03-14-2024, 01:57 AM
I used Mat's services again today. The starter on our truck was going out. I normally would have swapped it out myself because miraculously it was in a spot that was easy to get to, but I have an injured wrist and it's definitely a job that requires two hands. I asked him how much to replace the starter (no diagnostic work) and he quoted a fair flat rate and two hours after my initial inquiry the problem was solved and with none of the drama of taking it to a local mechanic shop.
I was doubly-glad I didn't try to do it myself because the bolts were seized and to get the old starter out required a pile of tools I don't own.
On a somewhat unrelated note one of our Impalas had developed an odd vibration from the back that seemed to peak at about 45 MPH and was less pronounced slower or faster than that. I was guessing one of the tires was out of balance and it didn't seem like an emergency until it suddenly became much more pronounced, and at all speeds. I followed the wife as she drove looking at the tires to see if there was anything perceptible while it was moving because the tires looked fine when I examined them on the vehicle. Everything looked normal so I decided to pull the wheels off (one at a time) to get a closer look and started with the driver's side wheel because of a "hunch" but after I got the lug nuts off, the wheel wouldn't come off. I tried kicking it, repeatedly, etc, and it was like it was welded on. I had never experienced this before. I tried all the suggestions youtube had to offer and none of them worked. WTF? So I settled on the "last resort" and I'll save everybody 7 minutes of youtube time summarized into a single sentence: take the lug nuts off and drive the car, and the wheel will come off on it's own! (Of course, you don't want to take them OFF, just loosen them and then hand tighten with an injured wrist and driving a short distance on any road in Orchidland will do the rest).
Once I had the wheel off and could roll it on the ground I could see where something in the tire's internal structure was separating and causing it to be slightly deformed. I was probably close to getting a blowout. Fortunately I have a full sized spare so got the car back in action pretty quick but all this leads to my next question. I have a good tire that I can swap for the defective one- where is an affordable/drama free place I can take the tires and the rim to get them swapped?
I was doubly-glad I didn't try to do it myself because the bolts were seized and to get the old starter out required a pile of tools I don't own.
On a somewhat unrelated note one of our Impalas had developed an odd vibration from the back that seemed to peak at about 45 MPH and was less pronounced slower or faster than that. I was guessing one of the tires was out of balance and it didn't seem like an emergency until it suddenly became much more pronounced, and at all speeds. I followed the wife as she drove looking at the tires to see if there was anything perceptible while it was moving because the tires looked fine when I examined them on the vehicle. Everything looked normal so I decided to pull the wheels off (one at a time) to get a closer look and started with the driver's side wheel because of a "hunch" but after I got the lug nuts off, the wheel wouldn't come off. I tried kicking it, repeatedly, etc, and it was like it was welded on. I had never experienced this before. I tried all the suggestions youtube had to offer and none of them worked. WTF? So I settled on the "last resort" and I'll save everybody 7 minutes of youtube time summarized into a single sentence: take the lug nuts off and drive the car, and the wheel will come off on it's own! (Of course, you don't want to take them OFF, just loosen them and then hand tighten with an injured wrist and driving a short distance on any road in Orchidland will do the rest).
Once I had the wheel off and could roll it on the ground I could see where something in the tire's internal structure was separating and causing it to be slightly deformed. I was probably close to getting a blowout. Fortunately I have a full sized spare so got the car back in action pretty quick but all this leads to my next question. I have a good tire that I can swap for the defective one- where is an affordable/drama free place I can take the tires and the rim to get them swapped?