Catfish-ed

 Catfish Hunter that is. He is quoted as saying [the sun don't shine on the same dog's butt everyday]. Or maybe the phrase is [even a blind squirrel never finds a nut sometimes]. My favorite is [the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all].

I set out today with the ambition to remove the transmission. I ended the day with the transmisson where it was at the beginning and covered in rust.

The transmission is held to a mount with 2 bolts that go into threads on the transmission body. The mount is held by 3 bolts to a cross member. You get to the bolts for the transmission by way of two holes in the cross member.

I figured that out as I worked. I did not see the transmission bolts at first, so I started with the ones on the mount - they turned quickly enough, but then I realized they are a bolt and a nut - I was just spinning the bolt on the top side of the mount bracket. I took a deep breath because this was how I broke something last time. I rolled around and found the cross member holes and the transmission bolts.

Of course, in the act of removing things from this engine there are never two bolts the same size in a row - I have to crawl back out twice to go look for sockets that fit these things that I can not even see. Eventually I got it, but I could not turn the bolts on the transmission. I gave it an honest pull with the cheater bar - and got nothing. I jammed my legs into the frame. I got 2 arms on it. It is a pretty big bolt - maybe 3/4" - I don't remember now - but it was not budging.

The directions for removing the transmission include removing the cross member it is sitting on. HAHAHA. There are 3 bolts on either side that I tried to move as well. They are just as stuck as the others. I think the modern answer to this problem is an impact wrench or an angle grinder (neither of which I own). I wonder how long it would take me to find and order replacements if I just cut them all off. Maybe less time that trying to coax them out?

I gave up and decided I would scrub some rust and get some stuff to stop falling in my face. I probably swept up a quart worth.

In terms of triumphs, I found this battery in the fender - so that is a win.

And when this fell on me and I jerked and bonked my shoulder on the frame - I was glad it turned out not to be a snake.


And for those of you who were betting on "junk tires still leak", the results were 50/50. Passenger side is fixed. Driver side is still losing air - I will either give it more slime or a can of fix-a-flat or order a tube or spend a few hours trying to find a used replacement. I do have the racing slick spare I could put on - maybe that is the place to start.

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