wrenching on your car in crappy weather

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roadrunnerh

roadrunnerh

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So, tomorrow I plan on replacing the brakes on my daily driver ’06 Fusion. I’ll be outside in the cold, as my Mopars are tucked away in my large double garage. It will be around 30 degrees F with a chance of snow. I could just take the car to a shop, but I don’t want to pay over double just for a brakes/rotors job. While certainly I’ll be done within an hour, it still kinda sucks.
I thought it might make a funny thread to have you guys in the colder states relay some absolutely HORRIBLE conditions you’ve been in while working on your car. Freezing your nuts off because the car had to be fixed ASAP? Maybe even some of the warm states with intense heat? Either way, please post your really sucky conditions.
 
Stormy 3 feet of snow kicking up the main drive chains that were frozen to the ground for a full size road grader and installing them to drive it home.
They are built just like a regular chain, but each link is about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide and one chain is about 30 feet long and had to be worked into the housings while fishing them onto and around 3 huge sprockets.
Job from hell, but I knew it HAD to be over at some point.
 
If you can do brakes right in an hour you're a 'ell of a lot faster than me.

You having the rotors / drums turned/ replaced?
 
I remember when I was younger (and stupider....) laying on the side of the road replacing my driveshaft (has dropped a rear u-joint)... It was raining and the rain was running down the hill along the curb and under my car.... and lightning struck something nearby and I could head the power lines buzzing overhead... that is probably the one time I should have waited!
 
Being from Ontario canada thats all we get LOL. Have no time really in the summer, at our trailer lots. Thinkin maybe should do more during the good weather but seems like no time:banghead:
 
Replaced wheel bearings on a 63 chevy II on the sholder of an interstate highway, inner race of outer bearing galled and seized to spindle! All I had to remove it was a broken hacksaw blade, so I work away at it with my backside 24 inches from the white line as cars and trucks go flying past. Luckly the rece had gotten hot enough to take all the temper out of it and I could cut it, (took about 2.5 hours) then realized I had no grease for reassembly! Put it together and half filled it with motor oil, drove it home, tore it down and inspected it, cleaned it up and packed it with grease and all was fine!

on an other occasion my wife (who had never driven on ice before) slid into a curb and bent the entire left front suspension on the same car. She backed up from the curb and the wheel stood back up in the wheel well, then she drove it about a block into a grocery store parking lot. (did I say there was a lot of ice on the ground?) I went and looked at the damage then went to the salvage yard on the transit bus, bought the entire assembly, rode the bus back to the car. (with the drum/spindle/tie rod/shock/upper control arm/lower control arm and strut rod over my shoulder) I jacked the car up and blocked it up with the rim and some wood while my wife went and got some cardboard boxes to put on the 4" of ice under the car. by the time we finished there was a 2-3" layer of cardboard frozen down but the car was drivable. Man was that cold work!!!
 
A number of years ago, My mom's Ford LTD wagon wouldn't start when she went to leave work. Sounded like a starter problem. Long story short-There was about a foot of snow on the ground-she parked next to a chain link fence on the starter side-freakin Ford with their metric bolts-couldn't feel my fingers to bolt the starter back up. After all that, it wasn't the starter that was bad!
 
I had to replace waterpump once in the middle of winter outside. It was windy and almost 58℉ outside! (Yah I'm a so California native :p )
 
I just put a new battery in my truck last week outside on the god forsaken coldest day so far this year. I snapped the bolt for the battery hold down and had to run inside the house every 5 minutes to keep from getting frost bite! It was pure hell.
 
Seen this weekend a guy working on his car parked next to a jeep. Had the hood up on the car and a tarp over the jeep and car, don't know if he had some kind of heater under there, but I sure would have.

Good luck,

I think I would ask a friend, HEY, CAN I USE YOUR GARAGE? And use a heater to keep hands warm. But that is me. Well I have a barn, cars are in and 2 car attached just move what I need too. Big job would not be at home but my barn in INDY where I have heat.
 
I remember as a kid , living in the suburbs with no driveway. Used to roll under the car right at the curb if you put one side up on the curb. I specifically remember putting a clutch in from the curb during a downpour. No trans jack. My skinny *** would pull the A833 up onto my chest, and heave it up there.Water running under me along the curb. Trick is not to have the car too high. LOL. Now the only thing I can heave is my lunch !!
 
On my home back from college from Detroit one winter, I broke a water pump in my Barracuda. the nose fractured off of the pump and bent the pulley and put the fan into the radiator.

I pulled it over at a gas station at the next exit (I was almost to Battle Creek). I got a ride back to school and then called my dad and told him where to find me some spare parts at home to fix my car (spare radiator, fan, pulley, and water pump. He also brought the pants from my snowmobiling suit.

A few days later I had Someone gave me a ride back to my broken down car. And dad came from Chicago and brought all the parts. I worked on my car in the parking lot of the gas station in the parking lot in 20°F. I had to take a couple of breaks now and then to warm up, but was able to change the damaged parts and get my car back running again.
 
Another time my brother, dad, friend, and I went to a car show in Wisconsin. This was during the summer luckily. On the way home I was driving my dad's Laser and they were following me in the truck pulling the Superbird.

As I'm pulling up to a toll booth on the Chicago toll road, I feel one of the tires pop on the Laser. I'm 5th in line for the toll booth, and dad and the gang are in the truck behind me. I ran back to the truck while waiting in line for the toll and told them that I had blown a tire. They said to pull over after paying the toll and we would fix it.

After I paid my toll, I pulled through and then over to the shoulder of the road. Dad and gang helped get the tools and floor jack out of the back of the truck (we had brought just in case). It was beautiful. We were like a NASCAR pit crew.

I loosened the lug nuts, while my brother jacked up the car. My friend got the spare tire out of the Laser. Jack up the car, take off the flat, put on the spare, secure the lugs, lower the car, and then recheck the lugs. Then put the tools and jack back in the back of the truck and we were back on the road in less than 10 minutes!

I love it when a plan comes together....
 
Well, the brakes are done. The temp went up to 32 today so it wasn't all that bad.
I don't know about you guys, but things are rarely as bad as I think they will be. Most of the time, my dread is unwarranted. I think it's called ANXIETY......lol
 
it sucks doing out side in this weather thats all i have to say
 
rlevs said:
it sucks doing out side in this weather thats all i have to say
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Well, you may want to get ready for some more of "the white ****". I'm getting some right now as we speak, and it usually gets to you one half to one day after I get it.



And what's with the salt shortage? Detroit is sitting on a salt mine. Can you guys dig some of that other "white ****" (salt) up and send it over here? Thanks...




When you look at it, it's kinda funny that we are trading "white ****"... LOL!

We send you snow, and you send us salt...
 
20*'s & 20-25 mph winds laying on a bed of ice and snow a few inches thick changing a clutch out because you have no other choice. Yes, my '73 Cuda was my daily driver back in the day and my only car.

No complaints. I just did what I had to do because that is what you do when you need to do something. No feeling sorry for anybody out there doing a simple job.
 
rumblefish360 said:
20*'s & 20-25 mph winds laying on a bed of ice and snow a few inches thick changing a clutch out because you have no other choice. Yes, my '73 Cuda was my daily driver back in the day and my only car.

No complaints. I just did what I had to do because that is what you do when you need to do something. No feeling sorry for anybody out there doing a simple job.
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I drove a 68 Barracuda for 7 years everyday in Michigan weather. Got it from my brother with 200,000 on it, finally had to retire it after it hit 500,000 miles. The body had finally started going to bad...

However with those narrow stock tires, and a 3.23 sure grip, I had no trouble getting through snow. Better than my wife's Neon...
 
Give me the cold over hot when it comes to turning wrenches. Coveralls good gloves and hat and you wolnt hear me complain. Until it goes below -5...then I wolnt complain ill just stay inside:)
 
Just replaced my daughters rusted out rear brake lines on her 02 Pontiac Sunfire. Did it in between Christmas and New Years. Highs in the the single digits lying on ice. Not fun.
 
bobscuda67 said:
Just replaced my daughters rusted out rear brake lines on her 02 Pontiac Sunfire. Did it in between Christmas and New Years. Highs in the the single digits lying on ice. Not fun.
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You could at least put down a couple of layers of cardboard to lie on....
 
I can relate. I've had to do a complete brake job with rotors, calipers, pads and replacing a few lines. Like you, my double garage was full of my 67 Camaro SS and 73 Nova SS Hatchback. In the driveway was my Ford Mustang GT, and my '86 Cavalier Z24 nest to it, which needed the work. It was January in mid-Michigan. I don't remember how cold it was, but I wore multiple layers and layed cardboard down; it was still so cold my external body parts tried to become internal parts!!
 
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