We have been gone all weekend! Doing "Family Stuff" in Michigan. A rather un-blogworthy event. Oh, sure! We did the Typical Family things that Families do when they have not seen each other for an entire year. 
We ate food. We walked through some wooded trails. We ate MORE food. We griped about the government and such things. ( Ok, that was mostly me.) And then we caught up on all of the happenings that we have done since our last visit 2 years ago. Typical!
After exchanging gifts, taking the usual odd, awkward family photos, and eating more food, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. The end!
Early morning rise and ready to leave. We pack the Subie and start him up. Everything seems normal, except for the small squeak from he Power-steering belt. No biggy... It was cold! 35 degrees! Subie is probably just cold after sitting in the chill. We head out.
Everything is fine to about South Haven ( about an hour and a half away from Grand Rapids) and I see the Police in the median. I check my speed and see I'm going zero. That is ZERO miles per hour! Wow! I'm WAY under the speed limit!
But then, common sense kicks in and I figure I'm still in a moving car, traveling down the highway with the flow of traffic. Something does not seem right here. I mention it to Cheryl, who confirms that my thinking is not off.
And then... The "chugging" begins. The engine is running but the car is having these hiccups. I pull over. This has happened before. I'm convinced that My battery is dead. After several seconds of Intense panic, and me having my brain run and hide to the furthest reaches of my mind, we take a deep breath, gather up my brain and try to figure out our next move. (Small note here... It was SNOWING! Yes, Snow!)
Pop the hood and do a quick inspection. The Alternator bolt has broken. AGAIN! Ok, It DID last 2 years this time. And we are only an hour and a half away from possible family help... I have done this before and almost feel a sense of relief flood over me. I know how to fix it!
Better yet! I HAVE The spare bolt in the glove box. ( Actually, I have THREE!) I actually HAVE the parts I need!
Even BETTER yet! A Good Samaritan stops almost immediately and offers assistance. Oh, My Goodness!!! We might be able to self recovery yet! All I require is a 12 MM wrench or socket. ( Which I do NOT have in the car... I have a 10 mm and a screw driver. But no 12 MM wrench.) The Good Samaritan offers to drive us to Menards for the tool. I did not want to take the time of the Good Samaritan for granted, so we limited our visit to two tools. ( 13 mm and 12 mm) Cheryl wanted to buy one of those "battery starter" things that jump start a dead battery, but I had too many questions and felt the sense of urgency for our guardian angels. Hind site is 2020... Looking back, I should have listened.
But who needs a self recovery jump start if the guardian angel is available to jump you?
Well, all good things have to end some time. The small tip of the broken bolt would not be pushed through. I told the good Samaritan that he had helped enough and we would have to wait for a drill to spin the small piece of bolt out. I thanked him earnestly and offered to pay for his time and help, he refused. We told him we would have to wait for the family to bail us out.
Time. Oh, the time. Turns out the family was in the middle of Church and would not be available for Family rescue for about 2 hours. Plenty of time for me to hang my head and contemplate fate's meaning and God's design. With 2 hours (or so) to think about all of the failings I have had in life, I decided to continue trying to remove that small piece of bolt out of the alternator. Tap Tap tap... hardened steel grinding on a Phillips screw driver never making a dent. The bolt was selected for its hardness, after all. Still it failed me.
I began to think about how this small 1/4 inch of broken bolt is symbolic of my efforts in life. All that Prep for the trials of life.... and the future, comes down to a 1/4 inch barrier that seems immovable and impossible without outside help. Thanks a lot, education! Thanks a lot, moral upbringing and strong work ethic. All of that preparation dwindles down to sheer will, determination, and futile persistence.
after about 20 minutes of wrestling with in in the median, I bring the Alternator into the car and Cheryl suggests using a tweezers. I can feel the piece of bolt moving, if I could only spin it. I tried threading in the broken bolt in to see if I could push or pull it out. Finally... Cheryl suggests the Swiss army knife.
The Swiss Army Knife. A Swiss army Cornucopia of Possibilities. Perhaps the most useful and Best-est birthday Present ever given to me. I have used it in Alaska for Hunting, Army stuff, and mushroom hunting. I recently have been using it to harvest the Dandelions for my potato salad. I flip open the screw section and begin twisting and grinding away.
IT WORKS! As I feel it move, I slowly work on it until it eventually comes out. Things are beginning to take shape once again. A Wave of optimism swells over me. I painstakingly put Subie back together with deep breathes between each bolt I certainly do not want to screw this up if I can help it simply because I was overly eager to be finished.
Buttoned up... we turn the ignition. Nothing! Of course! Well, Cheryl's Fam will be here in about an hour now... unless we call a tow truck to give us a jump. Incidentally, no one stopped after that first Good Samaritan. Cheryl makes the call and the tow truck is on his way.
Less than 20 minutes later, The Tow Truck uses the same Jump box we had the opportunity to buy at Menards. It works! We are back on the road!
The only problem is that we had to bother Cheryl's family and possibly ruin their Sunday as they plotted out how they were going to save us. Not only is it awkward, bu it is also humiliating! Because I had been telling them how awesome Subie was on the way to Michigan. ( Secretly knocking on wood so I would not bring Karma's hex on my endorsements.) 
I know Subie is Old.... and approaching 350,000 miles! And I also knew.. ( In hind site, now) that Subie was telling me things. 
Small squeals and squeaks as I turn the steering wheel, a small hesitation when I start him up each morning over the last week. And finally, a bit of a rough idle this morning. I took that as perhaps he was low on oil as this was 1500 miles into his oil change schedule. ( It was a bit low, so I added more, And the sound went away... )
Well, we made it home without any further incident. I will be now looking to replace the Alternator and possibly the serpentine belt as a preventative. I most likely stripped out the threads as I struggled to get that small shard of broken bolt out of there. Best to prevent the next even if possible. Or at the very least... delay the disaster!
Home now. Time to rest and reflect. Thrilled that the family things are done and we can get back to hugging up on the cats. They all appear to have missed us. ( or at least... our food!) The take away from all of this is that no matter how prepared you may be, ( or lucky) there are still things that require an outside force for help. A helpful hand from a Stranger, a service provider that is only minutes away. And a little bit of determination and persistence. 
My only regret from the whole experience is that we had to involve the Family at all. No need worrying them or causing an inconvenience on a Sunday. They are busy people, after all. And now we will probably be the talk of the family and how we are still the official "Screw ups" of the family. It would have been a colorful story for Thanksgiving... but now the plot has already been revealed.
Cheryl says that after taking a break from the monthly car repairs, due to Covid.... We are now back to our normal routine of monthly car repairs meaning: The Pandemic is over! ( for us anyway.) Lord have Mercy!
3 comments:
You better make a just incase bag for that car! Go buy the jumper thing:) Glad you are home safe and sound:)
I would definitely call you a not-screw up at all...but that is me. Anyone who can fix a bike like you have done and fix your Subie and keep it running at that many miles is incredibly bright and gifted with fixing things.
My biggest fear is a car breakdown on an interstate as I travel to and from Maine and Pennsylvania. I have two roadside break down insurances or whatever you call them. My husband understands and insists that I keep up with maintenance checks. He is not at all handy with repairs so you should give yourself a pat on the back that you are. I drive a car that is relatively new (my latest is a Chevy impala 2016 with 78000 miles on it). I have had it 5 years and am on my third set of new tires. I will have it paid off this Fall and I look forward to that! I just hope it gets me through some years before I have to start all over!
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