Oh woe is me...

OK I'm really not feeling sorry for myself, actually I was really quite surprised with my reaction today.

I decided to get up early, well early for the weekend...6:30...which didn't quite happen. Well it did happen, then I went to the bathroom, then I looked at the warm bed...then I woke again at 8:30... but come on it was a Saturday!
 None the less, I eventually got out of bed and made my way to the coffee maker... I wonder if the kids realize how much closer they would be to a car at 16 if they just had coffee made for Dad in the morning...yet I digress once again...

 Along the same vein as the pantry(yes it is finished:and a beaut if I may say so myself). Michelle expressed a desire to have drawers in the island of the kitchen, not a surprise really, we've been talking about it for 10 years now, since we built the house.

So I thought I would get up and snap some drawers off before Michelle got out of bed... it would have worked if I had gotten up at 6:30...but by 10:30 I was done, and by 11:30 the drawers were mounted.
 With a little help from my friends....or is that: help from my little friends! Although I am confident I could have measured and mounted the brackets without the drawers in place, it seemed so much easier to do if they were all together and I was just a little smaller  to crawl in and drill the holes! Thanks Jeff!
 

 After a regular trip to the dump, etc etc... it was 3pm and it was looking dark outside...sure enough the forecast is for 6-8" of snow over the next 24 hrs! Thanks be to Fillmore's shelter we were high and dry... and relatively warm!
 

 So the plan was to mount the diff to the leaf springs...easy right?...I mean I measured everything already...(sicker, snicker!!)
Things at first glace looked OK, you can see the reconditioned shock absorber mounted  in place. The U-bolts look great, everything lines up!...but then...

 When I tried to tap the inside U-bolt into place....she stopped...dead...like an ankylosed tooth(sorry dental reference ). The connector arm to the shock was hitting on the mounting plate for the shaft to the brake. CRAP!!! how did this happen????? I measured again and again!

 Looking at a previously unpublished photo...everything works...but Uh Oh... click on the photo above and look where I have the U bolt with the connector arm.

 Now look at the pre-removal photo, the connector arm is on the inside anterior surface in the diff...I had it in the posterior lateral position. Crap, I take numerous photos not only to blog, but to record where we were, and were we are going... but they don't do a dam bit of good if I don't reference them!

I  had about 10 inches of space to take a look at how far out I was, all I could do is take a blind photo and then look at what I had. I panicked when I saw this! But cooler heads prevail...the U-bolt is supposed to be snug against the mounting bracket. Thankfully the head of the connector arm is below the bracket, so I am only about 1/4-3/8" out. I have enough lateral flange on the bracket that I can grind some away, I'll be tight against the head of the bolt but I should be OK.


Nothing is easy, if it was were would be the fun...