Some Brisbane Guy

100_3757, uploaded to flickr by glennkentwell.

I’m proud that I made a tool today to help me fix my car, but I’m ashamed at its quality. It did the job though, eventually.

My ED Fairmont’s 5 litre V8 has a busted water pump and is leaking everywhere. I was going to get a mechanic to fix it but freaked out when he said how much it would cost cause it’s only a bloody water pump, I should be able to fix it myself. The mechanic fella said once the fan and shroud are off there will be plenty of space and it won’t look so difficult, so I thought why not, it can’t be too hard.

Well, trouble struck when I realised that the fan is a bit of a mongrel to take off. It has a big (36mm!) nut attaching it to the water pump pulley that makes it turn, and you have to somehow stop the pulley from turning while you turn the big-ass nut. So, the Haynes manual tells you to make a tool, which I pretty much did, but mine was a bit simpler than theirs cause I am hopeless.

So it was still a massive hassle trying to get the big-ass nut undone because it was really tight so I swore a lot and bruised and cut my soft programmer forearms up a little bit (not on purpose like an emo, accidentally like a tough man. I threw some tools too I think, haha.

But I persevered like a true Aussie (one who complains) and finally the fan was free and I could take off the shroud and see my target, the water pump.

Here’s some other pics of those bits and my homemade tool, looks like I need a new hose too it’s a bit yuck around there. But I won’t get to that part until tomorrow