Imoutgoodbye Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Well, I thought I would get some decent playing time after my hectic weekend. Nope. The bolts holding the water pump pulley to the water pump fell out (2 of 3) and the pulleys at the serpentine belt, leaving the wife stranded about ten miles from home. So, called a tow truck (I made the right choice taking a $1k advance on my taxes, so far) which cost me $70. Not too bad, but enough to make me mutter. Yesterday, tried finding replacements for these bolts. Corpsestomp took me to the next town over because all the auto part shops in my town are either not open on Sundays or close fairly early. No one had the size bolts I needed. I'll hit the hardware today, but I'm prayin' this isn't going to be a "go to a dealership" thing. It's a '93 for cryin' out loud. Well, wish me luck folks. I'll get about five hours of sleep and walk for two hours. Better get that car fixed. I'm tired of walking home from work with a head lamp on so I know I won't slip on ice in the dark areas of town. I'm also tired of a lack of mud time...that car has cut into my mud time waaaaayyyyy too much in the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim_Reefer Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 What kind of piece of **** car is this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imoutgoodbye Posted December 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 What kind of piece of **** car is this? Chevy Cavalier. It's my wife's. I had one and swore I'd never get another one. I give it three or four more years before the rear undercarriage/body frame becomes so rusted that it's no longer driveable. The Cavalier had a manufacturing body flaw that wasn't fixed for a long time. Moisture/liquids can gain access to the inside of the body because the area between the door and the body isn't sealed properly. I don't think it was fixed until after '96 or '97. If you have one, all you have to do is peel back that carpeting in the trunk near the wheel well and just give examine the area around that, give it a few good pushes, although the rust should be readily apparent with a few holes included. EDIT: I should note my issue with these older cavaliers was also always the rear of the body, so I've decided the sealing error was with the rear windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsestomp Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Haha, headlamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imoutgoodbye Posted December 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Haha' date=' headlamp.[/quote'] Yeah, well, I also bought an extendable magnetic stick today because I'm tired of dropping my tools and bolts into the engine and trying to use a stick to knock 'em out. And the car is fixed. Locktight on those stupid metric bolts and I even finally figured out how to route my own serpentine belt. I did have to ask for help releasing the tension on the tensioner pulley. I will get that trick down one of these days. My hands feel like they've been frostbitten, though. As usual, I took 2.5 times longer than a certified mechanic. Oh, well. Practice might eventually make perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonforger17 Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Well at least the guys at the tire store didnt over torque your lug nuts and your driving down the road and your front left tire loses two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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