Monday Read: 1

"BJL" (simplifyandaddlightness) 04/14/2014 at 08:40 • Filed to: Monday Read 1, Chevy, English, UML

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I have written a few automotive essays in the past for English class is college. It is getting to be the end of the year, and these are from a past semester. I am parsing these out over the course of once a week. I have five different essays. Excuse the noticeably academic writing. Enjoy

9/23/13

A myth exists where something as small as a penny would derail a train if it was placed on the tracks. When I drove my truck about six months back, driving over anything penny sized felt oddly similar. Give my truck a near perfect runway, and it made sure that I found the imperfections through the language of pain. Learning from this, when I came across a few loose pebbles on a road, I scouted for the best possible route, and make sure that my tires would track over the patch of asphalt that looked as smooth as glass. Once the perfect path was found, I proceeded happily only to hear and feel cannons being fired from the back of my truck. The rear end of my truck hopped around on my semi- rigid rear axle that only flexed about a half inch from left to right. The result of the turbulence was me trying to correct my course while flying through the air and simultaneously trying to downshift into third gear. When I finally decided to remedy the issue of the suspension on my truck, I found my passion that I would focus on pursuing for the rest of my life.

The task was set in motion after choosing a not so perfect day for the project. The day chosen happened to be a day where it was a blistering 97 degrees and sunny. I started by putting two new jack stands under the rear of my truck, even though it was not necessary, just to be safe. After I had crawled under the truck, I noticed a layer of rust covering each bolt. Trying to play it smart, as I already dripped with sweat, I grabbed a can of penetrating oil named PB Blaster that promised to loosen the bolt. Taking another precaution, I took my two inch wide by eight inch long wire brush and scrubbed the rust off of the bolt which had only a half inch of accessible clearance. Regardless, the final product was a work area that looked to have eleven years of rust instead of the true fifteen years of rust that the rest of the truck had. I grabbed my new breaker bar and socket wrench and went to work. After about ten minutes of my groaning and grunting, finally the bolt gave out a groan of its own and it was freed. Multiply the process by the other four bolts that needed to be taken off, and the result was a four hour day of work and a gallon of sweat spent. As the shocks were removed, I noticed that they condensed with the push of my pinky finger, meaning that they were shot. With the old shocks out, the new ones were put in. I jerry rigged a system where I jacked the new shocks into place and pried them so that they lined up with the hole. The rear suspension was then complete in a personal record setting five hours.

As a direct result to the first half of the operation going so well, the second half was started. The parts came in a day later than the other ones did, and the project commenced on another prime day where it was only a balmy 92 degrees. However, without relent, I pressed onto the front shocks in search of better ride quality. I placed two jack stands under the truck, but this time they were necessary. The front suspension required that the eight lug wheels had to come off for access to the shocks. Once again I was faced with a sundry of rusty bolts and a whopping half inch of accessible clearance. The bolts seemed to be in worse condition, and they seemed to be tighter. As a concoction of PB Blaster and wire brushing was released on the bolts, the situation seemed to improve. After finding the right size socket after two attempts, I went to work again. The nuts and bolts took about fifteen minutes a piece to remove with the upper pair taking slightly longer. The process ended up taking me three hours and the old shocks were out. The new shocks were then hoisted into place. As a result of my efforts, another personal record was set at four hours for changing the front shocks.

With the new parts installed all by my lonesome, I could not help but feel empowered. In total, eight bolts were removed. The process ended up taking me nine hours all said and done. After some calculations were made and thoroughly checked, it was determined that the project took me a little more than an hour per bolt. I was not impressed by the news. To be honest, it could have been a direct result from me not using all of the proper tools or even the proper set up, but it didn't really matter to me. The project left me with a bunch of noticeably used tools, as well as a mess comprised of rust on the driveway. However, that was before I tested the upgrade.

The ride after the operation could not have turned out any better. The process of determining if a suspension is good or not is very time consuming, as well as intricate. However, it can be easily tested in a scientific way by rocking a car's corner up and down. After that, the tester can stop, and the car should correct itself in less than four rebounds. So, it all came down to me testing my truck's suspension. As I tried rocking each corner, I came upon the final consensus. The rear took two rebounds to correct itself, and the front took three rebounds. The discrepancy is because the truck's rear suspension needs to be stronger than the front. I was well satisfied, so I took the truck for a ride. As I came upon my neighborhood's infamous pothole, I grimaced. It was either now or never; either a waste of money, or money well spent. As I gunned for the hole in the pavement, I grimaced. However, before I knew it, I had crossed the crevasse without any real turmoil. No cannons were fired, no gears were changed, and no words were murmured. The ride then progressed until I found a dirt road where four wheel drive was necessary. I came upon a section where the bumps were staggered so that flex in the suspension was needed. I then positioned the truck and got out to see the results. My old shocks created a situation where one side of my truck supported more weight than the other. However, when I got out of my truck that time, it was different. All of the tires looked to have the same weight bearance, and the truck seemed to flex perfectly. The grip of my truck was therefore greatly improved as a result of these yellow and blue cylinders.

As I sat in awe, and in complete silence on my ride home, I knew I had stumbled upon something great. I found out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had known previously that I had wanted to do something automotive, but being a mechanic would have been messy, and unrewarding. The avenue that I had discovered is truly a clean way to approach the automotive business so that I don't have to deal with wire brushing rust the rest of my life. However, being a suspension engineer, I would be boundless. When developing a vehicle's suspension, more often than not, the time that someone put into the product is directly related to the quality. Something as simple as a weld here, or a spring there is the difference between having a to yell while driving or just talk. The principle for where effort equals reward is present in the occupation, while in other occupations, the principle is absent. As a result of my passion for engineering and automotive work, I have discovered my dream occupation, which just so happens to be a suspension geometry engineer. It is truly intriguing that simple experiences like the one with my truck can deeply affect a life and a future.

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