That's the brakes

I'm a car guy. I like old cars. I like how they look. I like how they work. I often spend time working on them.

I tend not to trust mechanics. I feel like they are always getting one over on me. So I generally try to do as much of my own work as possible.

Today - I tackled brakes. I've worked on my own cars for at least the last 25 years, but one area I never touched was brakes. Maybe it's because that is most often the only thing that stands between you and a collision.

But, as I'm rapidly finding out more and more, necessity is the mother of invention. And, with my wife losing her job (and our family losing about half their income), keeping this old car going as cheaply as possible is now a necessity, not a cute novelty.

And when I heard that tell-tale grind yesterday, I realized I faced two choices. I could buy a lottery ticket and pray or I could learn how to fix brakes in 12 hours. I chose the second.

So there I was, up to my ass in rust, brake fluid and rust. And more rust. And more rust. I had no idea just how much rust can accumulate on the underside of a sport utility vehicle over 16 years. Believe me - it's a lot.

Because I believe that education is the key to successfully doing anything, I read a lot about doing the job. I watched on line videos. I consulted message boards. And I found out one thing - when all is said and done, it's all bullshit. The only way to do the job is to. . . .do the job.

I also found out something else. It's that four wheel drive is code for "anything you want to do on this truck is going to take 10 times longer and be 10 times more complicated - but you can drive in the snow." I'd give up the snow-driving ability for some simpler way to fix things.

But in the end, after 4 hours, two additional runs to the store, one skinned knuckle, one sprained thumb and the onset of arthritis in my knees, the brakes were installed, the wheels were back on, the truck stops and I only spent about 50 bucks - clearly saving about $300 in the process.

That $300 will go a long way toward paying some bills. And I guess I can now say I know how to fix brakes. Add that to the list.

Now, if I could only get the catalytic converter off of the Corvette. "Liquid Wrench" anyone??