The Peace of Wrenching.

Lately,  I have found myself in a wasteland of stress, anger and frustration.    I have returned home to Montana,  two months after setting out for what was to have been a 2-3 week project in Arizona.   This delay was largely due to the issues with my Toyota 4Runner,   which were highlighted in the previous blog.

If you can believe it,  the situation got even worse....   A thousand times so.  

A Uhaul that was powered by asthmatic chihuahuas..  

 As you can see,  this is what I ended up having to do after a total of 39 business days that The Engine Builders of Glendale, AZ,  had my truck. They misdiagnosed it twice, ended up ignoring my request to stop work,  and finally, when I got my truck back and they agreed to refund me my money,  I received an engineless 4Runner with a couple of buckets with parts just thrown in.   I had to lose my collective shit on the guy on the phone, in front of his customers at his shop,  to get the engine block and cylinder heads.  However,  there were two other 3rd generation 4Runners like mine there when I picked all this up, so chances are they gave me the old crap from one of them. Still,the shop came away with stealing the 3.4L V6's pistons,  crank shaft, water pump, oil pump, connecting rods and timing belt.  
I did get a radiator cap from something large,  probably a V8 truck, thrown in the box.
On top of this, I had to stay an extra week to get my refund, which was promised that Friday.

Naturally, it did not happen.
 I still am waiting.

 He has deposited $2500 of the $3130 he owes me, but is taking his sweet ass time about it.  This does not include the cost of the stolen parts ($800 bucks near abouts)  the Uhaul and Trailer ($1400)  or the fuel and hotel stays on my way back to Montana (did not even want to look)

BECAUSE PUZZLES!

In the grand scheme of all this bullshit, I managed to not straight up go over to the shop and murder the man.  I had the gun,  but I was in such a state that I would have found a way to stab him to death with something like a cardboard box or an egg carton or something.  
I was that angry.
Still am, actually.

Anyway,  there is a new(ish) motor awaiting me in Missoula at the Toyotas Only shop,  that they found for me and have resealed and done the complete Toyota service on a 72K mile donor motor.  Plug and play,  complete and ready to go.   Soon as I pay for it, of course.
 

Its a 7/16ths bolt...

The thing here is,  after all this time, I look forward to it.     I enjoy the fixing and building of things.
There is a sense of peace and harmony that goes along with the frustration and broken knuckles and stuck bolts.  Or, in the most recent case,  broken bolts...    That one broken bolt..literally a week of my life went into getting it out.....which never did happen.   I broke,  count it,  THREE cobalt drill bits,  three titanium drill bits,  one hardened steel screw extractor,  one tap and die set,  and all of my patience.   On a 7/16ths bolt used to hold a choke thermostat in the exhaust manifold.

I ended up swapping the whole thing out, which to do the exhaust manifold on a Dodge 225 Slant Six means taking off EVERYTHING (carb, intake,  ect). Luckily I had a spare manifold (because we all have spare manifolds) from the barn (because we all have barns), and now the truck runs perfectly.

The replacement...covered in birdshit.

Perfectly-Ish.

Its 32 years old...It did sit nearly two years before I pulled the whole truck out of the barn and got it running for a few weeks last summer.  I imagine I had it coming.   She's angry.

But,  to be truthful, it was all worth it.   The last day,  where everything started going back together,  bolt by bolt,  I felt a sense of relief.  That kind of relief you get when you realize you are not in trouble, or when a weight is lifted from your shoulders.  

Pictured:  Barn recovery last summer.

    Its a fair bit of peace.    And I sorely needed it.  Nothing felt better than putting it all back in place, tightening it all down,   feeling things seat.   The initial start and roar of a proper working choke and warm up was gratifying as hell.  

Like I said,  the Dodge runs perfectly-ish.    It still has its quirks. It still has a clutch issue where i have broken every part of the clutch, and don't know why (would you believe the shop that did the clutch on it 2006 put in the WRONG pressure plate?  I do. Now.)
  And its been a source of thousands of headaches.

 But at the same time,  it has been the source of one of the more unique forms of meditation that I have ever experienced.   I love working on it.    That goes for my toyota as well.   I have put all new brakes,  suspension and servicing on it since I bought it (and now I get to put in a new engine!  *facepalm*).   I sat down the other day and looked at all the parts that I now have to figure out,  and I felt a calm roll over me.    A place of Zen (of sorts).   I knew that I could do it, and that I will do it when I am finally able to pay for it.    But,  amidst the sea of stress and such,   I am still able to feel like I can achieve some peace...by picking up a wrench.