Auto Shop

Okay, I know that I said I would write about the girls adventures and journeys, but I need a place to gloat for my accomplishments today.  And Cassidy and Taylor helped me a little.  Well, they played in Dave's car and didn't spill their water bottles while I worked.  That's good, right?

So my car has been making weird sounds.  It kind of creaks now, like a little old lady.  But it's only 6 years old, and with just over 50,000 miles.  No reason for such sounds in my opinion.  Then the auto doors stopped working, and that just kind of sucked.  Dave began browsing used minivans for me.

On Thursday, we actually made it into the car ahead of schedule for school, which, frankly, NEVER happens; we're usually hauling ass to get to school.  So we're all strapped in, snacks at the ready, and the car won't start.  It made a horrible clicking sound but just wouldn't or couldn't get itself going.  

So I panicked about getting the girls to school.  Like they were going to miss a great lecture or something.  Duh.  But my tremendously generous neighbor let me use her van and off we went, and were not even that late!  I got my little errands done, all the while thinking about what mechanic would be able to come and rescue my car.  

On Thursday afternoon, I asked a different neighbor (Ron, who happens to be married to Nancy) if he would come and give me his diagnosis.  He has about 5 cars and 3 fancy motorcycles at his house, and apparently some other "projects" at other locations, so I knew I'd asked for a good opinion.  He asked me to start the car while he looked under the hood.  Click-click-click-click.  Then he asked me to honk the horn.  That's when the car demons came out.  My windshield wipers and blinkers started going!  Yikes.  I almost jumped out of the car.  Ron said that it was definitely the battery, an easy fix.  He even recommended where I should go to get a new one.

Ron clearly didn't know that I missed Auto Shop in school.  He didn't know that I NEVER saw my parents work on cars.  Shoot, I only learned to put oil in a car AFTER I broke a car for not putting oil into it.  Ron generously offered to do it for me, but he had very limited time, and I couldn't get the battery until later that night.

I was brave even without his help, and thought I'd give it a try on Friday morning.  Dave had left me his car, and I figured I could work on it while the girls were at school.  I brought up the entire toolbox (contents: lots of picture hooks, some leftover ikea screws, a hammer and a few screwdrivers) and opened the hood.  The girls were stoked that they got to come out and play in the garage.  I also brought the phone and put it within arms reach, thinking that after I got electrocuted I might need to call 911.  

I was filthy within seconds of putting the wrench on the bolt.  How does such a thing happen?  I was like Becky the Mechanic, probably had smudge across my forehead.  I got the positive side off first (woo hoo).  I was in a quandary as to what to do with the little hook-up thing that I had taken off because I was pretty sure that if it touched the battery while I was touching it, I would die instantly.  I sort of tucked it away and got it stuck enough that it didn't shoot back into place.  The negative side unfortunately gave me trouble.  Apparently it was a little corroded.  I gave up on that and started working on the third, and last bolt holding the battery in place.   It was in a difficult spot and a wrench would have been worthless to me, but luckily, I, Becky the Mechanic, thought to use my handy dandy socket wrench.  I even figured out how to make it do reverse clicking so it would loosen rather than tighten the bolt!  Well, as a result, it took mere seconds to get that one off (and I didn't lose it either).  But back to the negative connector thingy.  I had to -eek- chip and pry at it with a screwdriver.  More images of death.  Especially since the battery cover said that when fiddling with batteries to always wear protective glasses to avoid chemical smattering that could leave one sightless.  But I prevailed and managed to get it off!  

Car batteries are surprisingly heavy.  And disgustingly dirty.

So the girls and I loaded into the Saab and headed to Blain's Farm and Fleet before school on Friday afternoon.  I had researched Sears, Pep Boys, Costco and Blain's, and found that they had the cheapest batteries.  I brought the old, yucky one with me so that I wouldn't get death threats from my garbage man.  The automotive department was easy enough to find, just pass all the tractors and tools, and there it was!  A nice young lady brought me out a fresh battery and took the grungy one.  She wrote me up a sales slip and directed me back to the check-out area to pay.  Yay, that part was soo easy!

I was stressed about how much it would cost to recycle a battery and buy a new one.  We're trying to keep to a very tight budget these days, and an 80 dollar battery was not accounted for.  Well, the young man took my sales slip and rung me up.  He even asked his neighbor-checker if he had the right code.  Then he told me my total.  $7.51.  How the hell did that happen?  I looked at him for about 5 seconds and then hit enter on my little ATM thing and sprinted out as fast as I could go with two kids and a heavy, but clean battery.  I know, I know, I should have corrected him, and maybe someday I'll go back, but I was in a hurry (school) and I was kicking butt on the whole Becky the Mechanic persona, so I didn't feel bad, I felt justified....

So here's where it gets kind of sad.  Well, shortly.

I got the girls to school and wound up back at home.  I actually motivated myself enough to REINSTALL the battery.  And I didn't die!  I tightened those bolts like there was no tomorrow too.  Believe me, it's gonna be hard in five years to get that thing out.  I got in the driver's seat and turned on the ignition switch.  Can you believe it actually started?  And sounded normal?  And there were no freaky smells coming out of the vents?  Becky the Mechanic rules the Chrysler world!

I figured I could switch the car seats back to the van to go pick up the girls from school, but first I had to shut the hood of the car.  Ummm, it wouldn't shut.  I swear I looked for leftover tools all over that dirty little engine.  There were none to be found!  I basically jumped on my hood, and it still wouldn't shut.  Well ain't that a kick in the mechanic's pants.  I couldn't drive my fixed car because I was too dumb to get the damn hood closed.  Maybe I was not meant to be a mechanic....

Dave tried.  He couldn't do it.  We drove around town all weekend in the Saab.  On Monday I took it to my local oil change place.  They got it shut.  

Believe me, though, I told them that I had changed the battery myself.