Sunday, January 25, 2009

More memories

OK. So I got to thinking (as I was laying under the truck) that one more thing that Dad definitely passed on to me is the ability to know what I am capable of fixing on the vehicles and what I am not. Saved myself probably $300 or so this week. We were riding to work the other day and noticed a bit of a shutter in Pam's car just as I got to my office. It was a cold morning so I did not think much of it other than to file it away and be on the lookout for other instances of the same. Less than 3 minutes later, Pam calls me and says the car is running real rough (aka, another instance . . . . ) and the "Check engine" light came on. So that evening, she drove it to Kwik Lube and I told her to just get them to plug in their little handheld computer and see what the codes were. As I suspected, he said that cylinder #4 was misfiring and it needed a tune-up ($224 worth). I called the parts house and the plugs and wires were only about $32. I bought them the next day at lunch and in less than 15 minutes had changed the plugs and wires and the car now runs fine. I also needed brake pads on the front of the truck. $20 and about an hour of work later and that one is done as well. Had I never watched and handed wrenches to Dad, I would have never gotten the pads back on because I would have had no idea how to get the calipers receded.

Anyway, watching and "Helping" (I am sure that I was very little of the latter) kept me from spending a bunch of money that I didn't need to spend and also doing without both vehicles for about a day each. Thanks, Dad!

4 comments:

  1. Welcome aboard. Another view point. I'm sure a lot of things looked different from your vantage point.
    unclewesty

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  2. I don't do car stuff. It cost to much to repair my repair ;~)
    But I will tackle anything else. If the dryer won't dry taking it apart and puttin it back together just might do the trick.

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  3. There's that resourcefulness again...

    I know how to do a few things, but mostly I know how things sound.

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  4. Hey I have a have a blogspot now. I am not sue of the url. Nan Witham or nanettewitham ???

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