the right tools. You never get rid of tools.
The tow truck had dropped it in my driveway ass to the garage. The garage is loaded with the remnants of my reformed hoarder mother-in-law. The part came just in time, for the rain. Somehow I threw enough stuff around that the whole car would fit into the garage. Can no longer walk through my garage, but so what.
The wife wanted to help get it in the garage, but shoulder surgery has her abilities severely limited. She sat in the driver seat, I pushed, that worked like shit. It was raining harder. Seemed like a half hour discussion on whether or not to use her car to push it. I was the one that was hesitant, she has a nice car. I have a beat to shit looking small SUV. The bumpers don’t quite align. She eyeballs my rear, her rear… fuck it, it’s just a car and she jockeys it into position.
The woman is insane. Bump, push, bump, push, but at least it finally works.
I was shocked at how easy it all was for being so rusty at doing these things. I don’t want to be good at this, at least I don’t want others to know I have the capabilities. I know what I can do, no point talking about it or proving it at times. But there was that lack of financial resources thing.
Done, started, purring like a kitten. Sounds much better. I must have been grinding that old alternator down to nothing. While letting it recharge the battery, letting it sit and idle, I had to put my head down near the hood.
Son of a bitch, it IS running.
If asked though, I will deny it. I don’t know how to do that stuff.
Call a mechanic.
And bring me a six pack on your way back. I got some brain cells to kill.
cofisher
17 Oct 2012Yeah Ken when we were younger and had more brain cells there were a lot of things we could do well. Near as I can remember. ; )
Ken G
18 Oct 2012Gets a little foggy for me at times too.
Mike Sepelak
17 Oct 2012Ugh! Reminds me of the time I replaced the timing gear in my 67 Buick Skylark convertible. Tore the engine’s front end down, replaced the gear, put it back together. Took half the day. Minor detail, put the gear in 180 degrees out of synch. When started, it sounded like the engine was coming out of the darn thing. Had to do it all over again.
No. I don’t know how to do that.
Ken G
18 Oct 2012I don’t even remember what I did, but my best one was when I had flames shoot out of the carb and the tail pipe. Never could repeat it no matter how hard I tried. Brakes are one of the few things I won’t touch even though they seem easy enough. Hate to do that one wrong.
Mike Sepelak
18 Oct 2012Disc brakes, fine. Drum brakes? NFW.
The Four Season Angler
18 Oct 2012Glad that fixed the problem. Nothing worse than going through all that only to find out it fixed nothing… (ie. my Dodge Caravan-aka The Lemon)
Ken G
18 Oct 2012Went through that very thing with the wife’s PT Cruiser the day before. Changed out the Camshaft sensor only to find out it was Crankshaft sensor that needed changing. I didn’t know a car had either of those.
Apparently Dodge/Chrysler conveniently planned this so they die at 100K give or take a few miles. At the shop, either would have cost over $300. To replace a $50 part. Got to run all those diagnostics you know.
Pam
20 Oct 2012I wish I could do some of that kind of stuff. I’ve been talking to a guy at work about showing me how to change the oil in my truck. I’m sick of paying close to 60 bucks for it (using synthetic, which I would have never started using. My husband did that before he passed and I know it’s kind of hard on the motor to be change back and forth). But I know what you mean. I paint on gourds and make birdhouses and such. Most of the time I don’t want to let people know I do that, even though the scrambled brain cells sometimes help with the artistry. :o)
Ken G
20 Oct 2012Pam, I have the ability to just sit down and figure things out. Most are no real mystery. Others require the occasional mistake, which is why I avoid plumbing. Oil changes are a piece of cake as long as they put the filter in an easy to get to spot.
I’ve got a degree in art, painting and sculpture. The scrambled part of the brain is a necessity for that at times. I’ve been ignoring that part of my brain for a long time. I should change that.