Evil Radiator Bypass Hose

I was on the way to work today (on the bus, about a 10 minute walk from home at that point), when Prince E phoned me and said he needed my help fixing the car. Specifically he needed me to bring him some supplies to help with the repair. Keep in mind his car was stranded many miles from our home. I went back home, gathered the supplies, and took a cab out to him. Since I had no idea how long the repair would take, I didn't want to get the I-go car, since they charge by the hour. When I arrived, he had determined that the hose that he had purchased the night before from Murray's was not going work. So began what I like to call the "Auto Parts Store Trail of Tears."

We started walking. We stopped at a tire shop/repair shop. It was 7:35. The store had opened at 7:30. We had to wait for someone to help us. Then he was rude. He said they didn't have the part we needed, which was fine, but if he starts his day that cranky I hate to see what he is like by the afternoon.

Then we went to Midas. They didn't have the part either, but the man who helped us there was very friendly. He told us what kind of hose we needed and suggested we check at Autozone. That was where we were headed, but had stopped at the two shops on the way, because we assumed the Autozone wasn't open that early.

When we arrived at Autozone, we were happy to find that it was already open. I thought it was very interesting that the two people that were working there were both female. Usually the testosterone is oozing out of a store like that. The woman that waited on us was very helpful and, although they didn't have the exact part we needed (a radiator bypass hose for a '95 Honda Civic), she let us look through the rows of hoses that they did have and we found something that was almost an exact replica. We bought it, but decided to go to one more store to see if they had the exact hose that we needed.

The other store, a Pepboys, was another two mile walk. Did I mention it was the hottest day of the year thus far? (about 80). We were tired and hot by the time we reached the last store. They had the part, so they said, but it actually looked less like the hose we were replacing than the hose we bought at the Autozone did. We bought it anyway, after asking about the return policy.

After lunch (it was 9:30am at this point), we began the walk back to the car (about 3.5 miles). Upon returning to the car, Prince E began the replacement. I sat around bored, except when I got to hold the clamp. Fun! He managed to get the hose replaced (using the first hose we bought today).

Below is the broken hose, in all its evilness.





After the repair, we went to test drive the Honda Fit. I am totally getting one, but probably not until the fall.