Saturday, January 27, 2007
Hairless Hunk was going to be here between noon and 1:30. It's now 1:34 and I haven't heard from him. I have absolutely no right to complain, of course, it's a favor, but that doesn't lessen the frustration.
I went out at 11 am hoping I could change the tire myself. I chocked the tires, set the brake, got out the spare and the jack, located the little pin under the frame that the jack is supposed to lock on, set the jack, removed the wheel cover, put the wrench thingy ****Oops - he just arrived! To be continued later.****
Later. It's now 5:30 pm. To continue:
... put the wrench thingy (tire iron?) on a nut, and that's where I was stymied. I can change a tire just fine. What I can't do is loosen the stupid nuts! At one point I was standing with both feet on the iron, holding on to the side mirror and the antenna base, and jumping up and down. Nothing. I got a piece of wood and a hammer and pounded on the end of the iron. Nothing. If I'd been able to find the sledgehammer, we'd have had some fun! I gave up and waited for Hunk.
He came and loosened the nuts, and the rest was quick.
I took the wounded tire to Mavis, and they patched it under the warranty, and just for fun I had them rotate the tires - it's about time anyway.
So now I'm all set, all tires with air in them, the patched tire moved to the rear, and a good spare.
I asked the guy at Mavis to please not tighten the nuts so much, but he says they have to tighten them to specs. I said but that means I can't change a tire myself, and one of the other customers told me to get a big 4-prong iron, and a long piece of pipe that will fit over the end. That'll give me more leverage. Yeah! I'd heard that before, but forgot. Fer shur, will buy one set for each car, next trip across the river!
Hunk said he would have come over to help last night, when I called, but he thought I had the Aerio backup, so there was no rush. He didn't know the Aerio is sidelined with a mysterious wheel well ailment. That will get fixed soon now, I think. I got a service reminder from the Suzuki dealership, and it says they do have pick up and drop off service if you don't have a ride. I hope 14 miles and across the river isn't beyond their range.
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2 comments:
I have a really hard time with lugnuts that have been put on with a hydraulic tool. Maybe AAA would be a good idea?
The way I read the book, AAA will help if you die out on the road somewhere, but not if you die in your driveway. I always find dead cars in my driveway. But I figured if I had to drive to LI without a spare, THEN AAA would help. I guess. I hope.
What really gets me is that they have lists of "AAA Associated" garages, but you don't get the list until after you've paid the dues. Turns out I'm a member of the NYC AAA (NYC is 120 miles away) and there isn't an AAA associated garage within 30 miles of my home.
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