Interesting Day

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kurtdesign1
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Interesting Day

Post by kurtdesign1 » Thu Mar 01, 2018 11:39 am

I need an outlet and Facebook is just too public. You guys here feel more comfortable.
Yesterday was quite the interesting day for me. First off, I got a call from my best customer needing an emergency Blower Door test so he could get a final inspection on a house before the head of the building department went on vacation (and shut down said department) for a week. They're generally great people and certainly reliable customers so I changed things up a bit and sent someone else to my otherwise scheduled morning appointment. I headed off the hour south to the Customer in need of the test. About 10 minutes from their project my front passenger tire blew out. This wasn't just a flat tire, this was a "nearly impossible to control, pulled off the road into a field, unable to slow down from my breaks" type of flat tire. The entire inside sidewall exploded and it scared the hell out of me it was so loud!
Now, remember that I was on my way to a time sensitive appointment to get a test concluded. I immediately called the customer and explained that I would be there when I could but that it might be a bit later than anticipated. That was an understatement...
For those of you who haven't changed a tire on a past model Ford F150, let me explain the process.
The spare tire is mounted under the bed of the truck and held tensioned to the bed through a cable that needs to be "winched" down. It is not just screwed in place, like other spare tires generally are. Lowering this proved to be a chore. First of all, above the rear license plate there is a cover that I always assumed was an electrical plug for connecting trailer brake light connections. Not the case. It is a lock cylinder that needs to be disengaged in order to expose the shaft where the winch rod needs to be connected to start the lowering process.
It was completely rusted to the steel bumper.
After breaking it lose through some obviously calm strikes from my hammer I inserted the key and removed the cylinder. Now the lock cylinder wouldn't turn. I grabbed some pliers from my tools, got onto the soaking wet ground and physically pried the cylinder out of the bumper. I was so sick of the shenanigans thusfar. I successfully lowered the tire and removed it from the winch. Lucky for me, the spare was completely flat...
It was at this point that I had to call for someone to just bring me an my equipment to the job site. I'd handle the truck later.
A couple hours later I was ferried back to start the process over again. I had brought the spare with me, just in case I found a carpenter with a compressor and an adapter that would actually fill it. I was in luck. I got it filled but was pleased to find that it had a slow leak. I filled it up to 45psi and hoped it would take longer than my drive home to become an unsafe pressure.I was planning to jack the truck up now and expected the process to move steadily along as it always does when you change a flat. Boy, was I wrong.
As I operated the crank I realized that the truck wasn't appearing to lift much above the ground. The flat wheel seemed only 3 or 4 inches up and the deflated tire piece still on the rim was perfectly touching the earth. I leaned over to examine the jack and realized that it had managed to bury itself down about 6 or 8" because the ground was so damp it couldn't support the weight. I lowered it back and dug the jack out only to try again. I needed to put something below it to spread the weight out. I walked around a bit and found a 2x4.
The 2x4 cracked and the jack fell down into the soil again.
I placed a pry bar under the jack and on top of another 2x. The hook at the end of the bar used to raise & lower the jack sheared off right at the jack. I was screwed. I tried using a screwdriver to reach under the car and turn the jack manually but I didn't have enough leverage. There wasn't enough height to use a long enough bar to generate enough leverage to turn the jack.
I had to call for help. I didn't have the tools to get the job done.
I called my boss and he arrived an hour later with a jack of his own. He lifted the front end and got to the extent of the height his jack would operate. It wasn't high enough. I now had to put my jack back under the frame and was able to use a long enough rod to turn it without hitting the cab or the ground. It was finally working.
As expected, the wheel was rusted on. The lug nuts were rusted on. Anyone who has changed enough tires knows to expect this. I had my 16oz hammer with me but it took a hell of a lot of persuasion to loosen it all up. It did. I swapped. We finished.
When I went to release my parking brake the light did not go off. Thinking (hoping) that it was just a dashboard issue I started driving away. It was not the case. The car was noticeably restricted. The rear wheel was spinning but it was not a good situation. I told my boss to drive behind me and keep me posted of anything he saw. A mile down the road he called to say that he could smell the brake drum starting to heat up. I slightly engaged the brake a few times and tried releasing it. FINALLY it let go. I was ok.
As a closing to the story one last detail seems insignificant in the scheme of things but in hindsight probably was another crisis averted. When I pulled into my driveway I realized that the spare tire was nearly completely flat again. I had made it home but was probably at only 10 or 15lbs of pressure at this point. In the 3 or 4 hours since it had been filled it had lost 2/3 of its pressure again. Man, I was so close to another blow out. I'm quite lucky, I think.
So, that was my morning and early afternoon yesterday. Sorry we weren't able to meet up, Mike. I was a little preoccupied.
Glad to be driving my car today and even more glad to be in one piece still.

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jledou
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by jledou » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:43 pm

kurtdesign1 wrote:
Thu Mar 01, 2018 11:39 am
Glad to be driving my car today and even more glad to be in one piece still.
A hell of a bad day but the last line says it all.

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Stewmuse
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by Stewmuse » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:21 pm

Boy, I’ve heard made-up stories and excuses, but MAN!!!

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815DC
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by 815DC » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:26 pm

yeah its always good to check your spare every year or so.. just to practice taking it down and such so that when you need it stuff like this doesn't happen. Anymore I just buy towing on my car insurance and figure on getting a ride. Lazy? Absolutely. Glad you are ok Craig.
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Kip
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by Kip » Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:40 am

I've had some bad days, but that's a real stinker. I'm glad you managed to end it with a positive attitude...something at which I'm less than successful. My cohorts and I have a saying amongst ourselves. Be careful when you pray for patience. It is never given. It is taught.
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kurtdesign1
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by kurtdesign1 » Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:09 am

Kip wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:40 am
I've had some bad days, but that's a real stinker. I'm glad you managed to end it with a positive attitude...something at which I'm less than successful. My cohorts and I have a saying amongst ourselves. Be careful when you pray for patience. It is never given. It is taught.
Ooh, that's good.

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kurtdesign1
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by kurtdesign1 » Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:43 am

Thanks for the kind words, boys. I was surprisingly in good spirits throughout this process. I had woken up in a better than average mood that morning and that mindset led me to *almost* enjoy the crazy day.

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Zedman05
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by Zedman05 » Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:16 pm

Fun story. I have had to change the work van tires a few times, and they use those same winch/wire setups. Luckily our vehicles are new enough to not deal with the rusting issue. Sounds like you were definitely thinking your way through your problems. We are all proud of you.
One question; when did you switch from your Miata to a truck !?

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kurtdesign1
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Re: Interesting Day

Post by kurtdesign1 » Mon Mar 05, 2018 3:01 pm

Zedman05 wrote:
Fri Mar 02, 2018 9:16 pm
Fun story. I have had to change the work van tires a few times, and they use those same winch/wire setups. Luckily our vehicles are new enough to not deal with the rusting issue. Sounds like you were definitely thinking your way through your problems. We are all proud of you.
One question; when did you switch from your Miata to a truck !?
I fucking loved that Miata. *sigh*

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