Breezy Maintenance
I would like to apologize for not having a Taxi Tale last month.
Having said that, I blame you, my Breezy Riders. It’s like all of a
sudden you all grew up and are acting your age ... I don’t like it!
I had Rob and a group of bachelorettes on board and one of them
peed on Rob. He reminded me that has already happened and
been written.
It’s been a long summer and I have not seen most of you out
and about, except when I’m your designated driver. Well, there is
a really good reason for that. I have been spending most of my
time and money keeping the fleet rolling. Maintenance Monday
has turned into all day, every day.
As a lot of you know, I have not been willing to take the bus off
island the last few months. Every time I would cross the Lazaretto
Bridge with customers aboard, the ole bus would start cutting out
and surging. Very embarrassing and very bad customer service.
It’s bad enough to have problems on the island, but let’s face it,
you can walk to most places when necessary.
I have changed out every sensor and electrical part that can be
changed on the bus. Since I was told by several mechanics, I went
ahead and changed the fuel pump. Not an easy job. You have to
drop the gas tank to get the pump out. I purchased such part
and drove to Garden City to pick it up. Keep in mind the bus was
running and would start before changing the pump. It took right
around four hours to do the repair, and as usual, I was very positive
this would solve my issues. Guess what? The damn thing would
not start. I got my trusty multi-meter out to check my wiring at the
pump and noticed the wires were cut and twisted together inside
the wire harness. Mother Father Sunny Beach! Are you kidding
me? I called the parts store and they recognized my voice and I
explained the problem with the new pump. I was told they would
have one at the store before lunch time. Because I had just done
this job once, I was able to drop the tank and install the new, new
fuel pump in 51 minutes. That is faster than most Nascar crews.
Truth is, I don’t think most Nascar crews have worked on cars as
much as I have the last two years.
Guess what? Yeah, that’s right, the fuel pump was not the problem.
There goes another wasted day and $250 I didn’t need to spend.
How about a new computer? Why not. I was able to get this part
at a very reasonable price, thanks to a friend of mine. Problem
solved? NO! I have changed everything possible at this point. I
32 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | SEPT 2018
By Ron Goralczyk
found some wires that had been shorting out on the exhaust, I
replaced the wiring and guess what? That was the problem. I did
a test run and the ole bus seemed as good as new … until I
got home and shut the motor off. Guess what? It wouldn’t shut
off. Unreal. When I rewired it, I had wired it exactly the way it
was. Turns out this one extra wire had been added to replace the
original wire. Long story short, I have finally unclenched when
driving the bus.
On a sad note I must tell you the Pink car has expired. It had
over-heated and I had to do some extensive work on the top part
of the motor. I broke a bolt so a ten minute job turned into a 4
hour job. Not my first broken bolt. I had to use my torch to heat
what was left of the bolt. Let me just say that liquid wrench is
very flammable. As soon as I put the flame to the bolt, most of the
engine was a nice fire. Honestly, I asked myself should we let it
burn? No! I just replaced the exhaust system and four new tires.
Let me tell you that me blowing on the flames only made them
bigger. I sprayed a little water on it and the fire was extinguished.
I went ahead with the repair and went to start it up and the engine
spun a half turn and locked up. Biggest problem was that was one
of two cars that the a/c worked. Between the heat and the rain,
you really can’t drive a car without a/c. Problem with a/c is I have
no experience on such repairs. Never stopped me before.
I stayed up after my Saturday night shift and went to the junk
yard to get an a/c compressor. I returned back to the island and
started my repair. I needed an extra part that was on the Pink car,
so I decided to remove it and use it on the car I was working on.
It was hot and I had been up going on 24 hours. Let’s just say
my judgement may have been a little screwed. I was pulling a
hose off, not knowing the amount of pressure it was under, until
it broke loose with a huge explosion spraying all its contents into
my face. My right eye to be specific. The pressure knocked me off
my feet and I thought to myself, as I was falling to the ground, that
this is really bad. Leigh was in the house when it happened. She
heard the explosion and was outside immediately. She found me
on my knees with my hands covering my face, green fluid all over
me. She came to my rescue. I was extremely shaken. I don’t like
to show fear as not to upset her. Fortunately, I’m okay. I learned
enough to get the air working on the car.
Happy Labor Day, remember to tip your servers and bartenders.
Clean up after yourself and GO BREEZY!!!!!