The Comic Book Family

Stupid Squirrel

Let's see...I guess it was the Friday before last that I was backing out of my carport and, well, ran into a clay plant pot with my passenger front wheel. In my defense, I've got much less room in my carport than I should due to construction stuff, a bathtub, a stove and various other odds and ends that normally aren't there. Anyways, that wheel starts making odd noises while I'm driving. My thoughts? "Crap, what did I do?" It's mostly making the sound when I'm braking, and especially when I'm braking and turning the wheel. I decide it must be the brakes, not what I did, because they haven't been replaced in six or seven years. I did get them checked two years ago and was told then they were fine, so I wasn't being reckless, but the noise, the grinding and the weird stiff pulling sort of feeling the car was giving made me take the car in by Monday morning.

They take my wheels apart, and show me that my brakes are only 60% wear and at this rate are good for probably another four years. They do the maintenance stuff, and $30 is it. (Apollo on St John's in Port Moody. If you have any problems with your car or any regular maintenance stuff, go there. Really great service and very cost efficient.) So, they put my wheels back together, and as they do, the mechanic has a nut fall out from behind the rotor. No, not a metal nut like you'd expect, a tree nut.

You might know I already dislike the squirrels in my neighbourhood, the big black ones that aren't native to the area, because they cost me a ton of money last year to get them out of my attic. They were going up the outside of my house, middle of the back wall, not climbing fences and bouncing over, but climbing the wall. So now I've got a squirrel that has planted a nut in my wheel for winter storage. Bothersome. But, I know my brakes are fine, and I go on my merry way.

The next day, the driver side wheel is making the same noise. And it's hidden so well, I can't see it. Tyler can't see it when I take it into his work and he puts it up on the jack. They have to take the wheel apart at the mechanic's and dig it out (it wouldn't come out in one piece it was so well in there). They did it for free.

The one on the left is whole, and was the first nut. The second one on the right is only half a nut, as it broke coming out.



Did I tell you I don't like squirrels?

posted by The Jaded Bee @ 12:03 AM