[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation

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My car defeated me today. (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by OceanSoap@lemmy.ml to c/casualconversation@lemmy.world

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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?

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[–] WhipTheLlama@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It’s worth paying for things to save yourself the pain in the ass

Agreed, but it's also worth knowing how to do things yourself, so you have the choice. On a car, the cost for some jobs is almost all labor, so having the option to do it yourself is great, plus it's a skill you can teach your kids.

With a breaker bar, OP could have had the alternator out and the new one bolted in place in an hour. The belt might still be a problem, but spending an hour, then paying someone $100 to do the belt, feels a lot better than spending 10 hours, then paying someone $100 to do the belt.

[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, and because I know how to properly change the oil in my car, I'm happy to pay someone else to do it