homeless man to the rescue
 

So I'm driving in a monsoon and I run over this flooded area, rips something loose underneath! Car is making a crazy sound. I pull over in a not so great area on a busy highway in downtown newark. Exhaust cover is hanging and twisted facing the wrong way. Call tow truck and they tell me 2 hour wait! Then a homeless guy starts knocking on my window! I try to wave him off but he gets under the car! He runs off and comes back with a jack! Starts raising car with me still inside!so I call the police figuring they should be here anyway to direct traffick away from me. Homeless guy taps on my window holding the cover. I give him $20 bucks and he runs off.

part?
 

By the way what is this part exactly?

I know what you mean by monsoon.... I was in Edgewater driving home from the supermarket in torrential rains this evening. Many of the roads were flooded. Luckily, I was in my A4 Quattro instead of the Boxster.

I think the part you are posting is item number 6 here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/PartsLookup/HTML/986_USA_KATALOG/501-01-Frame3.htm

It's listed as a rear axle bracket.

That's bizarre, but at least he was well intentioned. Why would a homeless guy be lugging around a jack? :cheers:

THAT, sir, made me laugh. Thanks.

That's not a "homeless" guy........just a rather good entrepreneur! :)

Obviously, to make $20! :)

He may have been a layed off homeless auto mechanic. Or not homeless at all, just looked that way. What street in Newark was this?

He probably had the jack since he was using it to steal rims off of other cars.

Did you notice your gas indicator going down while he was under the car?

This happened on the mccarter highway just as soon as you enter newark. The guy didn't have the jack when he first spotted me think he ran across the street to a nearby gas station and returned after 10 minutes with jack. Makes me think he's changed a flat tire or two for some dope money. I had a brief stint in federal law enforcement where I dealt with junkie informants almost daily. This guy was definitely a basehead. Once I have him the money he ran right off very deliberately in a certain direction. I was hesitant to even roll down the window to give him the money. I give the man an A for deteremination though.
The part is made in France oddly enough serial number is 98633118400.

Oh yeah and my gas tank is still full.

When I was in college I had my car (a 944) break down on the way to work by a shelter where a bunch of homeless guys were waiting to go in. A few of them came over and helped me push my car out of the way. :)

Back in the day, if you were stranded in Newark, it was all over.

Glad this turned out OK.
:)