absolutely pointless rant

[dhagood]

the pathfinder is as fixed as it's going to get. i worked on doing the front end alignment myself just for giggles. the toe is no particular problem once i figured out that the rear track is narrower than the front track. the camber i could directly measure, but i had no way to measure the caster without buying an expensive tool that i would use every other decade. i finally bit the bullet and had it aligned, and all the miscreant bolt is holding torque quite nicely for the moment. it's back on the road and earning its keep.

i knew about aaa metric, but not about msc-direct. thanks for the tip.

 

[mjncad]

Take a look at MSC-direct. They are on the I-70 frontage road, Stapleton area. Another source: AAA Metric off of I-25.

I used to buy quite a bit from MSC-Direct online until they "improved" their website a few years back. I never went to the local stores since they aren't convenient to my lazy self. I always end up back at McMaster-Carr McMaster-Carr as they have what I need, and in my opinion the best and easiest website for shopping.

Another local (Denver) fastener place I've bought stuff from is Hi-Strength Bolt on 62nd and North Washington.

 

[dhagood]

aaaarrggggh. a couple of days ago i noticed a pretty good plume of white smoke from my wife's volvo as she drove off on some errands. when she got back, i pulled the dipstick and sure enough, there is antifreeze getting into the engine oil (and the combustion chamber, which gives you the white smoke out of the exhaust). so now i have to replace the head gasket, but getting 160,000 miles out of a turbocharged head gasket isn't too terrible. so now my wife will drive the pathfinder i just got fixed and i will keep driving my gmc k1500 pickup truck. working on the volvo will have to wait until after i replace the timing belt on my daughter's audi a4, and then my wife will drive the audi and i'll go back to driving the pathfinder. then it will be the front end rebuild on my k1500 pickup truck. it's a good thing i'm unemployed...



(i think).

 

[mikehaugen]

I used to buy quite a bit from MSC-Direct online until they "improved" their website a few years back. I never went to the local stores since they aren't convenient to my lazy self. I always end up back at McMaster-Carr McMaster-Carr as they have what I need, and in my opinion the best and easiest website for shopping.

Another local (Denver) fastener place I've bought stuff from is Hi-Strength Bolt on 62nd and North Washington.

I too, like McMaster, but I hate how they don't tell you what you are getting. I have gotten enough from them to know a few things, for instance their "premium" wrenches are armstrong usually, etc.

aaaarrggggh. a couple of days ago i noticed a pretty good plume of white smoke from my wife's volvo as she drove off on some errands. when she got back, i pulled the dipstick and sure enough, there is antifreeze getting into the engine oil (and the combustion chamber, which gives you the white smoke out of the exhaust). so now i have to replace the head gasket, but getting 160,000 miles out of a turbocharged head gasket isn't too terrible. so now my wife will drive the pathfinder i just got fixed and i will keep driving my gmc k1500 pickup truck. working on the volvo will have to wait until after i replace the timing belt on my daughter's audi a4, and then my wife will drive the audi and i'll go back to driving the pathfinder. then it will be the front end rebuild on my k1500 pickup truck. it's a good thing i'm unemployed...

(i think).

ain't life grand!

 

[RandyT]

It sounds like you have had a week of the shop murphy. That is when you break more crap than you fix, and usually last about a week to 10 days.

 

[mjncad]

Talk about crap luck with the vehicles!

I agree about the lack of brand names listed in the McMaster catalog being frustrating at times; but I've found the selection and ability to easily get what I want outweighs the frustration. I've bought taps from McMaster and was pleasantly surprised to see they are Greenfield Tap & Die products.

 

[dhagood]

Talk about crap luck with the vehicles!

not really. the newest vehicle we own is a 2002 with 110,000 miles on it. things are bound to start going wrong when vehicles get that old/have that many miles behind them. the vehicles i have mentioned in this thread are a 95 pathfinder with 170,000 miles, a 95 gmc sierra with 130,000 miles, a 98 audi with 180,000 miles, and a 98 volvo with 160,000 miles. all the repair items mentioned are normal wear and tear items except for the volvo head gasket, and that would last longer if i didn't like to keep the boost up :thumbsup:

what irritates me about this kind of thing is how the breakdowns always seem to happen at once.

 

[mikehaugen]

not really. the newest vehicle we own is a 2002 with 110,000 miles on it. things are bound to start going wrong when vehicles get that old/have that many miles behind them. the vehicles i have mentioned in this thread are a 95 pathfinder with 170,000 miles, a 95 gmc sierra with 130,000 miles, a 98 audi with 180,000 miles, and a 98 volvo with 160,000 miles. all the repair items mentioned are normal wear and tear items except for the volvo head gasket, and that would last longer if i didn't like to keep the boost up :thumbsup:

what irritates me about this kind of thing is how the breakdowns always seem to happen at once.

You sound about like me, I got an '03 impala with about 190k, a '96 ram with 160k, and a '97 suburban with 200k. Even with the odds and ends repairs once in a while it is still cheaper than a $600-$800/month payment to me anyway. Although the truck is getting cancer pretty bad.

 

[mjncad]

what irritates me about this kind of thing is how the breakdowns always seem to happen at once.

That's what I was referring too...the bad timing of all these things happening at once.