No Luck? Bad Luck? Rat's Luck!

[Rats Rateye]

Hi Folks!
You're old buddy Rats here.
So I've been trying to save up to get the oil leak on my car fixed. I was planning to bring her in next week after I got paid on the 1st. Sounds like a good plan. Right? However, three days ago I started my car up so I could drive my kids to school when suddenly something under the dash started making a buzzing noise that sounded kind of like a cross between an electric razor and the propellers from those old balsa airplanes we had when we were kids. So of course, I reverted back to my military training and hit the dash, thereby making the noise stop.

However! The next day I noticed that I was getting light-headed, my eyes stung, and I could taste some kind of fumes, even after I got out of the car.

Now it isn't the same smell as exhaust fumes, so the mechanic thought it might be coolant-related. Exactly! It tastes more like antifreeze! So I looked on the internet and found that it might be a heating coil... Which is bad. Another possibility is a head-gasket... Which is insanely worse! Either way, there a slew of possibilities for me to help send the mechanic's children to college. And though the rest of the truck is solid and in better shape than anything I can buy used for the money, depending on the repair and labor, this can range from One Thousand to well-over Two Thousand Dollars!

Now don't get me wrong, I know folks out there have it much MUCH worse than I do, and I honestly can't even imagine the nightmares that some are having to deal with. But after almost dying from covid last year, and having to shuffle bills back and forth to the V.A, if things don't get better, I'm calling BS on the whole, "Don't worry, 2021 is going to be a better year." crap.

Wish me, luck folks. I could use it.

Where's Mr. Applegate when you need him? This boy needs a "W" on the scoreboard.
(BTW: Points if you know what that's referring to. Don't give it away. Maybe just a hint?)

 

[Harp]

^^^A soldier adjusts and adapts, makes the terrain work to his advantage.
Like when my '94 Jaguar XJS convertible had a collision with the Internal Revenue Service.
And India 6 engine issues. And when the track wasn't producing any Mohicans. And I sold the Cat.
Avoid, evasion, and escape. Just put it all on the ol' 1040EZ.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Good luck to you, Rats. A confession that I am not proud of: I get so twisted out of shape when things unexpectedly break down, or bureaucratic complications spring up, or nonsense ensues. Happens to everyone sooner or later, right? I wish I had it in me to go full Zen. Usually I stomp around like an idiot until things settle down and I gain some perspective. As you say, most of us here are pretty fortunate by the standards of the wider world. Anyway, I hope that you will overcome this with grace and dignity and that the dice will roll your way next time.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I had a heater core spring a pinhole leak once and exactly the same symptoms as you describe followed. It won't be a cheap repair, but it'll be pretty straightforward.

 

[Harp]

Hi Folks!
But after almost dying from covid last year, and having to shuffle bills back and forth to the V.A, if things don't get better, I'm calling BS on the whole, "Don't worry, 2021 is going to be a better year." crap.

As regards the Veterans Administration... I once worked for the Regional Counsel VA in Chicago,
and if you need any advice regarding VA fiscal or other issues, shoot a pm flare.

 

[Zombie_61]

I had a heater core spring a pinhole leak once and exactly the same symptoms as you describe followed. It won't be a cheap repair, but it'll be pretty straightforward.

I had a 1975 Chevy Monte Carlo in the mid-80s that developed a leak in the heater core; the coolant dribbled down the firewall in the passenger cabin and soaked the carpet on the passenger side. I had neither the time nor the knowledge to replace it myself, so off to the shop the car went. When I picked it up after the repairs, our mechanic (who I had formerly worked with) told me to never do that to him again. It turned out that he had to remove the entire dashboard and then some just to get to the heater core, then more to get the old core extracted. Six hours, according to him. Glad I chose not to tackle that job myself. I don't remember what it cost, but it was worth it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The heater in my Plodge started to leak a few years ago, and since there are no radiator shops around here anymore that do soldering, I just said "forget it" and bypassed the whole thing. I don't drive it in the winter anyway, but for the first month or so of the spring it can be pretty chilly inside.

 

[Rats Rateye]

Yeah, she's going in tomorrow at 2pm. I'm pretty much thinking it's the coil, but I'm still reeling a bit from the fumes. I just have no way to go back to the VA unless I call the EMTs. I guess I'll give it another day?

 

[Rats Rateye]

BTW: Only two out of five on that lottery pick. Grrrrr!

 

[Harp]

Yeah, she's going in tomorrow at 2pm. I'm pretty much thinking it's the coil, but I'm still reeling a bit from the fumes. I just have no way to go back to the VA unless I call the EMTs. I guess I'll give it another day?

If you are seriously ill, and need EMT transport to a VA Hospital ER, call the ambulance and cite EMT bill
to the hospital regional counsel office for settlement. Do not hesitate to act on your emergent care need,
any attendant cost can be adjudicated.