Zero Knievel

Don’t have the right tools. Assholes at Mazda/Ford used an assortment of SAE and metric sizes. I got the u-bolts on the left side undone…which I thought would be the worst. However, the mount bolts on the ends use a 13/16 nut. I don’t have that in a closed end wrench, and after trying as much as I dared with an open end wrench, I decided it was smarter to pay my mechanic than to risk rounding off nuts with inadequate tools. I even had mom pick up a 90 degree impact wrench from HF in town, but it was too large to access the problem nuts. Yeah, I could look and buy a single 13/16 closed end wrench, but that’s a trip to/from town and if I need yet another tool…another trip…plus the risk of it fucking up anyhow. Sometimes, paying a mechanic is better than dealing with it yourself. I kid you not, I bought impact drive sockets after breaking a regular socket working on mom’s car with the impact gun. Every fucking place I could use an impact gun either is inaccessible (can’t get the tool in there) or had bolts so long the socket can’t sit on the nut…even with deep sockets.

I’ll know in a couple of weeks. Have yet to have them installed.

I’d guess 40+ years of emotional baggage.

That’s an option. If you have a metal worker near you, buy the best one you can find and have him fabricate it to be the size you need. Properly done, it should be more than strong enough.

Along those lines, I was wondering, “what stops you from buying the drop hitch and inserting it upside down with the ball installed accordingly?”

I wanted to attach pics for the supplier, but my work e-mail was lagging badly. Posted here, downloaded, remove pics. Clever workaround.

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And, yet, Amazon manages….

I find those too…but here’s the rub… Fuck that shit. No way that shipping charge is justifiable. Every site claiming to have this has insane shipping charges.

And they might know where I can find a replacement pad….

This was the issue back when I got into anabolic steroids. Lots of help from other users, but nothing from doctors…which was pretty much criminal (no pun intended) because the AMA basic all threatened doctors with loss of license for advising patients to do anything other than avoid steroid use. Rather than give sound medical advice and monitoring, they were of no help. If you were lucky, you found one that would do blood work and not ask questions. There was even the Catch-22 where anabolic steroids were declared unsafe without scientifically valid testing, and when doctors asked why could they not study the medical benefits and risks of anabolic steroid use, they were told “no” because everyone knew steroids were inherently dangerous and it would be unethical to allow testing. It wasn’t until there was a significant uptick in hormone therapy for andropause that doctors revisited the challenge to do scientifically valid testing based on the fact that there were now thousands of patients taking sizable doses of testosterone and NOT seeing an avalanche of cancer cases or any of the other promised horror stories. And…for the weeds…this is why a biker I knew who was a med student went back to Israel after becoming a full doctor. He said he’d only be a pill pusher in the USA and wanted to do real medicine where he, and not the pharmaceutical industry, decides what’s best for his patients.

I might not. Just checked the pad. It's largely intact, but the surface is deteriorating. If there was a way to "seal" it so it doesn't keep deteriorating, that would do the job. looks like it's a combo of glued and held in place with retainers.

Inexpensive wood filler…and you make what you need rather than buy a tub and toss what you don’t use if it sits too long after it was opened.

I know pharmacology is an art, but this is why so many people won’t survive long term market disruptions. Adaptation requires you know what is a substitute for what you need but also how to portion and administer it. It doesn’t require raw IQ but a willingness to learn and do the effort to figure it out. My Clomid was available as a generic. The company making the brand name bought the company making the generic and stopped production. Thankfully, my compounding pharmacist could get the raw material and make the pills in house for a fraction of the cost…frankly, even cheaper than the generic. Mad applause for learning to do this yourself. No small achievement.

Thanks, but no hits for my truck. I’ll take the old one off and measure thickness. I suppose the only option for replacement will be to buy a new pad and use the old one as a template for shape and fastener positions.

The Jew has spoken. 😂🤣🤭

Legendary vote of confidence.

Field mice had a fun time with the insulation pad in my engine compartment of the pickup truck. Duct tape didn't do the job for fixing it. I'd like to replace it, but finding anyone who has a replacement seems near impossible. For a Mazda B3000 (1998), the part number is 1F60-67-661A; for a Ford Ranger (1998) the part number is L5Z16738BA. I suppose the worst case scenario is to buy adequate material and cut it to shape with the existing damaged pad. Any help?

FYI, also check with what exterminator services would cost. If your area is prone for stuff like this, someone coming out every few months to apply insecticide might be worth the cost…or you can learn to DIY if it’s not much to do. Ounce of prevention and all that.

Burn it to the ground…only way to be sure.

That’s why you buy the kind with lifetime warranties. Mine are easy to replace, so no biggie if others would last longer. Thankfully the guys at the auto parts store give no fucks about how many free sets I’ve gotten since the first one. Maybe, but I HATE shopping. Just going to see new vehicles in person fills me with dread. And you’re talking tens of thousands vs a few thousands for a vehicle I rarely use. Ideally, my next new vehicle will replace the Prius and pickup truck.

My mantra… Measure twice. Cut once. Somehow still manage to fuck it up.

Been through several sets of shocks. Over 210K.

The front struts use coil springs. Since I see no issues with the front end, I shouldn’t need to replace the strut or replace the springs (which is possible in many vehicles).

After 25 years, I can tell by how it handles when loaded it's degraded. Not like I have a lot of heavy weight to toss in just to take measurements.