With the success of the engine swap, I had to move on with some other routine maintenance on the car. The front tires, being drive tires, wear out quicker than the rear tires, and hence need replacement more often. This was the case just before the old engine crapped out. We even got the new tires delivered, just as I was disassembling the old engine to remove it. With that little issue resolved, I had to get jacks in position to jack both sides of the car up to pull both rims off to load them up with the new tires so they can be swapped out. The biggest concern was pulling the inner half of the CV axle, that was a pain in the ass the first time I did it. The last time I replaced the CV axle I had picked up an axle removal tool, which looks like a horseshoe. Unfortunately, the inner gap of the tool was too narrow for the wide base of the Scion's CV axle. I ended up having to cut out the inner gap to widen it to allow it to fit around the back of the inner body of the axle so I could use my slide hammer to knock the axle out. Even then this task was a PITA due to the fact that the thing was locked in pretty good and I couldn't just have a straight shot out with the slide hammer. I had to hurt my hand to work the slide hammer enough to eventually knock out the inner half of the CV axle. The same was the case now as well. After hurting my hand with the slide hammer, the inner half eventually popped out. With that, I made a big mess with transmission oil leaking all over under the car. Of course, with the sucess I had today, I really didn't care about a little spilled oil. At least now all the pieces are set where they need to be to finish up this whole fiasco with the Scion. With the tires taken care of and the new CV axle in hand, I got every thing taken care of on the car. The next move is a test drive. Of course after these kinds of episodes, the paranoia is always high enough that one wants to make sure that every single thing conceivable is covered so this type of BS doesn't happen again. With the Scion back in service the ole lady can now get back into the normal swing with her vehicle and I can get back to the normal swing driving the Tracker, even though the S10 is going to remain in active service as we need to be able to use a light truck for episodes where we need to get supplies and not have to drag the trailer around. Sometimes the load to be carried is not quite enough to warrant a trailer but still too much to put in the Tracker, such as an 8ft corrugated metal/plastic panel or a couple long boards. Besides, it would suck to mothball the S10 only to have something happen again to either the Tracker or the Scion where I would have to press the S10 back into service, so its just better to keep the truck active. Of course that will also mean that I have to get ready to replace the transmission since I can't really tell how long the old tranny has before it dies. Unlike the Scion, the S10's transmission should be way easier to replace.
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