Today, I took off yesterday and today to change the rear brakes on my car. I’ve been meaning to do it for ages, and have been using a works pool car, but the aircon on that went the other week whereas on mine it’s proper arctic.
Anyway, it’s been sat and neglected for a while, which goes against my beliefs that machines need using to keep working well.
So yesterday, the fecking battery was flat as a fluke, so got a charger - by the time it was charged, I couldn’t be arsed starting, so after a leisurely morning (90 minutes dealing with emails in the office and a couple of coffees, I set to about 10.30.
I finished one side just before 5pm! Clips, bolts grommets all giving me grief - two trips out to get tools (the rear caliper pistons need screwing back in whereas the fronts don’t and can’t be pushed in using a C-clamp) and don’t believe it if a tool says it “fits nearly all Jaguar models” because it won’t fit yours!
Over 90 minutes getting one bolt through a rubber grommety thing so the calliper would go back on the carrier. 6 hours doing one side and tomorrow I’m going to be aching like a bastard. I’ll do the other side on Sunday. Yay. It was over 30c
I’ve learned three things from it;
1. Don’t leave a vehicle of machine standing unused, even for a couple of months - everything is worse / harder when you come back to them.
2. I’m not cut out for this shit…give me a knife and a body in a temperature controlled environment any day! I know what I’m doing there.
3. Any potential job satisfaction in this area for me, is less than picking a car up from the mechanic’s and feeling the difference without all the agro.
And I’ve got to do it all again on Sunday…shit!