So did you every have one of these days where nothing but nothing went right? That’s me today.
My daughter is home from college and her car needs a heater fan motor. No problem, while doing a heater motor on an old 240 is a PITA, but it’s a job I have done hundreds of times. I used to knock them out in about 75 minutes like clockwork. So I guess this will take me two hours. (I’m out of practice)
I was going to do the job yesterday, but my daughter did not get back from visiting friends in San Diego. No problem I’ll do it Saturday.
Get up this AM it’s raining. No problem, my buddy owns a shop and I have keys and his permission to use his facility.
As I am getting ready to go, my cell rings. It’s my son’s GF. Her car won’t start. Cool, no problem probably needs a battery. I’ll bring one over after I finish the 240.
Down to the shop go in move a car out and get started. Now this is a steel building that is maybe 40 years old, and it leaks when it rains. So there is water on the floor. The shoes that I have on have about zero traction on a wet slick floor.
Anyway I get the passenger’s side of the car disassembled (the heater motor is crosswise under the dash and both sides need to be taken apart)
I go over the driver’s side and I have nothing but trouble getting everything apart. After what seemed to be forever I get it all apart and the old motor out.
I put the new motor in (damn my back is a lot stiffer than it was 15 years ago!)
I spend what seems to be forever (probably at least 1 hour) I get the driver’s side back together. Now don’t forget I used to do the entire job in just over and hour complete, and I have just spent an hour just re-assembling the driver’s side.
I go to install the fan wheel on the passenger’s side and I discover that the parts house sent me the wrong motor. The shaft is too short by about 1/2"
Fuckty, Fuck, Fuck Fuck! Goat fletching assholes that can read a parts catalog!
So I call around. Nobody has the correct motor on the shelf. Of course not, we could have predicted that.
Fucking wonderful.
So now I start to reassemble what’s left so I can tear it apart next weekend to do it all over again with the correct fucking part.
Well now that I hit that roadblock, nothing goes right. Screws won’t start. Wiring harness won’t reach. trim won’t fit. Defrost ducts won’t go in.
So I am almost done, and I look out toward the street. The shop has a rolling gate about 20’ wide with a large red and white sign that says **“No Parking at all times” The gate is cracked open (1’-2’) and directly behind the gate across the parking lot is a 30’ wide roll up door that is open. Anyway I look out and there is a brand new fucking Toyota Tacoma pick up parked completely across the driveway. No fucking way in hell I can get out around this piece of shit.
Fuck me up the ass, what else can go wrong? At this point I can’t decide if I should have the piece of shit towed, just jack it up and take all of the wheels off it, or beat the shit out it with a big fucking hammer.
So thorough the rain I go over to the restaurant across the street.
I walk in and in a loud voice announce “Does anybody in here own a White Toyota Tacoma pickup that is parked across the street blocking my driveway?” No response except for a few slack-jawed stares. “OK if nobody here claims it, it is getting towed as soon as I get back across the street” At this point Cletus the slack-jawed yokel stands up and says the truck is his. I ask him to move it, as it is blocking my driveway. This asshats response is a classic “I didn’t realize I could not park there.” Um yah, perhaps if you had looked out your passenger window you would have seen a large red and white sign that was at your eye level that said no parking. Or if you had looked beyond that you would have seen the shop door open. Dumb fuck.
Anyway after 4 hours with not much to show for it, I grab a battery out of stock and head over to my son’s GF’s apt.
When I go to back the car back into the shop that I pulled out to have somewhere to work, the driver’s window sticks in the down position. Waste about 10 minutes trying to fix it and call my buddy to tell him I broke it. Turns out they have not yet worked on it, and that is one of the complaints. Whew!
On the way I discover that I must have pulled a wire out somewhere cause the Turn signals don’t work, and the trim around the steering wheel is rubbing. Wonderful.
Anyway I go to fix the car with the dead battery and it turns out not to be a dead battery. I was able to fix that without replacing the battery, but now I have to return the battery back to my buddies tomorrow. I also have to fix the turn signals, and the trim that rubs. Next weekend lather rinse repeat, as I do the entire job all over again This shit isn’t supposed to happen to me, I am a trained professional. All this bad shit is supposed to happen to the shade tree guys. (yeah right)
That’s it. I’m not working on any more cars this year.
You have my sympathy. Try to look on the bright side-perhaps you’ve condensed all of the bad karma into one day, and the rest of the year will be a stroll in the park.
Oh. See, my car’s making this noise. Kinda like “hmmmMMMMM” with a little bit of “unnnnnnnnngh”. It’s on the front driver’s side.
Can’t you help a sister out?
Really, though, you must be a smart, capable, and dependable person, and those are very good qualities. Your daughter is very lucky to have a dad that will go to great lengths and physical discomfort to help her out. And your son’s GF, too.
Aww, Rick, I’m sorry to hear you had such a rotten day. Look at it this way, though, at least you didn’t spend the day like Thomas and I did; sick in bed with pneumonia.
Happy New Year, hon! 
Dude, sucks to be you today. I hate to see when a person’s selfless efforts are rewarded by an ungrateful universe with cruelty and disdain. I hope it gets better. It probably will.
Sounds like one of those “No good deed shall go unpunished” days. 
Hey, not only is tommorow another day, it’s another year! Look at this as 2005’s parting shot.
Nice guys do finish first. Next time you tackle that heater, it’ll go perfectly smoothly.
( My goodness, I seem to be dripping cliches all over the Dope! Sorry! )
I’m sorry, but my brain is too fried right now to read that whole OP. Nothing personal - I’m sure it’s lovely - but I just can’t do it right now.
But I did happen to notice this:
and I have to say that fletching a goat sounds even more difficult than felching it.
I know it’s an assholish thing to do to pick out one typo out of a big long post. I didn’t mean it that way.
I’m going to bed now.
Happy New year everbody
Let’s see now
Dances God I hope I packed all my bad karma for 2006 in the last day of 2005, wouldn’t that be great.
trublmakr I’d love to help you out. Before we get into what zactly it sounds like, do you feel lucky today? 
Shayna Oh no! Are you guys going to be OK? Anything I can do?
lissener On the nose my friend. It really sucked to be me today. I’m sure it will get better. Today just was not my day.
zoogirl That’s OK you can drip cliches all over me any day.
Smeghead The way I spell, if there is only 1 typo in a post of mine I consider the post a sucess.
Thanks for the support guys Happy 2006!
Damn, Rick. That sound like what happens whenever I try to fix something! :eek:
Maybe you should get back into the groove by working on a simpler car. Coincidentally, the wipers aren’t working in the Herald.
Yeah, I’m sure you can find an old Beetle that needs some help.