Confession #1: I’m in almost daily communication with the team of Toyota mechanical engineers who designed the 1991 Toyota 4-Runner and the Japanese Toyota assembly plant worker who tightened the starter-bolts on the one parked across the meadow jacked up and partly dissassembled.
Those men don’t need to have a command of the English language to be laughing and giving one another the high-five while saying: “Hahaha you Yankee pig! You’ll never get that starter off! Hahahaha! We nailed your young ass good!”
Although that bolt head is the ‘easy’ one, this American can’t get to it with any wrench yet invented for a straight-on shot. The mechanical engineers made sure of that. But the guy working in the assembly plant lacked sufficient confidence some can-do American wouldn’t come up with a way to put a wrench on it, so he torqued it down with a cheater-bar, thinks I.
Trying to get it loose repeatedly already has the grim prospect looming that I’m going to round off that head. If that happens I might as well take a cutting torch to the whole shebang and use it for a new chicken house.
The engineers did their job and the assembly-line worker did his. Now where did I leave that right-angle cutter and 300 foot extension cord?
But they had a backup plan. I’ve been talking about the easy one. This one I can’t even get into a position to see, but I think that might be it, back where I have to stick the camera in to try to get a view of it. I can’t think of a single way I’ll ever get a wrench anywhere near it.
Confession #2: I am the stupidest person you’ll ever encounter writing a blog on the Internet. The proof is enshrined here: The Communist Toyota 4-Runner. “But there it is. Hot diggedy damn!” “Easy! Easy money!” “Man, people pay good money to get to do a job as easy as this one’s going to be.”
*Old Jules
*Old enough to know better.
So Far From Heaven 
And people ask me how I managed to spend almost $20,000 on tools when I worked on cars.
quietsolopursuits: I can see how that could happen. There’s something lacking in aesthetics with cutting torches. Gracias, Jules
Interesting blog. Thanks for stopping by The DeeZone,
I’m going to throw the cat among the pigeons here. Trouble is, engines were designed by men. End of story. 🙂
eremophila: Possibly even by men who’d changed a flat tire sometime during their lives. Gracias, Jules
i, for one, love your stupid blogging =)
t: Thanks. I supposed I like it middling well myself. Gracias, Jules
I do enjoy your writing.
ejalvey: Thank you. Jules
Rather like the legendary “pull the engine to change the spark plugs,” no?
Morning Ed. Good seeing you. I haven’t been over to your blog for a few days and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms. First chance I get I’m heading over for an Ed Hurst fix. Pulling the engine to change the starter isn’t as remote a possibility as I might wish. But if that’s in the cards I think I’d best be prepared to do a lot of other work on it while it’s topside.
Glad you stopped in. Gracias, Jules