While I’m In There

A number of years ago, my brother joined me for a trip across the United States after I was accepted to graduate school. He flew to Los Angeles, and we took Interstate 40 east rather than I-10 because we wanted to stop and see the Grand Canyon. That was a side trip we planned, along with a stop for a meal or two in New Orleans, and it was worth the effort.

One side trip we didn’t plan on, but did on a whim was a visit to Meteor Crater in Winslow, Ariz. You know, the town where the girl in the flatbed Ford slowed down to take a look at the Eagles’ Glenn Frey. After visiting the Grand Canyon, the crater was a bit, shall we say, overshadowed. Done in reverse order, it would been better.

Those kind of side trips can occur in all kinds of activities, for example, while lying awake at night or when doing almost anything online. One thought leads to another, or one website leads to the next. Pretty soon you have an only hour to get back to sleep before the alarm goes off or a shopping cart full of things you didn’t intend to buy.

When you are wrenching on a car, those little planned side trips often are done in the spirit of, “While I’m in there,” and they can lead to multiple improvements in one project, if you will. A good example of a planned side trip is fixing a leaky rear main seal and installing a better clutch setup while you are in there. Another example would be — or should have been, in my case — upgrading the differential mounting bushings while I was installing a limited-slip differential.

I was in the process of putting it back together when I noticed the factory rubber bushings were not in the best shape, but I had one day to get this job done and an event coming up, so I put it back together. I think I can sneak a new bracket and bushings in there later. Maybe. We’ll see.

The unplanned side trip on this particular job, something I had to do while I was in there — not on a whim — was the left and right rear wheel speed sensors that didn’t want to come out of the rear uprights. I had to remove them to be able to fully lower the rear uprights and axles. I removed the bolt from the retainer tab and I could get the sensors to rotate a bit, but they’re weren’t coming out without a fight. And there was no fighting them without breaking them. I fought the sensors and the sensors broke. In hindsight, I should have unplugged them from inside the trunk.

The wheel-speed sensors didn’t hold up the job like the bushings would have, and I was able to get the differential and rear suspension back together that day. With Mazda warehouses located near me, I had the new sensors in a day or two and was able to get everything back together and track ready.

I still have a few things left on my to-do list before the next event. Before I take those jobs on, I’m going to have a close look to see if I can get ahead of any unplanned side trips that might arise while I’m in there.

I foresee lost sleep and full shopping carts.