Getting It Right... Eventually

Few things in life are as satisfying as being able to cross a long-standing project off your personal to-do list. Everyone on this planet has a list of things they want to get done around their home but the universe has an annoying way of stopping us from getting to it, either through lack of time and money or simply by giving us a more pressing (and expensive) task to get to first. Finally have time to repair those loose bricks on your front steps? Surprise, your washing machine hoses just broke. That is why when we eventually get around to those long-standing tasks there is a great mix of relief and fulfillment knowing that you finally tackled something you had been telling yourself you would get to "next week". A couple months ago I got to experience this when I finally took apart the rear door of my truck and fixed the inner latch release, a project which had been staring me in the face for a couple of years and didn't take nearly as much time and effort as I thought it would when I put it off time and time again. It was one of those moments in which you realize you didn't have to put up with something being off for that long and you kind of feel like an idiot for allowing it to linger but at the same time it doesn't lessen the fact you finally did it. Every time I opened that rear hatch after that day I had a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. Do you know what was not nearly as satisfying? Having to do that same task again.

From the second I put the covering back on my rear hatch door I kind of had the feeling I was working on borrowed time. After all the part which had broken (connecting the actual latch to the locking mechanism) was small and oddly-shaped. Trying to order one through Ford didn't work because I couldn't locate a part number on the flimsy piece of plastic and when I finally figured it out they wanted me to buy an entirely new locking mechanism for roughly 300 times the amount it should cost to replace the only thing which was actually broken. That left me with trying to rig up a system which would work not as well as original but good enough to get the job done. By using a standard hook-and-eye as well as a couple of nuts and a slide-on clip I knew I had the "work" part down, but had lingering doubts about the "getting the job done" aspect, at least in the long-term. My initial calculations told me I only had about 40 pulls before the latch broke again and when I saw the clip lying on my bumper (I also discovered that in all the time I hadn't opened it the underside of the door had developed quite a rust issue) the very next day I figured I would probably be closer to 25. Not sure how many pulls I actually was able to do but last month I could hardly act surprised as I went to open the door to get something out of the back (because this kind of thing only happens when the there is something in the truck which needs to come out) and the hatch was flapping in the breeze, not connected to anything.

The good news is that after I do something once that is more than enough experience to consider myself an expert in my brain and thus I didn't let this problem linger around for another couple of years. Instead I broke out the tools I knew I would need on Saturday and had the rear hatch open in just a few minutes. The biggest issue was trying to find a nut that would fit on the end of the hook-and-eye. I had a drawer full of candidates to choose from but none of them were a particularly good fit. In addition to that I was also dealing with the issue of trying to squeeze my above-average sized hand into the small door opening to test all these nuts on the bolt because I certainly wasn't about to undo the half the contraption which had held together nicely. It would have made finding a match easier but also doubled my workload trying to put it back together. This is the same issue I had run into last time and what was ultimately caused me to finally say screw it and just use a slide-clip. But if there is a benefit to having to do something a second time it is that all the steps leading up to the problem step seem to fly right on by and thus you have more energy, time and patience to attack that problem step. Unfortunately, for as wonderful as energy, time and patience are they can't change the laws of physics and make a nut which is the wrong size fit.

After trying almost every nut in the drawer (as with most junk drawers there were plenty of the size I didn't need) I eventually found one which would go on the end as long as I put in the requisite amount of forcing, grunting and swearing. It is not on as far as I would like it, but it is on. Also, instead of getting annoyed that I still never found the perfect size for what I was trying to do, I am going to comfort myself in the knowledge that if it took all this force simply to make the nut go on this small amount, it will take a tremendous amount of energy to get it to fall off as well. Thus, I think it will last slightly longer than my last repair job, though I admit that is a low bar. After aiming for 25 last time I am pretty confident this latest repair will last closer to my original guess of 40. And while I honestly think the new solution will work I am still being cautious. Basically my plan is to not put anything in the back of my SUV unless it can also fit through the window, which can also open and has never stopped working. Also if the day ever comes when I do need to put something significantly larger in the back I will make sure I bring all the tools I know I need to force the back hatch open with me. But I also need to remember that the rules of baseball still apply. This latch has already broken twice so a third would mean it is time to finally admit defeat. If that day ever comes I think I'll just re-classify by SUV as a four-door sedan and be done with it.