h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I finished two jobs at work today, the first was resealing the rear timing chain cover in a '96 Maxima. The latter was finishing reassembling my Camaro from the heater core incident.

It took a while, but the Camaro is done. The heater core is in place, is not leaking, and all the interior is back together. The speaker wires are back in place and the glovebox is no longer sitting behind the passenger seat. Funny thing is I have about a half a dozen screws and assorted brackets left over. I have no idea where they came from.

The Maxima was a longer job. I'm doing it on warranty so it only pays 11.9 hours. So far I have about 16 hours in it. I finished disassembling the front of the motor, resealed everything, and put it all back together. Many, many bolts, brackets and components. I got done and everything was in its place. I had NO bolts left over. This is why I prefer working on imports. Everything is simple and has a purpose. You don't end up having to dispose of incriminating parts.

HOWEVER! I finished putting the Max back together and started it. A little rattling is normal as the chain tensioners pump back up. After 15 minutes at idle and 20 minutes at 2000rpm it was still rattling. I ran it at 5000rpm for another minute. I took it on a test drive down the highway and back. The damn thing still rattles! I began disassembling it again. I had trouble with one of the tensioners, so I think it may be stuck down. Or I might have left one of the chain guides loose - I can't remember if I tightened it or not.

Mothers, don't let your sons grow up to be mechanics! The pay isn't worth the stress. Hell, it's barely worth the time involved.