Tag: Auto Repair

November 21, 2024 – Sometimes, Being a Can Do Really Sucks

November 21, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I have to vent for a minute. I have a garage for a reason. Not only should I be able to park a car in it which it was until the Mustang was sold, but I should also have a place to work on cars out of the weather. That I cannot do. Secretly, I can barely stand to go into the garage because it is so cluttered.

I have been needing to do the brakes on the pickup for a while. It was something I was planning on doing when the weather was nicer. You all know how my summer went and it didn’t get done. I mentioned to my wife that the needed to be done and she immediately helped me prioritize the job.

I should mention that this was not an emergent problem. One of the rotors was warped which caused a terrible vibration. If things are going well, like not metal on metal contact, I am in the habit of just changing the pads. It is faster and cheaper. But, something must have happened since I didn’t change the brakes that long ago (in milage). I have been putting up with it for several years but I drive fairly gingerly. Now that my son is the primary driver of the pickup it was time to do it.

My wife was at a girl’s weekend and I didn’t have to work. I was dreaming of all the things that I wish I was doing besides freezing my hands with cold metal. Worse than that, rain was in the forecast I had no garage. Plus, I was on the clock with only eight hours of daylight. I had a few tasks to do that day including adding the cargo carrier to the Navigator, replacing a taillight lens plus removing the canopy from the pickup.

I devised that I was not going to beat the weather so I had better set up a work space where I could get the job done. I took the time to setup a popup, organize the parts and tools and make my workspace as comfortable as possible. That included a bucket for a seat and the radio for the football game.

After about thirty minutes, the rain started coming down in buckets. As my weather luck was turning bad, so was the football game. It was a miserable time for shade tree mechanics and Beaver’s fans. The total job took me about four hours. I had to go back and forth to find my tools that my son has taken out of my tool box, find the right sockets and the proper tubing for the brake bleed.

A recent brake job at a tire store cost me $750. I was travelling for work and my wife was on a road trip with the kids so it was kind of an emergency. Mind you, I had just paid a mechanic for the same job about two months earlier and I was not happy in the least. I paid about $120 for parts for this job. And I got a $30 rebate to boot that I am waiting for.

Over the years, I think that I have made almost every mistake under the sun doing this job. This includes twice having the bolt holding the calipers on fall out. When that happens, the bracket bangs against the wheel making a heck of a racket and impossible to drive without feeling like major damage was about to happen.

I now know to use thread locker and torque the bolts to the right amount so it won’t happen again, I hope. Experience helps with expediency and proficiency. I think most people with the tools, the space and mechanical aptitude could do it too. I realize that is some major hurdles for some but why have all the stuff and not do it?

End Your Programming Routine: I am glad it is done and despite everything I very well may have saved time but definitely money. Even with bleeding the brakes it is not that difficult of a job. It was more that I just didn’t want to be out in the elements. I am convinced that I could probably do this in half the time if I didn’t have to spend time messing with the popup and setup. I was tired and sore and happy to be inside a warm, dry bed by the time it was over.

August 17, 2022 – Forget the Projects, There are Car Problems

August 17, 2022 /

Just because I haven’t posted about my project in the last two weeks, doesn’t mean I am not working on it. The siding is done, I am working on the rake board and that is about done so this is finally wrapped up. Check out YouTube for more on that.

My niece was having some issues with her car. She asked me to take a look at things. One was an obnoxious clicking noise (even when the car was off) and the other was a headlight that wasn’t working. She bought the actuator after watching some YouTube videos. I took a look at the headlight.

It turns out that there are two actuators in the glove box area. after swapping the closest one, it was still making the clicking noise. Fortunately, the second one was the exact same part, so I took the old one from the front and put it in the back. Problem solved. You can see from the picture that the culprit is broken teeth on the plastic gear inside the housing.

Supposedly, my nephew changed the headlight bulb a couple months ago. I suspected that the problem was bigger than the bulb. Well, it didn’t take long to identify the problem. One wire was broken and the connector was burned (and the bulb was ruined). The wiring harness was snaked through the headlight assembly. I was hoping that I could just purchase the piece that I needed without replacing the entire assembly.

After a trip to the parts store, they gave me the idea of simply splicing a new connector onto the existing wiring. The only problem was that the new connector was much bulkier than the original so I ended up cutting the plastic structure so I could fit the bulb and connector in the space properly.

The whole thing took about three hours. The first was messing with the actuators trying to determine the problem and how to get to it. Then it was two hours to get the things put back together and get replacement parts. Considering the scope of what needed to get done, I think the time was pretty reasonable and they are now fixed.

End Your Programming Routine: Admittedly, if I was a mechanic, I probably wouldn’t have approached the project in the same way. However, I didn’t do anything that I wouldn’t have done to my own car. Despite the fact that I had to do some modifications to make it work, I still believe that the work was quality and this should be a permanent fix.

May 8, 2020 – Ever driven with no headlights, in the dark?

May 8, 2020 /

Since the quarantine began we haven’t been out much. On occasion we have something that has to get done. In this case, we needed to get our exchange student to the airport at three AM. I was driving on the freeway and I thought to myself… “Wow, it seems the headlights are really dim. In fact, are they on?” So, I flipped the switch and the headlights came on again.

During that trip, it happened at least three different times. But, it wasn’t always both headlights. Sometimes it was one on either side of the vehicle. My first instinct was that it was an electrical problem. This Lincoln Navigator is a bit of a gremlin with electrical problems. There are what appears to be phantom errors with the parking sensors, check engine light, suspension monitor, etc. I check them with a code reader and reset and they seem to disappear.

Today’s headlight is a complicated and potentially expensive proposition. Not only are the bulbs expensive, but there are also ballasts and igniters, that is to say a bunch of electronics as part of the assembly. A big shout out to p38fln on f150online. The advice was that if both are going out within 2-5 minutes of startup, that it is likely the bulb. So, I ordered two new bulbs at $54/ea. The worst case scenario was that I replaced the bulbs for no reason, but they are ten years old at this point.

There are a number of good videos on YouTube on how to change the bulbs. It actually is pretty easy to access them. By far and away, the most difficult item is to remove and re-install the T-10 screws that hold the headlight in place. It is not a real accessible place and little screws tend to be difficult to start.

Start by removing the two 10mm bolts holding the assembly in. Once those are out, there is a tab on the left (or right depending on which light you are working on) that needs to be lifted. Pull the unit straight out.

With the assembly free, remove the three inserted light bulbs by twisting and pulling. Then remove the connection to the headlight by pressing the tab and pulling straight out. Now the assembly is out to remove the headlight.

Remove the rubber cover to the headlight. With at T-10 screwdriver, remove the two screw that hold the bulb. Pull the lamp out and disconnect the electrical connection. Finally, remove the metal clip at the base of the bulb and swap it onto the new bulb. Reverse the process to install.

I am happy to report that I have had no headlight outages since replacement. This is a limited data set and I have driven the vehicle three times since. But, it was happening every time the lights were on before I changed the bulb.

From this experience, I would recommend doing your research. I saw a lot of effort and cost expended by others when a bulb change was the solution. Replacing wear parts make sense when troubleshooting and repairing anyway. I dont know what a shop cost would have been, but I would guess several hundred dollars, plus the hassle.

March 31, 2020 – Junkyards as a resource

March 31, 2020 /

My rash of car issues seems to be continuing. Last weekend when I was pulling bushes out of the yard, the battery light came on the pickup. I wasn’t sure whether it was the battery, alternator, ground or some other electrical issue. The pick-up gets light duty these days, even though I have been driving it more due to recent other car problems. It is the other vehicle that we have that can carry us all at one time.

Since we are not going anywhere these days, I waited for more definitive signs of the problem. When I was moving brush on Sunday and it was clear that the battery was not going to make it. The voltage gauge was almost visibly going down. As it turned out, I got all out of the charge that I could and the pickup died at my friends property.

My friend charged it up for twenty minutes and the battery seemed to respond well. I barely made it the mile home, bucking and stuttering into the driveway. Sunday night, I gave the battery a full charge and started to diagnose the problem on Monday. I couldn’t really reach all of the terminals and test points on the alternator due to positioning, but I was reasonably sure the problem was in the alternator.

Suspect alternator

The last alternator I replaced was around $50 for a rebuilt unit. That was my expectation going into sourcing this one. I started seeing prices in the $150 range plus a $40 core charge and I reconsidered my approach. I wasn’t completely sure the alternator was the problem, I didn’t want to wait (or pay for speedy delivery) from RockAuto and I didn’t want to pay AutoZone $200. Maybe the junkyard was the answer?

It has been a while since I bought anything at a junkyard. In fact there are two here in this town and about 10 more locally. Part of my hesitation is I really don’t like to buy electrical components used, they are somewhat of a wear part and junkyards often don’t guarantee the viability of electrical components. Also, it is one of the businesses that get a fair amount of tire kickers, looky-loos and how to questions. My experience with the counter people have not been overly pleasant.

I found one locally, that I could have today. I got it for $30 and he gave me thirty days warranty with it. When I went to pick it up, he said “I’ve got brand new batteries for $40. You need to come back.” I thought, I do need to come back. My son’s Cougar needs a lot of things like a stereo, speakers, battery, etc. The counter guy talked my ear off for thirty minutes before fortunately another customer showed up and I was able to escape.

I wont claim that I made an inside connection. That takes time and consistency as a customer. But, it renewed my willingness to use junkyards as a resource. It also got me thinking about putting them higher on the list of places to check if I need something quickly. I got the alternator replaced on the pickup in about two hours and it was putting out 14.6V while running. A job complete with a happy ending.

By the way, I took the voltage regulator off and one of the contacts was completely worn out. I could have bought a new one for about $40, but I still would have had to take the alternator out to do it. The alternator I replaced looks to me like it was a rebuild or aftermarket because it wasn’t embossed as Motorcraft. I expect to get a few more years out of this repair.

March 17, 2020 – Coping with Failure

March 17, 2020 /

When I was in High School, I got the opportunity to work with my Grandfather. At the time, he told me that what he will teach is far more valuable than what I would get paid. The beauty of that situation is that as a seventeen year old, the pay was important but as I got older what I learned was incredibly valuable. Those were incredibly formative years in building my character and who I am now.

One of the phrases that he would frequently use is ‘The Lord hates a coward’. I think what that means is that you cannot be afraid to look into or start anything. I utter that phrase to myself sometimes when there is a task that I don’t want to do, seems like it will be hard or I am in the middle of something difficult.

I ran into that situation two weeks ago. My wife’s car started developing a noise that sounded like a fan hitting or a heat shield vibration. I am fairly early into the troubleshooting and diagnosis period of the problem but what I did notice is that the transmission was leaking, I figured that I would check that first. I found that the fluid was low, so I added one quart feeling like if the noise just started adding some would eliminate the problem until the leak was stopped (if that was the problem).

ATF fluid on the lip of the transmission pan

Adding two quarts did not eliminate the problem, but allowed me to drive the vehicle around and spend some time isolating the variables that cause the problem. I went ahead and ordered the parts to replace the transmission fluid gaskets and all thinking that I would do that anyway since it has been a few years.

Here is where it gets bad. The H pipe on the exhaust was in the way of the back bolts. I spent three days trying to get to that bolt, I tried everything that I could, including trying to remove the exhaust. I brought over knowledgeable and experienced people for opinions and help but didn’t get any further than I already was.

After spending three days, I threw in the towel last night. I got it all put back together in about two hours. But my ego was bruised. I was sure that if I had the right tools and the ‘not gonna quit’ attitude that I was going to eventually succeed. I suppose that if I was made of money, I probably would have cut the exhaust off and replaced it with new. So, it is not like it was impossible but I don’t want to throw good money after bad considering that this may not be the problem.

Where I am at now is how can I move forward from the funk of failure? I guess when you try to add perspective Navy SEALs get killed in the line of duty or NFL ball carriers still get tackled and have negative yard games. So, the best of the best have bad days and fail why cant the average person?

One helpful skill to have in this situation is knowing when to quit. That is something that I struggle with. It has it plusses and minuses. One idea that I heard about that is failure develops that instinct better, like in business. Or said differently, without failure there is no success. Not having a lot of what I would consider failure in my life (largely from never giving up) when I do face it, it is difficult to reconcile and accept.

So, I have made an appointment with a mechanic. Hopefully, all the work I have done will be helpful to a quicker diagnosis and I certainly have all the parts. I will be spending some time trying to internalize this and learn from it. I don’t think that it would stop me from trying to do something like this again, but it may prevent me from spending three days at it. If some epiphany happens, I will write about it. For now, on to something more productive.