We just got home from taking The Wifely Unit’s hoopty up to Les Schwab Tire Shop to have a brake inspection done and to get a leaky tire fixed.
The tire had a nail in it and since it has their tires on it, they fixed that for free.
The brake inspection turned into a clusterfuck.
I did the rear brakes on this thing several years ago and she has complained about it squeaking ever since.
My bad, I cheaped out and didn’t replace all the hardware kits and springs.
Anyway, about a week ago they started grinding from the left rear.
After forty plus years of this shit and since now I am all fucked up in the legs with all the clogged arteries, I told her I wasn’t doing it again, hence the trip to Schwabbies.
So after waiting an hour and a half and about ten minutes before they close, this young guy calls me up to discuss the issue.
First off he tells me they couldn’t get the rear drums off and that we need to make an appointment so they can employ someone there who can.
No surprise there, I’m sure as worn out as those brake shoes are and after 250,000+ miles, there is probably a hell of a lip inside those drums and they are probably going to have to use a great big puller on them.
That of course, will completely destroy everything inside.
Par for the course and no real surprise there.
The surprise I did get was when he told me that he couldn’t take the left front wheel off to check the brakes because the inside of the tire was bald.
“”Scuse me?”
Like I said, I’ve been turning wrenches for over forty years now, including two stints at tire shops plus ten years at a dealership.
Needless to say, I have literally pulled off THOUSANDS of tires and wheels and AT NO TIME EVER, did the condition of the tire ever stop me from taking the wheel off.
I’m thinking the fact that it was close to quitting time had more to do with it than anything else.
But still, that was a new one on me.
Can you smell the bullshit?
I can.
So between two new tires, a front end alignment, ( IF, they don’t find something else worn out) and a complete rear brake job, I told The Wife to expect to be paying $1200 AT A MINIMUM.
This on a twenty year old POS with 250,000+ miles on it.
She dumped almost $3,000 into it last year having the timing belt, water pump and valve cover gasket done on it.
The thing is, this damn thing just won’t die and she loves the stupid thing.
This is also the same woman who constantly gives me a massive ration of shit about a certain British car sitting out in the drive way that I have had for over 35 years, that according to her, needs to be sold yesterday.
God forbid I should try to draw any similarities though.
