F#CK Winter!!

[xthejester]

Its not even 10a.m. and this day is ruined by a winter that wont cease!

 

A lovely ice-patch has formed on my garage floor. This morning, as I was backing up my vehicle, ever-so-slightly, to get access to my snow-blower...

 

The ice-patch made me lose all control, and the open door of my vehicle collided with the track of my garage door.

 

The vehicle's door is off-kilter now. It will still open and close, but it only closes with a powerful slam.

 

The son-of-a-bitch garage door track was something I could marginally repair though.  I had to take the bent part of the track off of its mountings, lay it on the garage floor, and beat it back into an approximate of its intended shape. It's twisted, but I got it back up and it does its job.

 

The vehicle door...that will need to be repaired by a professional though. And that's $$$ I don't have right now.

 

To top all of that off...the snow-blower is starting to break down now as well. It's a large machines with a decent engine. I will be able the get into it and fix it up...but not in these current weather conditions.

 

It looks as if I will have to shovel any more snow that falls this winter. And when spring finally comes, I can get out and work on tuning the snow-blower back up for next winter.

[RezTheFatal]

I hear you man we just hit our twenty first day in a row with below zero daytime temperatures over here.

[xthejester]

I don't mind the cold. I can live with that. It's just all this fucking snow and ice that comes with it that pisses me off and ruins my life.

[Lusty Housecarl]

Ah yes good ol'winter.. I used to hate the snow and cold as well.. But then i realized i live in Norway.

 

The winter never ends here north of the wall. So like most of my people i went insane. I strapped planks to my feet and started skiing, and before i knew it..The cold no longer bothered me. I was one with the cold. One with the madness.

 

On a more serious note, i cant wait for summer and green stuff.

 

 

[Mogie56]

Take a small block of wood, just big enough to keep the car door open (at the hinge) and slowly put pressure on the door to straighten it. if it is only an outward bend in the door use a small block on each hinge. if it has an upward or downward bend (depending on which part caught the track) use only one block to compensate and slowly add pressure pushing the door toward the close position but not closed. keep trying it till it closes properly. That's basically what they will do in a shop but charge you out the ass for.  just make sure you only go little by little till it closes properly removing the block/s each time.

[xthejester]

When you say "at the hinge"...what exactly do you mean?

 

 

[Mogie56]

Ok maybe this will show better what I mean

at the 1 and 2 points when the door is hit while open it stretches those forward areas

what you want to do with the block/s is even that out, if that area the hinge is attached to is stretched too far then yes a body shop will be required to pound that area back in so the hinge fits flush. but if it isn't stretched much the red tinted square area is where you would put the block/s then just apply a little pressure to the door. if when closing the door the release lines up with the catch then it is an outward bend and would need blocks on both hinges. if the release is above or below the catch then you need one block....(release above catch, block on upper hinge) release below catch, block on lower hinge. the release is the part on the door itself that releases the catch when the door handle is pulled. the catch is on the doorway, what the release fits over and holds to.

[xthejester]

OOh...thanks! I may be able to give this a shot.

[xthejester]

Well...I just checked.

 

It's not the hinges. It's the actual door itself.

 

The top corner of the door is a bit bent and twisted, causing the door to not want to close properly.

[gvman3670]

That's nothing a big strong fella like yourself can't bend back enough to get it to close. It's amazing how poorly built these things are. The tops of doors are pretty easy to bend.

[gvman3670]

Even here in PA we're loaded right up with snow. Of course I live at 2300' above sea level so it snows more here than in lower lying areas, like Philly for example.

[xthejester]

Bending it back to be able to open and close isn't the issue. I already did that. But that's not really "fixed". It's just jury-rigged to work. Leaving it like this indefinitely will only lead to other, further degradations of the vehicle down the road.

 

I'm pretty sure the weather seals around that part of the door are completely ruined now too. And the paint is flaking off as well. Just a matter of time before the road salt starts chewing through that bare metal.

[gvman3670]

Yeah, exposed metal will go to crap fast if you live in the frozen north. Road salt just sucks.

You should be able to find a door at a scrapyard, though. A bit of paint, swap the inner door panels and you're good to go. Sadly some never vehicles don't even have bolts in the door hinges. These are a bit more of a pain to fix.

[xthejester]

All that is way beyond my skill level.

 

I figure this is the sort of thing car insurance is for.

[LordJerle]

Snowboarding is awesome.

I miss doing it.