I hate studs, the D is silent

As predicted my weekend was busy since it was my first official weekend since returning from the trip.  On Saturday a bunch of my time was consumed by working on the van exhaust pipe problem.  Early in the morning I headed to Advance Auto to pick up a flange repair kit.  I didn’t know the diameter of my exhaust pipe but the kit accommodated up 2.5 inch pipes, I figured I would be good to go.  I grabbed oil and a filter while I was there to do the oil change on the van which was necessary after 5500 road trip miles.

While I was out I made another stop at Wal-mart to pick up random items like a new watering can to replace my old which is falling apart, a container to hold bird seed to keep cockroaches and other undesirables out and a bag of weed and feed.  The weed and feed purchase was the one that got my attention, even meriting a FB update where I said:

One bag of generic weed and feed was like $30.  If I were to buy enough of the stuff to sufficiently cover the grass just on the house mound and immediate surrounding area I would spend a small fortune.   Unfortunately the dollar weed is starting it’s annual attempt to overtake large portions of the yard so I have no choice but to lay out a kings ransom to combat it.

So when I got back home my work on the van began in earnest.  As is often the case with my repairs and projects I had a loose game plan in place but I rarely expect things to go as planned.  This was once again the case.

So the flange on the muffler had one bolt intact, one bolt that had half remaining after I beat on it and a third bolt that was broken off inside the hole of the flange, with only a small amount left.  I figured this should be my first target as it would be the easiest to remove. The flange repair kit I bought at AA proved to be useless, the exhaust pipe was much bigger than what the kit would handle.

At first I had my cordless DeWalt drill and two of my generic metal/wood bits to use to drill out the small remaining portion of the stud.  I used my big floor jack to raise the side of the van to give me as much space as possible since the car ramps didn’t do much that far back.  Even with using the jack, it was quite awkward trying to apply pressure on the drill while laying flat on my back. I used vice grips to temporarily hold the joint together and give me something solid to drill into.

Before long it became obvious that the cordless drill was not going to have the staying power needed for this job as it seemed I was making minimal progress.  I pulled out my new DeWalt corded drill and ran a long extension cord down to where I was working.  I also pulled out other bits I had that looked to be about the right size and have a non-masonry head.

I tried all of them with my high power drill and got nowhere.  I burned up two or three bits before I gave up and resigned myself to buying a new bit designed for metal.  So for the second time in a few hours I was back out on the road running errands.  I incorporated additional to do’s into the second run as well, emptying my two oil containers and stopping by my mom’s work as well.

Mom had called me on Friday and told me she had her front end clipped of her Rav 4 by a big flat bed that changed lanes without seeing her, hitting her front end with their big tire in the process.  I stopped by to survey the damage.  This was the first time I have seen the shop where my mom works.  I was familiar with Flamingo Island but had not been there in over a decade.  I wasn’t quite sure where in the complex the store was so I just fast stepped it looking at store signs rapid fire until I stumbled across her store since I didn’t ask my mom for directions ahead of time.

So I found mom and she took me out to her Rav 4.  The bumper on the passenger side was intact but sitting a couple inches low.  The passenger side fender and trim piece had some damage as well from the impact with the tire.  I laid down on the ground at took a look inside to see if any supporting braces were bent up.  They all seemed intact.  I grabbed the bumper as my mom protested, and was able to get it back in place.  The only thing it would need to keep it there is fixing a mount where the bolt secures it.  From 15 feet away you can hardly tell anything was wrong with it. I told mom she still needs to get a quote from a body shop for the damage since the truck driver is responsible for whatever it would cost to repair.

So I got a brand new drill bit at Home Depot as well as some bolts and nuts to hopefully be utilized in the repair, assuming I was successful punching through the stud.  When I got home I returned to my uncomfortable position under the van, loaded in my fresh bit and had at it.  This time I utilized lower rpm’s as I read online was the best way to utilize a metal bit.  Even with the new bit and the slower drill speed I was seeing precious little metal shavings dropping out of the hole.  I was really fcking frustrated.  At this point I spent at least 90 minutes under the van between the two sessions and had absolutely nothing to show for it.

I took a break from the drilling that was seemingly going nowhere and grabbed my big center punch and mini-sledge and started pounding on the stud, it was more of a stress reliever than a technique for stud removal.  Again my flat on my back orientation made hammering difficult.  As I hammered away, with each impact reenforcing an obscenity in my head, it felt like I finally had some movement on the frozen stud.  A few more whacks and the tiny stud remnant popped out, finally….

Examining the stub nub revealed all that work was to punch out something that was barely a half inch long.  The splines on the stud confirmed it was pressed/hammered into place however many years ago it was installed.  I used the hardware I bought to firmly attach one of the three flange holes.  I had hopes of threading a nut onto the one full stud that remained however multiple attempts to do so failed because both of the substantial rust that had accumulated on it and the damage I had caused to the end of the stud while pounding on it initially.

I started the van up and listened/looked at the joint.  It sounded quiet, the combo of a fresh gasket and at least one bolt securely tightened seemed to be an adequate but less than ideal band aid for the problem.   I am sure a muffler shop could pop out those other two bolts with significantly less effort than I expended.  It’s all about the tools.

Despite being pretty spent from fighting with the van I had more yet to do.  The grass which has been unmowable due to standing water had to be addressed, despite ample standing water still spotting the yard.  I used variable mower deck height to get the job done, raising the deck to max height when I would be going through underwater sections.  These ponds also required me to have a good head of steam before hitting them.  If you go slow you wind up getting stuck on the slimy ground below.

The mower was a disgusting mess by the time I was done but I at least got a good portion of the grass mowed.  Unfortunately the forecast calls for another few days of significant rain which will submerge things further. My Saturday of work/chores didn’t really end until after 6pm.

On Sunday Cindy and I had intentions of doing a run/swim training brick.  The last time I ran was the 10K I did with her where I felt absolutely awful and wanted to quit which was at least 3 weeks ago.    Part of the reason I felt awful was we didn’t start running until the sun was well into the sky, not taking our first strides until around 8:30.

This time I suggested that we get up early and try to start around 7, missing some of the heat of the day.  We figured after we were done running we could fill in the dead time drinking coffee at DD until the pool opened.  I also suggested we run the square in a counter-clockwise direction.  Although the distance is identical, to me the run seems less mentally fatiguing when taken down in that way.

The two changes did make the run go better although the 9:44 pace was far from blazing.  Even with the early start it didn’t let us escape the humidity, my shirt was absolutely soaked from the 6.36 mile run.  I need to keep the long runs going for the next month or so since I need the cardio base for the Tough Mudder I am doing the first weekend of November.

So we headed to Dunkin Donuts, grabbed our go juice, and were sitting outside drinking it while playing with a bulldog puppy that a couple had with the them.  His name was Logan and he loved everyone.  As I looked at my watch I saw we had over an hour to go until the water park opened.  I said to Cindy we could be spending the time changing oil.  She was ok with axing the swim portion of the brick in order to get to her oil changing lesson.

Once we got back to the house I changed into my oil changing gear and pulled the needed equipment out.  Cindy always had wanted to learn how to change oil but never was in a situation where someone would teach her.  I was happy to give her a tutorial.

Even with the Miata up on ramps, there was precious little clearance to work under the car since it sits so low to the ground.  It was so low I had to abandon the Kreepy Krawly and instead just shuffle under the car on bare concrete.  I located the oil drain plug and filter.  The only thing I did was initially break the drain plug loose, after that I just gave Cindy guidance on what to do next.  She did great and was surprised how simple an oil change can be if you don’t mind getting a little dirty. I followed up with putting the van on the ramps to change it’s oil as well.  Once again Cindy did the majority of the work and loved doing it.

I pulled out the pressure washer to do some more work.  Tuki’s cage was in need of a good cleaning and I wanted to blow off the crust of sand, dirt and grass on the tractor as well.  A hose just does not do the job when it comes to tractor cleaning.  I used the floor jack to lift the front end of the tractor to get better access to blast away.  By the time I was done the driveway was covered in green sludge.

Sunday night I watched Django Unchained.  I thought the movie was extremely well done with a few caveats.  I was already prepared for the abundance of the n-word, a word I find repulsive when used in a racist context.  In the timeframe of the movie the word was commonplace so it’s use was merited although it certainly could have been used a little less without affecting the authenticity of the movie .  Tarrantino’s movies always seem to feature very graphic violence and this was the case once again with Django.  I thought some of the scenes were really gruesome, needlessly so in my opinion.

However overall I thought the movie was really, really good.  The acting in it was top notch and even though it was quite long, I never found myself bored.  The movie also puts a big spotlight on the days of slavery and just how horrific it was when looked at through a pair of 2013 eyes.  I found myself wondering how enslaving human beings was viewed as totally normal behavior by white people, treating slaves as objects that were discarded as trash when their usefulness ran out.  I also wondered if  someday some of our modern day prejudices/practices will someday be looked back on in a similar fashion, uncivilized, cruel and ignorant.

Anyway, I’d give the movie a solid A.  If you go into it knowing there are going to be some bumps in the road you should appreciate the film more.