You know, it reminds me of the old houses I work on. They used proper joinery for door frames, and a hundred years later they're still solid. I see new builds with shortcuts, and the trim is already pulling away after one winter. That seasonal movement is no joke.

Oh man, that'll get you every time! I learned that lesson the hard way too, with a lot of cussing and a chewed-up wrench. For the future, a little dab of penetrating oil on the threads and a solid whack on the wrench handle with a rubber mallet usually breaks it free. Just remember, lefty-tighty on that old plug.

Three days sounds about right for that kind of hunt. I read a piece by an old repairman who said you should always check the wires that bend or get pinched first, like where they go through a chassis hole. He called it "chasing the stress points." It makes the job a bit less like looking for a needle in a haystack. That method saved me a ton of time on a vintage amplifier last year. The break was right where the harness turned a sharp corner against the frame.