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My car defeated me today. (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The alternator on my car went kaput. Nowhere in my area would do the job for less than $800-something, and most places were quoting $900-$1k.

So I looked up how-tos on YouTube and it looked like something I, a woman with zero experience or knowledge of working on cars, could do.

I got a remanufactured alternator for $180 and got to work following the tutorials I'd found.

It certainly did not go smoothly, but I managed it. It took me 6 hours to get the alternator out, mainly because every goddamn bolt holding the parts in place were basically cemented in. I had to use my foot to stomp one loose because I didn't have the strength in my arms.

Today I spent another 4 hours trying to put in the new one and all the parts back in place. And I did it!!

Except for the power steering belt. That fucker would not go into place, and trying to force the belt tensioner back took every ounce of strength I could muster.

All that work. All that time and effort and THE VERY LAST STEP to get my car up and running defeated me today. I had to get a task rabbit guy. He's coming tomorrow to get my belt back on.

On one hand I feel proud that I made it this far. On the other I feel like a complete failure because it turns out I couldn't complete the task myself.

Anyway, how was your weekend?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is how it starts. Soon, you'll start putting together a small collection of tools, and more knowledge about how the car is put together, and you will be driving a perfectly maintained and operational car that has a ton of miles on it, and it won't give you any trouble - or at least, it won't give you trouble you can't solve.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

That's how I got started. I took the few hundred dollars I saved on my first project and bought a ratchet set, a hydraulic jack, and jack stands. The second repair I bought an air compressor and impact driver set because fuck, working on cars is hard! All that allows me to fix about 95% of my car's issues and I can borrow tools for free from the parts store for the odd 5%.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The parts store tool rental program is a lifesaver. I don't need to keep a bunch of obscure and expensive weird special tools around, and I don't have to do sketchy or dangerous things that risk tearing up another part, or hurting myself.

I maintain that the best way to learn to mechanic is a 20 year old truck (any make) and a Harbor Freight socket set.