Flat Tire

I got a call from Kris at work today saying that she was driving the car to the Hallmark Store when she heard a funny noise under the car. It sounded like it was coming from the rear tire. She pulled over and saw a huge chunk of metal in the rear passenger side tire, so she just turned around and went home because she didn't want to be out and have the tire go flat on her. She went out to the garage about an hour later and it was totally flat, so I guess it was a good thing.

I stopped on my way home to get a can of "fix-a-flat" with the intent of using it to seal the puncture. When I got home I dug the metal out of the tire with a pliers. It was a key. How you could possibly have a key driven into a tire is beyond me. It would have to be sitting at just the right angle to be driven in like it was, and I would never have guessed that was possible. I don't think I would be able to replicate that by taking a hammer and driving it into the tire.

I filled the tire with the goo (which was a bright, neon green colored liquid) the way the directions indicated. I was supposed to put the hole at the bottom of the tire, and then drive around slowly for 3-4 miles. Well before I had even finished filling the tire, I saw a small puddle of green liquid pooling under the tire. Not a good sign. I took the car out and drove it anyway, but it was still leaking by the time I got back, and the wheel well was pretty wet with the liquid that was being centrifugally forced out as I drove.

So the next step was to go run to the auto supply store and get a rubber tire plug. I actually should have started with that. After about 15 minutes, I had the tire plugged and refilled to the proper pressure. As I said, I should have done that first, but who would have guessed that the hole would have been so big? I was thinking it would be something like a big staple, or a nail... not a key. Which, speaking of, was broken when I pulled it out. The tip had broken off. Actually, more than the tip, about 2/3 of the key was missing. I don't know if it was broken before sticking in my tire, or if it broke off IN the tire. If it did, the rest of it is rattling around on the inside someplace.

I needed to get the rear tires replaced anyway, so I guess this just makes me do it quicker. They are scheduled to be replaced on Saturday. Hopefully that will be the end of the bad luck we have had with this car.

Car Trouble

Yesterday on our way back from the beach, we had to stop and fill up the gas tank of my father's car. First we, and by we I mean I, messed up the pay at the pump with my credit card. When I put the card in I was asked to put in my zip code. Not realizing this was some kind of security check, I punched in my parents' zip code. This resulted in locking up the pump and having to go inside to see the attendant.

I thought screw this and left, and went to a different gas station closer to home. This time I got the zip code thing right and filled up. I wanted a receipt, and pressed "yes". The display then says "your receipt has printed inside please see the attendant". Now if I wanted to go inside, I would have just went in to pay in the first place. So after being forced into going to a different station, and having the receipt not print, I was starting to get frustrated. Then as we pull out of the gas station, the car sputters, jerks, and dies. I start it again thinking I just didn't feather the engine enough. We pull out and get going, and the car again, sputters and lurches. So I decided to pull it into a parking lot, park, and call my father for help since we were only five minutes from home.

Once dad gets there and takes a look (I was hoping that I didn't do something that caused his car to die) and the same thing happens for him. So the car got parked, and we took the neighbor's car home. The big problem is this was to be our transportation to Disney. After dinner we went back to see if letting the car sit and cool off helped. It didn't. So now we are getting a rental to take to Disney. What else can go wrong? It seems like we always have problems when we come here.