Idiot. I promised I would buy 4 new tires if the van made it to New Hampshire. But money is tight and I thought only two for now would be enough until a few more paychecks. What a mistake. Not only was I instantly reminded of how foolish that was by having one of the old tires blow out ten hours after I didn't replace it...but...this is the killer...one of the front tires was a 225 75 R15, a spare I bought in Mexico. And I had them swap the front tires to the rear where there was a 235 75 R15 on the other side.
How bad can that be? What damage can that cause to a rear drive vehicle? I'll get pics eventually but it's almost catastrophic. Mismatched sizes on the front wheels made no difference but the axle shaft is linked in the back and the difference in sizes caused one tire to turn faster than the other and absolutely ground the wheel bearing into tiny shards of metal, destroyed the oil seal, and almost seized up. Only three balls were left in the bearing race.
I take the responsibility for trusting NTB in Newington to do this simple task. If I told those guys to replace one tire with a plastic one off a Big Wheel from Toys R Us they would've done it. The only people dumber than me were the guys doing the work. Absolute retards. Sure, we'll put that tire there without checking the size. And so what if it has steel radial sticking out of the rubber. We're only a tire garage!
I'll be sending them a letter with pictures to see if I can get some damages repaid because this could destroy all chances of my driving the van again. Assholes!
The axle shaft bearing disintegrated, the differential seal evaporated and the fluid dripping out wasn't brake fluid (the brake cylinders are fine) it was differential fluid pouring into the brake hub and causing the pads to fail. If the axle fucked up the differential gearing then that's it. that's the end of the van. I'm not replacing the rear end for $2000 so I can have a 1969 van. All because I didn't want to buy four new tires...and now I definitely have to buy two new tires to replace the odd sized one and the one that blew out. FUCK! IN addition to the hell of this repair.
I'm super bummed out.
I pulled the axle shaft out and am in the process of beating the bearing off the shaft so I can see if it can be replaced. Bearing work is among the most difficult because hydraulic presses were used to put them on. I'm really tested by this project. Metal shards were everywhere and I sliced my fingers multiple times in the dark sauna-like garage. The van is abandoned in a parking lot in Elliot and I drove my moped over the memorial bridge to contemplate jumping off. Oooooh!
All at the exact time I can not afford to lose my van! I would be buying a sweet 1981 Honda Cm 400 right now except I'm digging grease from my finger nails and watching my blood money be poured into the wallets of a corporate retard factory disguised as a tire company. And I have no place to stay and no money and no van and no motorcycle. I'm just a man on a moped rolling through town with my plaid Bell Bottom pants. My freak flag is flying at half mast!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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