[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation

6599 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 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

387

My car defeated me today. (lemmy.ml)

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

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] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hey, you did more with your car than I, a Y-chromosome-haver, could have ever done. I'm impressed! I couldn't change the oil in my car, let alone the alternator.

As for my weekend (no one else answered, but what the hell), it was sort of bittersweet. My mom is 81 and lives about an 75-minute drive away, so I only get to see her once or twice a month for a couple of hours, but I was actually able to spend about six hours with her on Saturday. We had a long chat, then my daughter got antsy, so we all went to the beautiful new library branch and then she dropped us off at the local mall and we all said goodbye. It was really nice, even though I know there won't be too many of those nice times left. Then I got to show my daughter A Hard Day's Night and Airplane! on Sunday and Monday. So that was pretty fun.