The car has four garbage tires on it - but it does have four tires. I would not want to drive around the block on these things, but I am ok if they will hold the car off the ground eight inches. On the back are "snow tires" that mostly hold air. On the front are quality "Sears Polyester Biply" tires. They mostly think about holding air. So I decided to try $12 worth of slime tire sealant.
I used 16ox for each of the front tires. The bottle says to drive them for 2/10 of a mile after you fill it and put the air back. Instead I spun each tire as fast as I could by hand for 10 minutes. Not sure if that counts as 1056 ft, but I will let you know later if this worked.
Next I set out to delete the gas tank. I asked the internet if there was something I was missing about the wire for the sender unit - and rolled under there and gave it a more determined pull. That did the trick.
I rolled to the back and tried to undo the hanger bolts from the rear rail. Rust was everywhere. With the wrench I was doing nothing other than bending more metal that I did not want bent.
So I got out my second favorite tool in the garage and went to work on the hangers.
After several sweaty minutes I got the first one to cut through. I immediately realized the tank was not completely empty and went about looking for a way to secure it before I sawed on the second one. I thought a bungie strap would work - and it might have, but after watching it waggle like a branch in the wind I swapped for something more stable.
As I was sawing I would take a break and sweep the rust that was raining down on me out the garage door. Eventually strap number two came free and so I use the jack to lower the tank to the ground.
As I said - it turned out there was liquid left over in the tank. Just a gallon or two - not enough that it came out the fuel pump tube when I turned it on its end. And the tank did not leak at the seams which is nice. I used my high school chemistry lesson to waft a snoot full of varnish smell. Distinctly stinky. Fortunately the hazardous waste place in town will take it from me.
My last adventure was to drain the transmission. The plug uses a 4-point (aka. square) socket. And it was neither a good fit for 3/8" extension, nor would it fit 1/2". So, I gave it some pipe wrench-ification to start.
Eventually I managed to get the plug to loosen enough that the socket extension would turn it. Based on smell and color I think I was the first person to empty the transmission fluid.
Unfortunately, I got more metallic grape nuts than I wanted on the plug, but it was not an unusual amount. You can see by my face how pleased I am that is car is 3 more steps closer to running and driving.
I would have measured the square socket to determine whether a 3/4 inch socket might fit. Alternatively, I would make a tool to insert and grasp with a wrench or even make a hole into which I could put the breaker bar. It helps to have a milling machine and lathe when making tools.
ReplyDeleteI am happy for you that the liquid in the fuel tank did not burn. That would be too exciting.
I looked for a 7/16" 4-point socket. I found some 8 legged star thing that I could have made work, but I already owned the pipe wrench - so I just used it.
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