Got up about 3:30 this morning after going to bed at… 6:30 ish? So the all nighter seems to have helped a bit. Was a tough morning, down, discouraged, but I finally got out to work around 9:45, I think.
I really really didn’t want to work, but I had a bunch of cars on the schedule, so I got myself out again. Going out to work today when I really really didn’t want to reinforces the thought I mentioned the other night about how having a job can be a bonus for keeping you going and helping to stave off the blues. There’s just that… responsibility. I’ve made commitments. I don’t want to break them, so I go out despite really not wanting to.
And being out working helps get the brain to focus on a variety of things. It reduces the risk of dwelling on anything in particular.
Four cars today. Finally got the radiator and radiator fan done on the 1994 Accord that I tried to do right before Christmas but had the wrong parts for both out of the box. That one didn’t go great, but it wasn’t awful either–halfway sideways. Second car was a supposed oil leak, and that’s what it seemed to be when I got there because they only had 2 1/2 quarts of oil in a 7-quart system. 😶
But after filling the system and looking all around the engine bay… valve cover, head, cooling lines… everywhere. There… wasn’t an oil leak.
Right… 2 1/2 quarts out of 7 but no oil leak?
Nope.
I had the customer take the truck for a test drive, and he backed out but couldn’t turn the steering wheel, there hadn’t been any noise at all from the power steering system with the engine running, and though I briefly wondered if the oil I saw was power steering fluid, it didn’t smell like it, so I didn’t follow up the thought. But as soon as he said he couldn’t turn the steering wheel… that answered a lot of questions. He pulled back in, and the reservoir was completely dry, so I put some fluid in, and as soon as he fired it up, power steering fluid just poured out.
Weird problem. A main hard line somehow got a hole in it. 😶 I still don’t have a clue how. No rust. How does a hard line just develop a hole without rust?
Anyway, I showed them what needed to be fixed, told them it was a bigger job than I do (would be the whole steering rack). But they could DIY it buy buying just the rack’s hard line from the junk yard and putting it on themselves. Not easy, but would probably save them a grand.
Third car had a window that wouldn’t roll up. The regulator had busted. Replaced it, but just as the last one that I replaced, the motor was super weak going back up. Erg. Same thing happened on the last one. I won’t be using that brand again if I can help it.
Last car was a misfire that turned out to be really hard to diagnose. Started as a misfire on cylinders 4 and 5, but when I got there, it was a p0300. And then cylinders 2 and 3 were added, as well as a p1399 code. Realistically, that means you can rule out spark plugs, coil packs, and injectors–super super unlikely that they go out as a group. Pretty much unheard of. There weren’t any vacuum leaks, so it wasn’t that. Wouldn’t be head gasket issues because both heads had misfires, and that would be crazy unlikely to have both gaskets blow, let a lone at the same time. Could be a clogged EGR, but… I pulled it off, and it wasn’t restricted at all that I could see. So… the last one, which is a common problem with these Acura MDXs is valves tightening up, so that was my tentative diagnosis. There are other possibilities still, but that’s the most likely at this point. I sent them to my friend Miguel’s shop for the repair, as I don’t do valve adjustments.
Anyway, chatted with Miguel for a while. It’s 10:00 p.m. now. Need to go to bed. Gonna snow tomorrow. Have some cars on the schedule, but might postpone those with the weather. We’ll see.
Time for bed. Rough morning, better afternoon.
Onward.
Lift the World 