Quiet

[saw]

Now more than ever, I believe one should locate there own special space without aberrant noise

IMG_8325.JPG (52.43 KiB) Viewed 52 times

[sasha]

we could all use a little of this right now

[winddance]

can take my mind there, but not my legs, ouch.

[sasha]

can take my mind there, but not my legs, ouch.

I had to change a tire yesterday, 1st time in 10-15 yrs - & I honestly wasn't sure I could do it. I knew the steps, the tools, the protocols, blah blah.... but I really wasn't confident that my body was up to it. Fortunately, this wasn't a field repair - all done in my driveway. Went without a hitch, but I didn't break any speed records.

[winddance]

once made a tire change on the way to catch the last ferry out. not one person stopped to help and my anger at all the passing he-men helped spur me to do it in record time. (while wearing white clothes yet)

[sasha]

Removing & replacing the tire turned out to be the easiest part - setup was what took so long. It would have been a nightmare on the road - I would have had to use the kit scissors jack, instead of the hydraulic one I keep here.

One time I had to call for road service because the spare also turned out to be flat. The only other time I had help was in the parking lot at work - on a cold, sleety night. One of our engineers stopped by after I got the car jacked up. I got the lug nuts off, but the tire was frozen to the drum, & I couldn't get it off. Dan's a big burly guy (to my scrawny 5'6"") so we switched places. He managed to break it free, and maneuvered the spare into place for me. My hands were so cold I couldn't even feel the lug nuts I was holding - I had to look to make sure they were still there.

And, as I recall, I'd worn off-white pants to work that day.

[saw]

Changed many a tire in my days on earth...along the highway.....with the trunk packed for vacation...and in the driveway as well....however if I have a flat now days I will call my friends at AAA....I can understand your trepidation....if your garage tightened those lug nuts with an impact wrench, you might be in trouble....I taught all my kids how to change a tire, before they got their license....I bought a Hyundai Elantra new in 2012.....when I got home I was checking out the features and learned they do not come with a spare tire....you get a spray can with flat gunk to clog the hole hopefully and a little pump that works off the equivalent of the old cigarette lighter input.....I was shocked.....but it's been a great car tho....10 year or 100,000 miles warranty.....I hit the 10 years first.....82,000 on the odometer......only replaced the steering coupling, just under the warranty...now I'm on my own.....

[sasha]

Yup, I've had my share of flats away from home... dead of night, pouring rain, soft June days... wherever the roulette wheel came to a stop. Just a time-wasting annoyance in my younger days - but somehow I dreaded this one - particularly the prospect of hunting for the reinforced jack point. My knees don't take well to that kind of abuse anymore. The picture of it in the manual was illegible, but there it was, just behind the front wheel well. As you say, the nuts had been tightened with a power wrench, so my X-wrench was useless - but I got them started by standing (& bouncing) on the dogbone that came with the Honda's kit. Once they were loosened, it was business as usual. The spare was just a donut, but it was full, & took the weight of the car without visibly squashing. And just like my dad had taught me, I greased the bolts before replacing the nuts - a courtesy the service centers don't seem to extend any more.

Turned out to be a nail - and for some reason, there was no charge for the repair! They're a relatively new outfit, so maybe it's a promotional gimmick - you know, if it's a small enough job your 1st one is free, increasing the odds you'll come back... or maybe telling them not to bother stowing the donut but to just throw the it in the back & I'd take care of it later had something to do with it. Whatever, I felt inordinately pleased with myself at the end of the day. It's been a difficult & expensive week (an unrelated $1K car repair, water woes again, & unresolved probate issues - to say nothing of the heat) - the flat was just one more "Fuck You" to deal with....

[sasha]

Jeez, I think the last car I bought new was a 1984 Subaru GL. Now I'm driving a 2015 Honda Fit that I bought used in 2017, with only 18K on it. Standard transmission, they're more fun to drive - and it's become a theft deterrent as well. Despite a few ergonomic annoyances, it's been a pretty faithful steed. Even now, it's only got 60-61K on it. I've tried to keep up with its scheduled maintenance, and the recent kilobuck-plus I put into it is the most I've spent on a single issue. (The sunroof jammed & wouldn't open, only vent. When I got the estimate, I decided I could live without it - but a few days later it jammed in the open vent position, leaving me little choice but to go ahead with the repair. It was all labor - the hardware only cost $300.)