I Suck At Getting The Car Fixed

as i am on vacation this week, i decided to take the car in to get it fixed. according to the mechanic, the left outer tie rod was worn and needed to be replaced. apparently, a worn tie rod would cause the car to fail an inspection because it is a safety hazard. according to www.carjunky.com,

"The tie rod is part of the steering mechanism in a vehicle. A tie rod is a slender structural rod that is used as a tie and capable of carrying tensile loads only.

A tie rod consists of an inner and an outer end. The spokes on a bicycle's wheels are tie rods. As the ratio of its length to the radius of gyration of its cross section is normally quite large, it would likely buckle under the action of compressive forces.

The tie rod transmits force from the steering center link or the rack gear to the steering knuckle. This will cause the wheel to turn. The outer tie rod end connects with an adjusting sleeve, which allows the length of the tie rod to be adjustable. This adjustment is used to set a vehicle's alignment angle...

It is advisable that your vehicle's steering and suspension systems are checked regularly, at least once a year along with a complete wheel alignment. A worn tie rod can cause wandering, erratic steering and also major tire wear.

If a tie rod is necessary then a wheel alignment will also be required because tie rod replacement will disturb the alignment setting.
As the ratio of its length to the radius of gyration of its cross section is normally quite large, it would likely buckle under the action of compressive forces."

needless to say, i suck at getting the car fixed. after running some additional errands, i dropped the car off at the local firestone located in hingham. the mechanic had told me that the tie rod replacement and the realignment would take a few hours. rather than wait and waste most of the day at the local firestone, i was given a ride back to my house.

i was thinking that the ride home was a nice gesture and that i would then have all this additional time to work on some home improvement projects planned for today. well, a couple of hours later, i received a phone call that the car was ready to be picked up. i had just finished lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... yum) and thought nothing of it. after all, the local firestone was a little over 2.5 miles away. it would be no problem to walk that.

boy was i wrong. if the weather weren't in the 90s and there weren't any humidity, i may have been all right. the walk seemed to take forever in the beating sun. sweat started to pour out of every pore imaginable. the sweat was dripping down my forehead and stinging my eyes. it was awful. i must have looked like quite the sexy beast with my sweat drenched body walking down the main street. i didn't even have a water bottle or anything to rehydrate myself. i just wanted to die. (for the record, i never used to sweat. since getting old, i seem to sweat now. i don't know why this is the case.)

anyway, when i finally arrived at firestone, i must have been quite the sight. the mechanic even chuckled at me because i made a beeline straight to the water cooler. i must have guzzled a gallon of water before picking up the keys to my car. i suppose the only good thing that came from my walk to firestone is that i got to work on my tan... even though i hate getting a tan...