Day 2: Bearing project

In addition to my grinding cable harness job (The skills I'm learning there will be valuable when it comes time to fight the machines) I've now got a second job trying to remove a pulverized wheel bearing from an axle shaft. Like a guy at work said, "I can do anything." as long as I have the tools. In this case I've got no tools, no vise, no propane torch, no oven, no slide hammer, no work bench. Removing this bearing and installing the new one is a project for a garage...a real garage where there are no fancy fucking marketing posters and company logos and corporate slogans.
The only challenge is if I can do it myself without destroying the axle shaft. I don't want to know the answer to that question. Every part will take days to arrive so it's another slow grind as each bolt takes one day to deal with. I'm like a cranked up pit crew freak when I've got all the tools and I'm like Dr. Frankenstein when I don't. Today I stacked up a pile of circular weights from a bench press set and used them to lift the shaft off the ground enough to slip another set of weights between the bearing flange and the bearing race and then I pounded on the top of the axle with a slide hammer I borrowed. It was a mess but it's exactly what you do without a bearing vise...and it still didn't work. Oh, I want a motorcycle! So simple.
I don't know if the oil seal ruptured but I'm guessing the gear fluid leak was caused by the bearing falling apart and the axle wiggling.
It's so boring. My life is so mechanically devoted right now I shit spools of copper and piss brake fluid.

I take the blame

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!

How to get arrested...

At pawtuckaway state park, cutting hemp twine with a jagged knife (I was practicing making necklaces), ragged and sweating in my camper van after changing tires in the dirt. three children walk up thinking it's an ice cream truck . I'm surprised and brandish the knife accidentally. They see the knife, they see the rope. Maybe my balls are dangling from my threadbare shorts. Did I just say "Get in the van, kiddies, or I'll kill all of you."?? They aren't sure but it's better to be safe than sorry and their parents always told them to rat out anyone suspicious. Imaginations go wild and Oggy is surrounded by NH State Troopers. And really, would you believe this guy or three white rich brats out to swim in a pond?

That's how fast you can go to jail in this awful country.

He was small...

That's what they say about the dead man. His clothes are small and slim. Probably was a fag. I say the Levi's bell bottoms are as good as I can ask. They really are as loud as I want and as retro and the bell bottoms are outrageous. If I drop an extra five pounds they'll fit perfect. Thank you Mr. Rolston for the delivery. When I get my ass kicked at the State St. Saloon I will think of you...

Time Warp:

Don't they make you want to disco?

Two steps forward...

Bought two new tires on Friday. I watched the guy try to jack up the van and only half of it moved. It left me with an uneasy feeling. Then he left a tire on that clearly had a huge chunk of steel radial poking through the rubber. You get what you pay for at NTB tire in Newington. $300 I think I bought more problems than I fixed because...

I drove them out to Putuckaway st. park for a test and immediately had one of the remaining Mexican graveyard tires explode on route 156. I'm up to the challenge and swapped it out with one of the tires I had left over. That was just the beginning of the problems as I could hear some serious grinding and the brakes felt a little dodgy and before a hike into Stratham I decided to inspect the rear tires and...yes, that's all the brake fluid pouring onto the road.

What are the odds of taking my van for a thirty mile drive and having a tire blow out and the wheel cylinder fail after taking it to mexico and back with no problem? One visit to a corporate tire garage and the problems just fall from the sky.

So, the call now goes out to all available mechanics. I need jack stands and industrial nut sockets to remove the axle lock nut to get at the wheel cylinders.

I suspected that investing $300 would instantly make me regret it but I thought I'd get at least 24 hours before the first meltdown. No. I got about 15 hours and 15 miles. Rotating those abused tires caused one of them to fly apart and aligning the van's steering may have hurt too. I expect the mere presence of a $9/hr tire monkey with a wrench in his hand was enough to cause the wheel cylinder to rupture. This guy couldn't keep his pants up let alone change two tires without causing more problems.
I got flipped off a couple times because I was driving the speed limit to get home (I had to use the emergency brake to stop at lights) and the police tailed me and called in my info just to keep the neighborhood safe. All this is making it real easy to hit the highway as soon as the mothership is ready for liftoff. Interestingly, none of this was as stressful as building that cable harness with sweat pouring from my eyeballs. (That cable harness passed all QC inspections so you can all sleep easy) It's not stressful to be running against the wind since I know where that wind is blowing...

What I need:

Jack Stands
Wheel Cylinder Rebuild kits
lock nut socket
breaker bar
bleeder tube
brake pads
brake fluid
expert brake team

free beer will be provided.
work begins every day at 3pm
This means you Jon Rolston.