GA_Dave

It really wasn't all that bad, just a black eye and a headache for a few days. I took it as a learning experience. I haven't dropped a torque converter on my face since! I've lost count of how many transmissions I have replaced since then. Engines too. About the only thing I will not tackle is going inside an automatic transmission, other than to change out the filter. Once one ventures beyond that point, there are too many pieces for me.

Most of my mechanical skills came from trial and error, mostly the error part! I'm a quick study and I rarely make the same mistake more than twice. Since y'all have been talking transmissions, here's another story from my early days working on cars. This was late 1977 and I had a 1967 Pontiac Executive with a bad transmission. I still lived at home and used my Dad's garage to do the swap. The garage was large, with two bays and a full second floor, but the concrete on the bottom floor was broken up and mixed with dirt filling in the large gaps. This was my first transmission swap. How hard could it be? The front wheels were up on ramps and I had just enough room under the car to get to everything (I'd NEVER fit these days!). I removed all the obvious bolts, the drive shaft, transmission cross member, cooling lines and linkage without problem. With the cross member gone, the tail-shaft almost touched the floor. Not being concerned with the bad transmission, I pulled it away from the engine and it fell right out. Quite pleased with myself, I pulled it out from under the car and wrangled the replacement transmission back under. Using a long pry bar, along with bricks and 2x4's for cribbing, I moved it up into position and discovered my mistake. The torque converter was still bolted to the flywheel! I called a buddy for advice. He told me where the bolts were and that there were 4 of them and to use a big screwdriver on the flywheel teeth to rotate it to each bolt. It was dark when I got back to it and the only lights in the garage were a single bulb in each bay, one of them being directly above the car. I also had a light on a cord under the car with me. My best friend had stopped by for moral support. I found the first bolt and removed it, then rotated the flywheel to the second and so on until I had removed the third bolt. It turns out that GM cars only have three bolts, so when I rotated the flywheel again, the torque converter fell off, landing on my right cheek, slamming my head into the floor. Everything went black..... When I came to, my buddy was pacing back and forth next to the car, not knowing what to do. I told him to grab my ankles and pull me out. The torque converter had landed so that a lot of transmission fluid poured all over my face and it had hit my light, breaking the bulb. Once out from under the car, I told him to find me a rag, so I could wipe off my face. As I came into the light, he saw red all over my face and took off running. I could hear him puking outside! At that point I quit for the night, but installed the transmission the next day.

Four weeks ago, a relative of mine from "back home" in Western NY State posted a video on FB of his three boys playing ice hockey on their pond. Last week, he posted one of them swimming in the pond. I spoke with my sister a few hours ago and they have six inches of snow on the ground and it's supposed to hit 2 degrees tonight!

From 1995 to 2008, this was my "work truck". It was powered by a Detroit Series 60, rated at 500 horsepower and the GVWR was 73,000 pounds. It could pump 2000 gallons per minute and the platform reached up to 100'. Last I knew, it was still in service in Fort Stockton, TX. One day in 2007, I was responding to a confirmed working structure fire in an apartment complex on the south end of town. Often, I was the officer, driver and crew, but this day I was not alone. I had a young Firefighter with me. I was only the officer and driver. He was the crew. As we headed down the main street through town, I was hitting about 60 mph. As we approached a light, i braked to slow down when I felt a pop and the pedal went to the floor. I continued to brake, but it wasn't doing much good and I had a right turn coming up in about a mile. I didn't say anything to my "crew" as he was belted in and excited enough about the fire, telling me he could already see the smoke. I continued to brake and the rig slowed gradually as my turn got closer. I had a choice to make - make a higher-than-preferred-speed turn or go several miles out of my way to the next road. When I reached the point of "now or never", I was doing about 35 and decided to go for it. I know the right side tires left the ground because we felt them come back down! A hundred feet after that turn, I had to make a left turn, but the speed had reduced and it wasn't as bad as the first turn. I glanced at my "crew" and his eyes were as big as saucers! We continued, at a much slower pace, to the fire. At slower speeds, the brakes worked a little better, but not like normal. Hours later, we were able to take it to the shop and we found out that one of the brake drums on a rear axle had broken. They had done a brake job on it only the previous month, but we found out that they had replaced all the rear drums as the originals had worn out and had purchased the cheapest ones they could find, instead of the manufacturer's recommended parts. It stayed out of service for a few days until all the drums were replaced with the correct parts.

When and Where? I'll be there!

Before I get to a story, I'll share a little background info. Unlike most of you that have already commented here, I don't work in a shop, I work in my driveway. I also don't work on big things like you guys work on. Most everything I have turned wrenches on over the years has been limited to having 4 wheels. I have been working on vehicles since the 1970's, mostly my own, and have a few stories to tell. I have owned 44 vehicles since 1977 and until I bought my new Challenger in 2010, the most expensive one was $3900. Most were much less and some were free, if I could get them running. The Challenger (#42) cost more than the previous 41 altogether! Several years ago, my oldest son ("Number One") had a S-10 Blazer and blew the motor. We purchased a good used motor and proceeded to do a swap. Everything went smoothly until I got to a bolt on the transmission housing that had a stripped head. This bolt goes through the housing into the motor, on the passenger side, and access is very limited. No matter what tools I used, I could not get to it to cut off the head. Finally, I went out and bought a plasma cutter and in five minutes, we were pulling out the old motor. So, I have a plasma cutter. If anyone needs to rent one, I can hook you up!

Not to mention the ridiculous deductibles that go with these plans. My healthcare costs never reach the deductible amount before the end of the year, so I'm just GIVING them my premiums!

Mine dates back to the last century. In my early days of the internet, I was a regular participant in the chatroom (remember those?) on a website called ATEV (American Toy Emergency Vehicles). In those chats, most everyone just used their first name, but we had several members named Dave, all in the room at the same time. To avoid confusion, each one of us prefixed "Dave" with the State we were in. For me, the name stuck, and I have used it ever since.

Engine 53, Waynesville, GA 1987 Mack CF686FC/Ward '79 LTD. 1000/1000 #1652/#2122 x-DeKalb County, GA

"92", Patterson, GA 1982 Mack MC611F15 1500/750 #1105 x-Hopewell Township, Aliquippa, PA