Jᴀᴄᴜʀᴜᴛᴜ - Tʜᴇ Cᴀsᴛ Oᴜᴛ

SandRider wrote:I'm hoping my youngest boy marries the stripper ...

(on the left)

I've got some new pics of them around here somewhere,
she's really good-looking, and apparently not crazy ...
atleast not yet. Looking forward to her coming out here
in november, so I can get drunk & say very inappropriate
things to her ...

Gee whiz, Mr. Sandrider. She sure does look happy to see that other young lady!

Transmission on the Caddy died this morning, fortunately only a block from work. $2,000 to rebuild but that will have to wait for tax returns.

I guess I'll have to get the transmission seal replaced on the Windstar to the tune of $600 and drive that until then.

In the mean time I'll have to move back in with Mom and have her drive me to the carpool. Friday after next's paycheck goes to the mortgage (for the house I won't be living in) so it'll be about three weeks.

Freak, I really feel for you, our last car disaster has left us living hand to mouth, robbing Peter to pay Paul and up the creek without a paddle. I hope there's light at the end of the tunnel for you soon.

The problem is, my budget is tight already. I get paid bi-weekly, one check pays the mortgage, one pays the bills. Whatever's left over goes to food and gas... Icehouse and Jim Beam if I'm lucky. I just payed $85 for Cub Scouts last night.

The good thing is, I recently rebuilt the Windstar from the engine block up myself so other than the tranny seals I know it's in good shape. The AC even works good, everything is functional. It's only got about 180K miles on it. It's only real problem is it doesn't pass emission but I got a waiver for that back in May that is good for a year. I was supposed to get tags for both cars this month too, FUCK! I think the fix for that is just a matter of taking it to the dealer and having them upload the latest firmware into the computer to increase the tolerances a little. No place to hide dead hookers, though, but lots of room for kids and baseball gear, a cute,16-y-o babysitter, too.


AAMCO just quoted me $650 to replace ALL the tranny seals, they'll even come and tow it from my house. Guy on the phone was very knowledgable, too. Gave me a warm fuzzy. Said he could do it in a day. I'm going to have to put off the bills to do it...in three weeks. I can't slack off on the mortgage, I'm kind of on probation with them anyway.

It's amazing how this shit never happens when you have the money.

It always seems to happen the same way to me. It's never just one thing, they all pile up at the same time for some reason. Cars are rip-offs, man. About half a year ago I was seriously considering getting rid of mine, and switching back to bussing my ass around. But good call carpooling, that's the way to be. Ecologically and economically smart. I leave you with some wise words from the White Stripes:

Jack White III wrote:The Big Three killed my baby
No money in my hands again
The Big Three killed my baby
Nobody's comin' home again

And my baby's my common sense
So don't feed me Planned Obsolescence

I'm thinking the Caddy tranny might not be ready for a rebuild just yet, it may just be a shif solenoid... (pray)

Shif Solenoid: Intergalactic Bounty Hunter

Heh, seriously I have no idea what that means...

A solenoid is a electromechanical device that basically uses a magnet to move a metal rod. A switch.

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The bad thing is, it's inside a side cover on the transmission. Accessing it will require replacing the transmission cradle bolts with threaded rods and lowering the whole thing to where it is accessible throught the driver's side wheel well.

It's about $2000 in labor to replace a $25 part.

I think I may try it myself.

This morning AAMCO came and towed my 1998 Ford Windstar GL in for a transmission reseal. $650.

I should be able to pick it up this Friday morning.

If the car gods smile upon me, I can pass an emission test and go get my tag. It expired last month... when both my transmissions fucked up.

But they never do...

Well, it makes typing a bitch but fingers crossed here.

Thanks

I think I've narrowed the emission problem down to a weak fuel pump. It's $125 and involves dropping the fuel tank. I may be doing that this weekend. I've tested the pressure at idle but have no way to test it under load. I'll have that checked out when the transmission is done, then I'll know for sure.

Dropping the fuel tank is a bitch, I have done it once and smelled like gas for days.


Stupid beer.

Dune Nerd wrote:Dropping the fuel tank is a bitch, I have done it once and smelled like gas for days.


Stupid beer.

Depends on how much gas is in it.

I'll want to clean the tank out anyway, so I'll either siphon it out or run it out first. I hope there's not a lot in it.

There is usually only a small amount of gas in the beer that I drink

Dune Nerd wrote:There is usually only a small amount of gas in the beer that I drink

I usually make more after drinking it.

Freakzilla wrote:I usually make more after drinking it.

Damn ... beat me to it.

Too bad you don't live in my state Freak, I've got connections. I've passed a Jeep with all the emission equipment gutted and that got 7 miles per gallon.

I'm not proud about it though I had to get around and all I had was that damn money pit of a Jeep. Thank god I have some friends.

Crysknife wrote:Too bad you don't live in my state Freak, I've got connections. I've passed a Jeep with all the emission equipment gutted and that got 7 miles per gallon.

I'm not proud about it though I had to get around and all I had was that damn money pit of a Jeep. Thank god I have some friends.

I firmly believe that the whole car emissions buisiness is a scam to sell car parts and repairs.

I hear all the time on TV and radio that driving one mile creates a pound of air polution. A gallon of gas weighs eight pounds and cars get at least 20mpg if maintained. How does that make one bit of thermodynamic sense? Not buying the fear...

However, I want to be a good little worker bee. Even if it doesn't pass I'll go pay the tax. I'd go pay someone to "make it pass" if I knew where to go, but I'd still try to fix it later.

Freakzilla wrote:

Crysknife wrote:Too bad you don't live in my state Freak, I've got connections. I've passed a Jeep with all the emission equipment gutted and that got 7 miles per gallon.

I'm not proud about it though I had to get around and all I had was that damn money pit of a Jeep. Thank god I have some friends.

I firmly believe that the whole car emissions buisiness is a scam to sell car parts and repairs.

I hear all the time on TV and radio that driving one mile creates a pound of air polution. A gallon of gas weighs eight pounds and cars get at least 20mpg if maintained. How does that make one bit of thermodynamic sense? Not buying the fear...

Actually, not saying that number is necessarily true, but you have to remember that emissions also gain mass from the oxygen that gets bonded during combustion, so the emissions will always be higher in mass than the gas that is burned.

A Thing of Eternity wrote:

Freakzilla wrote:

Crysknife wrote:Too bad you don't live in my state Freak, I've got connections. I've passed a Jeep with all the emission equipment gutted and that got 7 miles per gallon.

I'm not proud about it though I had to get around and all I had was that damn money pit of a Jeep. Thank god I have some friends.

I firmly believe that the whole car emissions buisiness is a scam to sell car parts and repairs.

I hear all the time on TV and radio that driving one mile creates a pound of air polution. A gallon of gas weighs eight pounds and cars get at least 20mpg if maintained. How does that make one bit of thermodynamic sense? Not buying the fear...

Actually, not saying that number is necessarily true, but you have to remember that emissions also gain mass from the oxygen that gets bonded during combustion, so the emissions will always be higher in mass than the gas that is burned.

Yeah, but a pound per mile? What volume of AIR weighs a POUND?

The air is only like 21% oxygen.

Freakzilla wrote:

A Thing of Eternity wrote:

Freakzilla wrote:

Crysknife wrote:Too bad you don't live in my state Freak, I've got connections. I've passed a Jeep with all the emission equipment gutted and that got 7 miles per gallon.

I'm not proud about it though I had to get around and all I had was that damn money pit of a Jeep. Thank god I have some friends.

I firmly believe that the whole car emissions buisiness is a scam to sell car parts and repairs.

I hear all the time on TV and radio that driving one mile creates a pound of air polution. A gallon of gas weighs eight pounds and cars get at least 20mpg if maintained. How does that make one bit of thermodynamic sense? Not buying the fear...

Actually, not saying that number is necessarily true, but you have to remember that emissions also gain mass from the oxygen that gets bonded during combustion, so the emissions will always be higher in mass than the gas that is burned.

Yeah, but a pound per mile? What volume of AIR weighs a POUND?

The air is only like 21% oxygen.

I know, said right in my response that that doesn't necessarily mean their number was write, just that the exhaust being higher in mass than the fuel consumed doesn't violate the laws of thermodynamics like you'd suggested.

I agree with you that a pound per mile is pretty excessive, but it might not be a case of fear mongering, it might be a case of the idiot (by default all media is run by idiots) media missunderstanding what a scientist said. That's more likely, they don't often just make shit up (unless they're FOX), but they do almost always get the numbers wrong and exaggerate everything they can to make whatever is coming out of their mouths as exciting and dramatic as possible.

EDIT: and to add some trivia and answer your question, according to the interwebs: 1 lb air at regular density = 350.67 litres

I found this:

For every gallon of gasoline burned in the average car’s engine, 19.4 pounds of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere.

Isn't CO2 what plants breath?

Each person in the U.S. generates approximately 2.3 tons of CO2 each year. A healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon annually -- or 2.6 tons per acre each year. An acre of trees absorbs enough CO2 over one year to equal the amount produced by driving a car 26,000 miles. An estimate of carbon emitted per vehicle mile is between 0.88 lb. CO2/mi. – 1.06 lb. CO2/mi. (Nowak, 1993). Thus, a car driven 26,000 miles will emit between 22,880 lbs CO2 and 27,647 lbs. CO2. Thus, one acre of tree cover in Brooklyn can compensate for automobile fuel use equivalent to driving a car between 7,200 and 8,700 miles. (8)

If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion lbs annually. This is almost 5% of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.

How many marijuana plants equal one tree?

Freakzilla wrote:I found this:

For every gallon of gasoline burned in the average car’s engine, 19.4 pounds of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere.

Isn't CO2 what plants breath?

Each person in the U.S. generates approximately 2.3 tons of CO2 each year. A healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon annually -- or 2.6 tons per acre each year. An acre of trees absorbs enough CO2 over one year to equal the amount produced by driving a car 26,000 miles. An estimate of carbon emitted per vehicle mile is between 0.88 lb. CO2/mi. – 1.06 lb. CO2/mi. (Nowak, 1993). Thus, a car driven 26,000 miles will emit between 22,880 lbs CO2 and 27,647 lbs. CO2. Thus, one acre of tree cover in Brooklyn can compensate for automobile fuel use equivalent to driving a car between 7,200 and 8,700 miles. (8)

If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion lbs annually. This is almost 5% of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.

How many marijuana plants equal one tree?

Wow, almost 20 lbs of emissions per 1 gal, that's higher than I expected. I would imagine 1 gal of gasoline runs somewhere around 5-10lbs, so that's somewhere between doubling and quadrupling the mass.

We'd better start planting weed.

I've got one dogwood and seven giant oak trees in my front yard and three in back. I'm covered.