Big Engine Repair

Tonight was a challenge with our '98 Safari van. The misses said it was starting poorly. And it sounded like a weak battery...not much oomph.   Well...it is a Walmart battery...7 years old.

So I decide to change it myself...after getting a new one at the local NAPA. 

ROFL  I've got sore and bleeding knuckles and almost got my mouth washed out with soap.  And...the new battery is still not installed.  Wow.  My old Dakota is the only battery that is easy to change.

(Rounded bolt-head here, rusted tight bolt there. Funny thing is....the parts that are easy to get to are also in great shape; clean, no rust, et al.)

When I got off work yesterday, I noticed my wife's van still in her workplace parking lot. I had hope that she was working a full day for a change. Nope. Wouldn't start..click...click.

My mechanic done good for working it in with their scheduled jobs. It now has a new starter.

I haven't double-checked online for pricing. They get their parts at the only parts store in town..NAPA...which is just usually very expensive.  But they said our Safari has a unique starter..about half the size of a normal starter at twice the normal cost.  (And with special reduction gears or some such to let it do it's job.)

The local NAPA...I have no idea. It's not my favorite place. I'm not sure if it's NAPA in general, or just our local NAPA.  It does seem to take local businesses a long time to catch up to things outsiders offer.

I just think of it as that Swiss gene.  

Just checked prices on line. NAPA was in ballpark; more than some, less than others.

Advance Auto had some for about a hundred less. But...they were replacement ones (and I wasn't doing the work).  But not being an experience DIYer...reading the reviews/Q&A's....dunno. Some said..."installed no problem".

 Then there are those that said "need special inverted something-or-other too (ratchet set?)l to reach" bolts. 

And then of course was an answer in the Q&A section that said "shims may or may not be needed to work properly. If starter makes this noise while trying to start, add shims till it quits. If it makes a whine noise after starting...remove one shim at a time till whine quits."

No whine before my time I say...and let the garage do the dirty work! LOL

Lots of things are simple...except for the way they jam them in these days.  Even changing her air filter is a PITA.  And her spark plugs. Whoever heard of having to remove a panel in the floor to be able to get to half the plugs!!  (It  makes me appreciate my old '92 Dakota!)

That's a good thing too! (I'm thinking of the 8 or so years that half our van plugs never got checked or changed.

That would make a good contest...or scavenger hunt. Come up with a list of common parts...and see how many you (we) could find on our respective vehicles within "xxx" amount of time. LOL

I can't tell you how long I looked in my daughter's car last week to show her where the tire-inflation sticker was located.  I figured on the inside of the drivers side door frame. Nope. Nor passenger side. And not in the manual either.  But the manual did at least tell us where to look: on the underside of the trunk lid.  Cripes. 

It was a learning experience for sure. Me...for finding the decal. And her for finding out the correct pressure. She's learning some of the basics as the mood strikes her (air pressure, fluids, stuff like that.)  She thought one tire looked "low" so she used one of those machines at a gas station and kinda eye-balled the tires (because the talking air-pressure gauge somebody gave her for Christmas wouldn't talk).

32 pounds for her car. One tire was close...the rest way over inflated. (And yep, I explained about engine weight making the front tires look like they were low).  (And I gave her a mute but easy to read regular tire gauge.)

If you ever hear a very distinct distant WOW!! with a Hoosier accent down your way...you'll know my daughter changed her own oil and dad let out a prideful yell! (I don't do it anymore myself. Part laziness, nine parts disposal. I already have about 10 gallons of used oil for mowers and tillers to find a home for. Sigh. I experimented burning a small amount a year or two ago...very very smoky.)

Hehe, I draw the line at changing the oil in the mower and shredder, etc. Just too easy to go to the quick change place and not all that expensive if I save coupons.