Revenge of the Squirrels!

The other day the Neighborhood News gardening columnist, Miss Victoria Lyons, came in to have new shocks installed on her gardening vehicle – okay it was really a Chevy pick-up. We were ‘shocked’ when she came back the very next day. Ever since replacing the shocks the truck had made a strange bumping noise from the right front tire. We were all surprised when we found a blanket wrapped up all around the wheel and brake rotor. After cutting away the blanket, the noise was gone. Victoria’s husband, whom you may affectionately know as the “Bear”, is sure that the squirrels had done this in revenge for his trap and release program against squirrels and chipmunks. Victoria had seen this same blanket in her garage recently.

This event, which truly happened this week, caused us to begin thinking of other funny situations that we see in the automotive repair business. Having already brought up squirrels, I will tell you of some other things that squirrels really do to cars. We have had several customers come in because bits and pieces of something are blowing out of their AC vents, or the AC is making a terrible racket. We have subsequently found large quantities of dry dog food lying up against the AC fan. Apparently, in the colder months, squirrels like to nest on the engine as it cools down over night. If people store pet food in the garage, the squirrels will store it up like acorns. But they store it in the car in places like the AC system. Squirrels also will chew the wiring harness under the hood, causing hundreds of dollars of damage.

We also have people come in complaining of very scary noises or for strong burning plastic odors, only to find that a plastic shopping bag has gotten caught underneath the car somewhere. Remove the plastic bag and the problem is solved! Those long strips of truck tire littering the highway can cause damage underneath the car. These strips, sometimes called ‘gator backs’ because they resemble an alligator, will damage oil pans, or fuel filters, or charcoal canisters for the emissions system. Those stories aren’t funny, because the driver was very scared, and the repairs can be expensive.

Several times a year a car will be towed in because someone put diesel fuel in the gasoline tank. This usually happens because they were talking on the cell phone, or were very pre-occupied with other serious matters. Some gas stations will have a pump with two nozzles on it. One nozzle is for gasoline and the other nozzle is for diesel fuel. If you aren’t paying close attention, you may grab the wrong one. Often times the people comment that they had wondered why the nozzle didn’t fit like it usually does, but they almost always swear us to secrecy – they dread the thought that someone would learn of what they had done.

We have seen cars towed in that wouldn’t start. The customer is sure that they need a starter because the battery had just been replaced and the car still won’t start. Upon investigating we find that the protective plastic caps on the posts of the battery had not been removed. Other times the battery cables have not been properly tightened down. And of course we have seen cars towed in because they were simply out of gas!

Brian Klaubert has written for the Neighborhood News for four years, and owns Christian Brothers Automotive – Hamilton Mill on Braselton Hwy in Dacula. They have been voted Best of Gwinnett in both the Gwinnett Daily Post and Gwinnett Magazine.