I head to Costco this morning for an eye exam. Just as I begin to round a corner, 3 things happened that turned my hair much greyer in an instant:
- The high pressure PS hose on the Beater decided to come apart, spraying hot, stinky, slippery hydraulic fluid all over the ground just in front of the RF tire.
- The steering instantly got really, REALLY hard to maneuver; at 35+ mph in the middle of the turn, it took both hands and a LOT of grunt to keep it from hitting A POLICE CRUISER that was directly in front of me!!!
- The slippery nature of that damned hydraulic fluid caused the RF tire to slide...into the general direction of that police officer. We were both pie-eyed for a moment.
It didn't look good for a few moments. All I needed this weekend was my mug on the front page of the local Sunday paper. 'Cop Killer in ugly-ass Beater Car arrested!' Oh, the humanity!
The blue/red's come on, I hit the curb sweating bullets. We both want to know exactly what in the HELL was going on. The hood is popped, and luckily, we both start laughing. His parting words were, "You need to buy yerself a decent car, Son!"
ARRRRGGG! I drive it carefully home (I'm too cheap a bastard to tow it), run it up on the ramps, and believe it or not, the HP hose had actually unscrewed itself from the pump! A few turns with a 5/8" wrench, and we were back in business. A quick wash with Simple Green, refill the resevoir and it's now just a fond memory. The stench lingers, but The Beater rolls on.
Count your blessings. The day is not over yet.
-JD
________________________________________________________ | | | 1998 Laser Red GT RAMFM Member Since 1997 | | M-5400-A Suspension http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams || Subframe Connectors & Seat Bracing, Strut Tower Brace || 4-point K-frame Brace, Tremec T-45 & OEM 3.27:1 Gears ||________________________________________________________|