As the Wheel Turns; the continuing saga of the Celica

OK, so I went to work yesterday. I was planningon puching out at one or two, and I owed a favor to a tech for getting me running last week, so I was going to clean up his truck and then go to my favourite store... Salvation Army... to see if they had any goodies (19" monitor for $12, Xerox copier/color printer for $14, etc...)

Wound up getting bound up until 5:00, and then finally got to leave. I got to the main intersection where I had to make a decision: go straight and take the Interstate home, or take a right and check the SA. Last possible second, I decided to turn right. I was a good boy, I worked hard all day, perhaps there was some 'reward' waiting for me. Boy was there ever.

Well, the STORE didn't have anything interesting, so I decided it was time to go home and relax. I turned out onto the road and heard a clunk. About

5 minutes later I'm smelling burning rubber. (There has been a smell of burning rubber for about a week now. I figured it was a 'new' engine in the summer heat...). Then smoke starts coming from the driver's side wheel well. I stopped and looked, noithing out of the ordinary, so I started out again. More smoke, more smell. I limped about 5 miles (with 14 more to go) and puilled over with a sizzling sound. It looked to me like the brake disc was bluing, so I figured I had a locked caliper, or a pad came loose. Easy fix...

I open the trunk...2 jacks, no jack handle and no lug wrench. Yeah, I WAS a boy scout once...

Called a friend who lived a few miles away, come bail me out and bring these tools.

Meantime, a cop comes, I tell him what I think is up. He asks if I need a hook, and I said "Come back in about a half an hour..."

My drummer finally gets there, and we lift the car (right after he gets there it starts raining, of course...) and check things out. Hub moves freely, brakes not locked... We scratch our heads for a minute and try to decide a plan of action. Turns out he owns a rental property about 2 miles away. Wanna try limping there?

THEN i see the tire. A tire with 20,000 miles on it with a big gouge on the inside of the tread. We mount the tire and then notice that the flange on the strut that holds the spring is touching the tire.

Well, rust has taken it's toll on the strut. The flange has rusted and allowed the spring to push it down onto the tire. I tried to call another friend with a tow truck, but he's at a party for two guys on their way to Iraq. Good luck, guys! After another call to another acquaintance with a flatbed, we decide to limp it the 2.5 miles. I get in, turn around in the right direction and there is a loud BANG as the last remaining piece of metal lets go and places the spring firmly against the tire. Luckily, at

8 MPH the car made it without blowing the tire and ruining the wheel.

So, what was my reward at the Salvation Army? If I hadn't gone there, I would have been on the highway at 70MPH...

WHY didn't all this stuff happen BEFORE I replaced the engine????? I had more than gotten my money's worth out of the car at that point...

So, do I get a new strut (actually, 2...), try to sell the car, or kust say FareTheWell and get abut $200 for it at the scrap yard across the river? It looks like the latter to me. At least the wheels fit my 'hachiroku'...

In case anyone's interested, the car has a lot of new parts, and engine with 160,000 miles, a 3 year old rack and pinion with 22,000 miles on it,

3 good 225/60-14's, and some decent body panels (doors, hood and trunk/hatch all in very good condition). I would use it to replace parts on another car; I don't think it's going back on the road. I lucked out this time...
Reply to
hachiroku
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Good luck - they're getting smart. People who run computer stores get on the committees at the Sally Army, and a lot of the really good stuff gets spotted and scarfed up from the back room before it ever gets out on the shelf.

I'm gonna put in an official request for them to pull your Auto Repair merit badge for this one. :-P

You know, you're gonna give drummers an unwarranted good reputation if you keep this up. ;-P (There's a /reason/ why a lot of bands hide their drummer in a big Plexiglas box...)

And doing pirouettes on the highway isn't fun. BT, DT...

You've got that much effort in the car? Fix the darned strut, put in two fresh cartridges, find a matching new or used tire to replace the toasted one, and keep driving it.

Or fix it and unload it while it's at top dollar in perfect running shape, rather than take a bath selling it as non-drivable.

You'll really get hosed by giving up and junking it - you just /know/ the wrecking yard will make their money back (and then some) by stripping off all the good bits themselves.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

I wasn't on the committee, I called the guy who handles computers directly and was taking the salvagable stuff they didn't want to sell, a pice missing here or there...

I think those pieces are in the garage and the Supra...

See post about 1973 Volvo 1800ES. Once over lightly, please!

Yeah, I know. But there is a guy looking for a mid-80's coupe who wants to restore it. He still hasn't come to look at it yet. I was going to ask $800, but the price decreases every week. I have an exhaust sitting in the parts room at work that i haven't paid for yet.

I would rather start putting the money into the Supra, although, if the Celica weren't breaking down every bloody week, I'd sell the Supra; I like driving the Celica better!

Reply to
hachiroku

I'm an Auto Mechanics merit badge counselor, call me when you're ready. Believe it or not, I've only reviewed it with one Scout in 5 years. You'd think that more Scouts would be interested in earning it.

Reply to
Ray O

Why? What a stupid question! Everybody knows that if it isn't one thing, it's two things. Duh!

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Yeah, I know. The car was running so weel before, but wouldn't pass inspection due to bad rings. The engine was a bargain, but ever since...

Reply to
hachiroku

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