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Ah, yes! Friday is here at last! Another weekend awaits me in just under two hours. With that being said, let me tell you how this week started. Pressed for time (as usual, it seems), I ran out to my truck, dressed in a fun dress and ready to hit the work week. (Can you see where this is going?) First, I filled up my rear tire with some onboard air; I was lucky enough to pick up a nice nail somewhere during all that crazy offroading I do. I was parked on the street, and of course, the sprinklers were on, so I got to get wet while fillin' the tire. That was Problem 1.
On the road again, I didn't get more than about six miles until Problem 3 culminated in pulling over onto the freeway's shoulder, right after getting on. (I'll tell you more about Problem 2 another time, once it gets "worked out.") I had been acutely aware of a noise coming from the front driver's side area, or, the fat side, since it's my side of the truck, as my brother nicely pointed out. It varied between a high pitched squeak, a slight jingle, and a harsher grinding. Sometimes it did all three; sometimes it did nothing. I had "driven through it" for almost a week, telling myself I really needed to take a look. Ultimately I was concerned about and focused on Problem 2, which turned out to be a mistake, because Problem 3 ended in a tow truck ride home.
As I was getting on the freeway, the front end, which had felt increasingly questionable in the stop and go traffic up to that point, instantly veered, grinded, and was super sloppy when I accelerated.
So what was the problem? My driver's side bearings were completely demolished beyond recognition, trashing the drop spindle, spindle nut, washer, and disk, and obviously both bearings. Again. However, the first time this happened, about 5 months ago, just the outer bearing had a broken race, and I had driven with it like that for a while. This time was a different story, as there were basically scraps of metal that no longer resembled a bearing.
I guess I've got my weekend cut out for me! The bottom line is that essentially ignoring noises can be costly. You may think you have all the time in the world to fix all the other imminent (in your mind) problems with your truck first, but in reality, you may be literally seconds away from a disaster.
As I sat on the side of the road, waiting for AAA, the inevitable hit me: Is it time to start putting 90 miles a day on a true commuter instead of my truck?
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