[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation

6588 readers

1 users here now

Share a story, ask a question, or start a conversation about (almost) anything you desire. Maybe you'll make some friends in the process.

RULES

Be respectful: no harassment, hate speech, bigotry, and/or trolling
Encourage conversation in your post
Avoid controversial topics such as politics or societal debates
Keep it clean and SFW: No illegal content or anything gross and inappropriate
No solicitation such as ads, promotional content, spam, surveys etc.
Respect privacy: Don’t ask for or share any personal information

Related discussion-focused communities

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

388

My car defeated me today. (lemmy.ml)

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

80 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I moved here a year ago, and ive made friends, but they're all women. I work mostly with men, but they're not into fixing cars, and im not close enough with any of them to reach out and ask for help on a weekend. I did consult a friend in my hometown, but there's little he can do over the phone.

Luckily I only had to get under the car once, to try ad get the wrench I dropped out of the undercarriage. I didn't find it and got so filthy. The job was done under the hood. :)