It only makes matters worse and worse

[ssurgul]

As though in answer to how bad things have been the past couple of years, I tried to work on my new car last night, thanks to Ken and his magnificent garage.

Managed to break 5 bolts which had either rusted into their housings and Liquid Wrench did nothing to help, or did some bizarre thing in the front quarter panel that seems to have nothing to do with rust but which two different vise grips will do nothing to remedy.  Managed to realize I was doing the same thing to the alternator tension bolt before it happened (thank the ghods for that one at least).  Managed to get the valve cover gasket replaced and grommets for the retaining nuts (which had been one of three things leaking oil), but then the RTV gasket sealer didn't 'take' for the back half of the cover, so oil made a happy and enormous mess along the back of the block.

Wow.  While I thought to save some money by doing things myself on the car, I'm not sure I did anything but frustrate the hell out of myself that much more.  At least I'm quite comfortable with working on the Toyota, though.

Comments

[foxxfire.livejournal.com]

I open the hood just so I can stare blankly inside for a few minutes ^_^;;; Hee, well, I can check/add oil, and jumpstart the battery, but after that I'm as helpless as any vixey :}

*snugs* Good luck wiff that stuffs :/

[ssurgul.livejournal.com]

*smirks* but after that I'm as helpless as any vixey :}

Thanks for the uplifting thoughts at least little vi... errr, foxx. ;)

[ducktapeddonkey.livejournal.com]

I used to enjoy working on my cars and stuff.

Well, maybe that isn't quite the right word. It was a necessity if I wanted to drive.

If I want to ride my bike this summer, I'm going to have to dust off all those tools once again.

Good luck with your vehicle!

[ssurgul.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks Longear. Yeah, I don't really mind doing some of the work myself, even a good portion when the tools are handy. But some of this work is ... well its beyond my skill level presently.

[moondog4rnr.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, the more work you do (if you choose to) on your car and the more you learn, the bigger and more involved the work gets =) there's no end to the headache,

...but I'm not bitter about mechanical stuff tonight, not at all >:p

[ssurgul.livejournal.com]

You prophesy correctly. More in person.

[icaruspony.livejournal.com]

Are those the bolts on the upper manifold? If so, those bolts ALWAYS break when you remove them. Its normal.

[ssurgul.livejournal.com]

No, these were body bolts, the alternator tension bolt, and the bottom safety curtain bolt thingies. The car originated on the East Coast and has a lot of rust problems.