But at age 16, it was the only car I could afford. It taught me how to replace water pumps and alternators and starters and brake pads and all the little things that aren't that hard to replace if you know what you're looking for and can remember how to put the pieces back the same way they came out. It taught me how to seal a leaky radiator and to use a Coke can to cover a hole in the muffler. But that was years ago. Today, there is no reason for me to attack my truck with a socket wrench.
Rumble turns to grind The rattle started innocuously enough, but then they always do.
A low rumble under the hood. It was easy to ignore at first. Just turn up the radio. That worked for a few hundred miles, until something gave way somewhere along Cool Spring Street. The rattle became a grinding noise that could be heard about a mile away.