Sorry for getting to this so late…
Haven’t been feeling very well…
Saturday… did six cars. First was the 2007 Toyota Tacoma that wouldn’t start. It was in the parking lot of the Indian motorcycle dealership. I went over and diagnosed it as having a bad fuel pump. I didn’t have time to do the job today, and that didn’t really matter anyway because the decently priced part was something that would need to be ordered in from another state, as the only ones that were available locally were a lot more expensive. That and the parking lot was made out of asphalt, and gasoline and asphalt don’t mix. Certainly, I might have been able to do the whole job without spilling any gas, but… yeah.
Second car was a 2011 Chevy equinox, I think. I don’t remember for sure. AutoZone had given him my phone number, and he was an older gentleman who couldn’t text and fill out the form, so I just drove over to his house and filled everything out myself after I left without remembering exactly the details about the car. Anyway, he had to check engine light, but he couldn’t get it checked because his OBD2 reader wasn’t reading properly. So I went over there, found that he had a blown fuse for the body control module or something like that, replaced that and a couple other fuses that were having some issues, read this check engine code and found that it was most likely something that was going to need either reprogramming or replacement of the car’s computer. So I explained everything to them and got them set up on their way. They were a very old couple, so I gave them a decent little discount and headed out to job number three.
Job number three was The 2010 Toyota venza from the other day that needed front brakes because the rotors were warped. So I got that job taken care of for him.
If I haven’t mentioned it before, don’t ever have your fluids topped off when you go have your car serviced.
The only fluids that go into your car that should be low, ever, are windshield washer fluid and gasoline/diesel.
The rest shouldn’t get used up. If they do, there is a problem. The end.
You don’t just top it off: you figure out and take care of the problem.
And with brake fluid, you use the level of brake fluid in the master cylinder reservoir as an indicator of your brake pad situation. If the fluid is low, But your brakes work just fine, then it means that your brake pads are low, and you’re probably going to need your brake pads replaced soon.
It’s a really annoying pain in the butt when people top off their brake fluid because that means that I have to go suck brake fluid out of the system because there’s too much in the system when I do a brake job. And when my little turkey baster bubble thingy isn’t working properly or half of it is missing (like on Saturday), I end up having to suck it out with a hose because I don’t have anything else to get it out with.
And then I am very end up with brake fluid in my mouth, and if you’ve ever had brake fluid in your mouth, it makes your mouth go numb.
Fun fun fun. 🙃
Not to mention probably being really bad for you. 😅
Of course I try and rinse it out as best I can with water, but… anyway… Don’t pay for the fluids to be topped off.
It’s a waste of money. It masks problems. And it causes problems.
If windshield washer fluid is low, yeah, go ahead and fill it up. If gas is low, go ahead and fill it up 🙃.
If brake fluid looks low, but your brakes work just fine, then have your brake pads checked for thickness. You probably need new brake pads.
If your air conditioning has slowly gotten warmer and warmer over the course of a couple years, And you find the refrigerant level low, than go ahead and fill it. If your AC suddenly got a lot worse over a short period of time, And you find the refrigerant level low, find the leak, fix it, and refill the system.
If your transmission fluid, engine oil, coolant, gear oil, or power steering fluid is low, then you probably have a leak somewhere or somebody didn’t do a service properly. If those systems are topped off, then you need to know that they were topped off, and then you need to watch the fluid levels like a hawk. If they don’t go down again, then someone didn’t service your vehicle properly, and you’re good to go. If they go down again, then you have leaks that need to be found and fixed.
There you go. You probably already knew that, but if you didn’t, then hopefully that’s helpful.
Car number four was a 2018 Honda Accord that he had stripped out the screws on his mass air flow sensor. He had a check engine code, and he was guessing that the mass air flow sensor needed to be replaced.
Well, I got there, used my grinder to grind flat head slots in the screws that were rounded off, and got the sensor out for him. Then I found two screws that he could use to replace the sensor with temporarily, and then I read his check engine code.
He almost certainly didn’t need a new mass air flow sensor. He had a code for a rich mixture in his system, which could be a mass air flow sensor issue, But he also had a misfire on the cylinder one, and in that particular situation, the most common cause of a misfire on cylinder one for a 2018 Honda Accord with that engine was having a stuck open fuel injector. So I pulled his engine oil dipstick, smelled the oil, and it smelled a bit like gasoline to me, which was an indicator of the stuck open fuel injector. So instead of putting in the mass air flow sensor that he had bought, I put the old one back in, and directed him to tow his car to a shop to get the oil changed and the injector replaced (replacing the injectors on those is a lot bigger of a job because, well, they make everything a heck of a lot more complicated nowadays.
I’m looking forward to the simplicity of electric cars, though I won’t ever work on them.
Car number 5 was a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee that had a burned up headlight connector. So I went over, cut out the old connector, spliced in a new one, and also let her know that the headlight bulb, though functional, was probably not best to use, as it was partially melted inside. So I sent her over to AutoZone, where they will replace the bulb for free for you if you buy it from them. At least, on cars where it’s not a pain in the butt.
Car number six was a 2020 Hyundai Tucson that she wanted a tow hitch assembly installed on. I’m usually a bit nervous about these because oftentimes, the tow hitches the people buy don’t fit properly, and I end up having to jerry rig something to make it work or just tell the customer that they need to get a different tow hitch.
Makes for uncomfortable situations because I always hate to charge a customer when I can’t do the job because they have the wrong part, but you drive all the way out there, you try start to do the job, etc etc, and you lose all that time, but they don’t feel like they got any benefit, but it was because of the part they bought and not your fault, but it’s still an uncomfortable situation.
Anyway, gratefully, this was probably the easiest tow hitch that I’ve ever installed, so 🥳.
From there, I was supposed to go replace a radiator in an old Ford truck, but they said Monday would be better for them, so we rescheduled for Monday. That was nice because I was able to finish working at like 4:30 or something after having finished six cars.
I haven’t mentioned it before, but I injured my Achilles tendon last Sunday I think it was? Looks like pretty classic tendonitis. There’s the little lump on the back of my Achilles tendon, and it’s tender.
(sigh)
My left shoulder seems to be improving a bit, so maybe we can just switch the one out for the other?
My stomach issues are as bad as ever. I can’t even partially recline at night without the stomach acid just coming right back up and burning my esophagus.
Guess it’s time to see a specialist.
Ugh.
I pretty much wasted time the rest of the night. I’m sliding a little bit emotionally. Just… overwhelmed all the time.
Love and hugs. 😊
Lift the World
~ stephen
Lift the World 