Is it just me?.......

[prabjohns]

Friday morning.
Driveshaft specialist in Long beach on the phone....
"Yeah, I can get that yoke and put that on for you....."
50 mile round trip.....
"Oh........hmmm....no I can't get that part after all.."

Friday afternoon Driveshaft supplier on the phone...
"Yes, I can send you a replacement for that slip yoke, It's the same dimensions but it's a tiny bit longer but those transmissions have plenty of room, I guarantee it will work, absolutely....You'll have it on monday"
-----
Monday morning, looking for a tool called a 'seal puller'.
Phone call to Harbor Freight in Pasadena....
"Yes, I see it on our website, that's the right part number, no we don't have any in stock. Nearest one is an 80 mile round trip to get it"
Me....."are you sure?"
"Yep, we don't have any...."

Phone call to O'Reilly in hollywood....
"yes, I see it on our website, we don't have that one but we have an identical one by a different manufacturer"
Me.."You sure it's the same?"
"Oh, yeah...absolutely"

10 mile round trip later
Me at O'Reilly.." Er..that's a totally different tool for a totally different application"
Supplier....."Oh, yeah....it's much bigger, I see what you mean...."

Two tool stores later with no luck I try Harbor Freight in Pasadena on the phone again, just on the off chance...
"Yes, I see it on our website, that's the right part number, yes, we have 5 of them in stock"
Me...."But I called 4 hours ago and someone said you were out of stock..."
"Oh.........that's weird, yeah, we've got five, we usually have them...."

Me in Pasadena having bought the 'seal puller'. 30 mile round trip.
(knowing it was futile but saying it anyway)....."Someone here on the phone told me you didn't have any in stock this morning, it's six hours later, all I've done all day is try and find that tool, they wasted most of my day because they didn't check to make sure they weren't in stock when I phoned...."

Manager "oh.....yeah...er...sorry about that, here, here's a free $2 mini flashlight for your inconvenience..."

Back home, UPS has delivered the "I guarantee it will work, absolutely." slip yoke I ordered from the drive shaft supplier.
Although it was a beautifully machined and polished yoke..it was of coarse too long and a totally different width fitting....

Is it just ME?

P.

[Doug Liedblad]

NO, it's a common problem with low paid guys that don't know what they are selling.

If the seal puller is for the rear transmission seal, you don't need the special tool, just a big screwdriver. (now he tells me)
Doug

[prabjohns]

Big screwdriver! No way!
Now I have a seal puller that was harder to find than the holy grail and cost me 10 hard earned bucks, I'm gonna use it! I'm going to go round the neighborhood at night pulling seals from random parked cars to get my money's worth of use out of it!

[Doug Liedblad]

Did you get the seal installation tool too?

They keep the right next to the seal pullers.

[prabjohns]

No, after today I thought I'd just use my forehead to bang the seal in with...

[slomove]

Me too, going into the local Autozone, asking where can I find the hose clamps (I did not ask for Jubilee Clips or whatever). The associate looking desperate, asking his colleague in vain and finally called the manager on duty. Guess what, the manager actually knew. But by that time I had spotted the clamps myself.

Low paid or not....how dumb or uninterested can a single person be?

[athens7]

Paul, kudos both for your perserverence and your ability to turn a phrase!

[prabjohns]

I felt I had to come back to this thread today. My driveshaft problem seems jinxed.
I left my driveshaft with Wenco yesterday. They were going to cut off the old universal joint and yoke and replace it with an new one and balance the whole thing. (After months of searching for a replacement for the existing yoke it seems like they are no longer available in that universal joint size.).
I got a call to say it was ready today and went down to pick it up. Just as I was leaving I commented that the new spline looked fatter than the old and that it was a weird optical illusion. He had a look, pulled out his micrometer and then he started to repeat a four letter word starting with the letter 'F'.
I left it with him, he was scratching his head last I saw.
I would however like to stress that the Wenco guys have been very helpful and knowledgeable, I put this down to just plain bad luck.