I was heading down toward Macon around 7pm Saturday when my TPMS light came on. Pulled off at the Jackson rest area and found a drywall screw dead center in my right rear tire. I keep a plug kit and a little 12V compressor in the trunk, so I figured I'd give it a shot right there. The concrete was hot and I had cars flying by, but I got the plug in after about 15 minutes of fighting with the reamer tool. Held air perfectly the whole way home, about another 60 miles. Kind of felt like a driveway mechanic moment in the middle of nowhere. Has anyone else had luck with those cheap plug kits from AutoZone holding up for more than a few weeks?
Honestly, I used to grab my impact driver for everything, even pulling interior door panels. Last week I stripped a clip on a 2012 Civic and spent 20 minutes cursing until my neighbor came over with a hand ratchet and fixed it in 2 minutes. Ngl, he convinced me that speed ain't everything when you're working on delicate plastic pieces. Now I keep a small 1/4 inch ratchet set in my glovebox for any interior stuff. Has anyone else found themselves reaching for the hand tools more after a similar facepalm moment?
I was stranded at a gas station off the I-10 last summer when my belt started squealing then slipped off. No parts store open, no help coming until Monday. An old guy in a Ford Ranger pulled up, grabbed a zip tie from his glove box, and cinched the belt back on just tight enough to get me home. Anyone else ever used a random non-car part to limp a vehicle to safety?
Paid forty bucks for a scanner that claims to read every code but just gives me 'check engine' for a loose gas cap. Anyone else get burned by those cheap code readers?
I was swapping the alternator on my 2002 Civic in the driveway, thought it would be a quick 2-hour job. But the bolt for the lower bracket was SO rusted it snapped clean off, and I spent the next 4 hours drilling and extracting it in the 95 degree heat. By the time I was done, my neighbor had brought me 3 glasses of water and a fan. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a whole day nightmare?