This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Car Stuff
Apr
17
2019
Usually for a short time after I’ve just repaired or maintained something on our vehicle, I am amazed at the fact that so many cars are working. When you consider all the parts that have to work on their own, plus cooperate with each other, plus not wear out – it’s a wonder.
That thought first came into my mind after I replaced some part of the front suspension and got the car all put back together, then I realized I forgot to reinstall something I had to take off to get to the part I was replacing. It made me think how far I would have gotten until the vehicle did something to make me remember about that part. And it made me wonder what else I could have forgotten to reinstall. Or perhaps did install but not correctly.
Then I pass or get passed by some junker that’s in obviously much worse shape than my vehicle and I wonder how it’s driving along fairly well considering all that should be wrong with it. And I give them a wider berth than usual.
One of the things I never thought I’d pay for (or have an opinion about) is aftermarket lug nuts. But after the OEM lug nuts went bad, I didn’t have much of a choice. Now I’m sporting black lug nuts on silver wheels, because the only way to get chrome/silver lug nuts in the right size was to go with the capped style that caused the problem in the first place. Right now I have two sockets with lug nuts or caps stuck in them. The OEM style was open lug nuts with a cap over it to enclose it. Enclosed is good, but capped is bad because the cap eventually separates and deforms. The cap gets stuck inside your lug wrench, leaving you with no lug wrench and then a lug nuts that is too small for the lug wrench provided with the vehicle.
But I replaced them all with new lug nuts, so as soon as I force the jammed stuff out of my sockets, I can close that chapter of vehicle maintenance.
My nemesis at the moment is tires. Two of the vehicles are due for new tires, and the total is looking like it’s more than I paid for my last vehicle. But since one of the vehicles is supposed to be my main driver, I should just go ahead and get decent tires for it.
Side note: if you can’t get your pressure bleeder for the brake system to get above 5 psi, then you haven’t fixed all the leaks yet.
They saw it, then they were amazed; They were terrified, they fled in alarm.
Psalm 48:5
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 11:13 pm and has been carefully placed in the Driving category.
