One of those things that drives me crazy

Did you ever have a problem that you knew exactly how to fix, but were unable to do it because the solution involved things aligning just right and a fair amount of luck rather than skill?

I was replacing the control arms in my MkIII Golf on Saturday. The first one went in without too much drama using some grease and a big hammer. The second one, not so much. I struggled with it for a solid hour, and it still isn't lined up right. It is about 1/4 of an inch off center, and nothing I was able to do is making it line up. I called it quits due to darkness and fatigue, and haven't been back out to work on it.

It is just frustrating. What should be a simple job has taken up a lot more time than I would have liked. I know it comes with the territory, and setbacks like this won't ever make me enjoy working on my cars less.

What jobs do you run into that have you mining the deep recesses of your profanity stores and shaking your fists at the sky?

I don't ever recall control arms not fitting back together. I gotta say, life must suck for you right now for sure! I have had issues getting bam axle bushings to go back together on a MKIV. Wanted to torch that pig after that.

What you describe is the one thing I don't like about working on cars.

Then again, when you finally get it, the rush of "berkeley yeah!" makes it (sometimes) worth it.

The first thing that came to mind was having to put a new clutch kit in a loaded dump truck belonging to a relative, in the dark, on a gravel driveway, with a floor jack, and no alignment tool of any kind. Also you might as well say that I had to do it alone. The sob almost kicked my butt. I was exhausted when I got finished and came out from under that thing with a vast respect for those who work on heavy equipment everyday. I've talked to several people who do that and asked them about the special equipment they have to help them. That would make all the difference.

I find that sometimes walking away for a while, maybe a day or two or a week then going back to it and suddenly the moons are aligned and it just falls into place or I see what isn't working and fix it and it goes together as advertised.

Timing a older VW diesel is kinda like that. I had one that I am guessing the internals of the IP had "spun" because correctly timed it would not run. I basically spun it a little at a time until it ran. PITA.

I have a wall in my garage designed specifically for throwing tools at... Usually after a good wrench chucking and a temper tantrum that would make a 2 yr old proud...

Things seem to work out....

wlkelley3 wrote: I find that sometimes walking away for a while, maybe a day or two or a week then going back to it and suddenly the moons are aligned and it just falls into place or I see what isn't working and fix it and it goes together as advertised.

Quoted for a huge amount of truth.

One time I spent 3 days trying to line up poly motor mounts in a B13 sentra.

On the forth day, I walked out, loosened up the other mount, and the bolt culprit slid right in.

I have never made the same mistake twice. All bolts remain loose until the last one has been threaded.

Taiden wrote:

wlkelley3 wrote: I find that sometimes walking away for a while, maybe a day or two or a week then going back to it and suddenly the moons are aligned and it just falls into place or I see what isn't working and fix it and it goes together as advertised.

Quoted for a huge amount of truth. One time I spent 3 days trying to line up poly motor mounts in a B13 sentra. On the forth day, I walked out, loosened up the other mount, and the bolt culprit slid right in. I have never made the same mistake twice. All bolts remain loose until the last one has been threaded.

That is true. Also, sometimes another set of eyes is helpful. Ill call up my dad and have him come by, and sometimes he sees something I don't.

Joey

oh yeah Brent, you are not alone in that frustration. I have felt like 90% of my current work on the m-coupe has been like that!