My love-hate relationship.

My first blog. Rawr.

I have a love-hate relationship with my car. This is lottery of emotion is usually determined within 30 seconds after I start it up and drive. Once in a while, it's a "man, it pulls nicely today and it's running smooth." This is usually when it's cold out, so it doesn't happen for 8-9 months out of the year. Unfortunately, most of the time, all the small things that are wrong with it add together to annoy the hell out of me, which immediately warrants a hard pull to help me keep my sanity.

So for my first entry I'd like to compile a list off the top of my head of all the things that are wrong with my car.
1. Pre-owned modded-and-returned-to-stock-form vehicle. And so, even after 3 years of ownership, I'm still constantly finding surprises. These surprises are rarely nice and frequently involve delaying my ability to perform a modification or even basic maintenance.
2.Huge exhaust leak between downpipe and catback which will require me to break the frozen bolts (yes I've tried) somehow, resurface the flanges, re-gasket, and gasket seal.
3. Blown rear shocks - Tokico Illuminas with lifetime warranty. Now this sounds easy if not for the fact that I need to send in this pair to get new ones, a process which takes about a month. This car is my DD.
4. Hacked up interior which leaves warped panels that leave huge gaps, or don't even line up at all.
5. Broken shifter that's held together by CARDBOARD.
6. Turbo that burns oil.
7. Whiny fuel pump. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that I know that I'm possibly running lean every time the pitch drops. What makes it even worse is that I have a rewire kit sitting in the passenger seat... but no time to install it.
8. Inner and Outer tie rods. They slap every time I go over a bump. Do you have any idea how much of a bitch they are to change?
9. Fading paint. My car looks like a leper. If you stand 20 ft. back and squint your eyes, it looks normal. Good thing I'm asian and my eyes are naturally squinty. So all I have to do is stand 20 ft. back.
10. IC pipes are wrapped in SWEATPANTS and TIN FOIL because I'm too damn poor to afford real insulation material.
11. Front bumper cover that's hacked up and supported by my front mount only (no bumper). I will regret this the day a shopping cart rolls into the front of my car and my insurance company claims total loss.
12. Peeling headliner on the sliding partition for the sunroof. One day, I look up and see it and crusty glue and dust FALLS INTO MY EYE.
13. Slow. I guess being smart and getting all the proper supporting mods before a monster turbo means my car is still reasonably mechanically sound. However, this also means that my gf's nephew is faster than me on his power wheels.
14. Coolant overflow bottle is homeless due to FMIC install. This nomadic lifestyle doesn't suit an engine bay well.
15. Creaks. Rattles. Squeals. Bangs. Where do they come from? If some people have voices in their heads, is it possible I have car sounds?

One might ask: "Mike... why don't you get off your lazy ass and fix your car?" I'm a medical graduate student on rotations. I pay full graduate tuition. I don't have time or money. But, I will not give in. This is my passion. The days that my car runs perfectly makes it all worth it. The times that I do a hard pull and I get all excited and giddy like a little kid makes never want to give this up.

I need to graduate.