Esel the Civic: The logistics of abandoning it
Esel the Civic
The logistics of abandoning it
So Esel was a Honda Civic Wagon, specifically a 1987 Real Time 4wd Civic that I had bought off Craigslist for $300. I put some sweat and a little bit of cash into fixing it up and I decided to name it "Esel" which means a burrow or donkey in quite a few languages because it would be hauling all my gear. Long story short after about a month on road I was once again leaving one of the tons I have family in here in Colorado, this time for good I thought. not more than a dozen miles out of town I get a flat, I put on the donut and turn around to go get a new tire but immediately the rear end is whining "Crap, it really doesn't like that donut." After about 4 or 5 miles the car stops dead in it's tracks like it hit a brick wall, dead in the middle of the only Westbound lane on the highway. Luckily two cars behind me was an FJ Cruiser who was able to drag Esel to the shoulder after I frantically grabbed my tow rope.
Two older gentleman hung out, shared their ideas on how we could get it rolling again and even let me use their jack to remove the driveshaft. Removing the driveshaft revealed that I couldn't turn the yoke but both wheels spun freely. The two gentlemen went their own way while I called for backup and unloaded all the gear I had in Esel. While waiting on the backup I started pulling the pumpkin apart but didn't make much progress. I called it a night and came back the next day proceeding my attempts at freeing the rear wheels but wound up giving up and stripped everything of value to me off the car. I then took a day trying to find Esel a good home before I finally put it on Craigslist for free. of course days later I see Esel posted on CL for $1500, hopefully it goes to a good home and not a scrap yard.
Why wasn't it worth it for me to just have Esel towed after all the work I put into it? Well, it was still a $300 car to me, the parts to rebuild the rear end are more than $300, as is a new set of 14" LT tires and used wheels. Having it toed would have been a minimum of $50. That would have been $700-1000+ to get it back on the road as a 4wd. Sorry but I can find another vehicle for less than that.
The logistics of abandoning it
So Esel was a Honda Civic Wagon, specifically a 1987 Real Time 4wd Civic that I had bought off Craigslist for $300. I put some sweat and a little bit of cash into fixing it up and I decided to name it "Esel" which means a burrow or donkey in quite a few languages because it would be hauling all my gear. Long story short after about a month on road I was once again leaving one of the tons I have family in here in Colorado, this time for good I thought. not more than a dozen miles out of town I get a flat, I put on the donut and turn around to go get a new tire but immediately the rear end is whining "Crap, it really doesn't like that donut." After about 4 or 5 miles the car stops dead in it's tracks like it hit a brick wall, dead in the middle of the only Westbound lane on the highway. Luckily two cars behind me was an FJ Cruiser who was able to drag Esel to the shoulder after I frantically grabbed my tow rope.
Two older gentleman hung out, shared their ideas on how we could get it rolling again and even let me use their jack to remove the driveshaft. Removing the driveshaft revealed that I couldn't turn the yoke but both wheels spun freely. The two gentlemen went their own way while I called for backup and unloaded all the gear I had in Esel. While waiting on the backup I started pulling the pumpkin apart but didn't make much progress. I called it a night and came back the next day proceeding my attempts at freeing the rear wheels but wound up giving up and stripped everything of value to me off the car. I then took a day trying to find Esel a good home before I finally put it on Craigslist for free. of course days later I see Esel posted on CL for $1500, hopefully it goes to a good home and not a scrap yard.
Why wasn't it worth it for me to just have Esel towed after all the work I put into it? Well, it was still a $300 car to me, the parts to rebuild the rear end are more than $300, as is a new set of 14" LT tires and used wheels. Having it toed would have been a minimum of $50. That would have been $700-1000+ to get it back on the road as a 4wd. Sorry but I can find another vehicle for less than that.
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