Teaser

15 minute DIY job yesterday that saved me over $300. More on this later. I'm trying to stay in chronological order. You're welcome.

Nothing Routine About Oil Changes

I want to start off this post by saying that until several weeks ago, I didn't even know how to change a flat tire! I'm serious! And I didn't own many tools. Just a few tools my dad gave me and a few I bought along the way. Nothing crazy. Mainly for home improvement jobs, like hanging pictures and shelves.

So, what brought on my change of heart? What captured my fascination and frugality? It took a few oil changes and bad news/recommended maintenance for Francis to do it. First instance. Picture it: Sunny August day (the 26th, to be exact) in 2011. We've only been in Austin a few weeks. My partner has a job and I am furiously looking for one. My savings account is quickly dwindling to nothing. And now I need an oil change. I mean...we did just drive over 2500 miles (with no air conditioning through Tuscon, Arizona, I might add). So, I took it to Goodyear Auto Service Center for a routine oil change.

Kids, there is nothing routine about an oil change. Especially on a 1996 Ford Ranger with 197906 miles on it. First off, it took forever!!! Luckily, I didn't have a job, so no problem. I had all the time in the world!! I got there at 9:40 AM and left at 11:30 AM. Almost two hours, watching the Discovery channel while strange men in jumpers poked, prodded, and drained my sweet little Francis. After two hours, the auto technician, James, comes out and says there are a few recommendations. Here's the breakdown of his list:

• Wiper blades
• Wheel bearing repack
• Front and Rear shocks
• Outer tie rod ends w/alignment
• Power steering fluid exchange
• Brake fluid exchange

I am just a lady with a simple lady mind. I had no idea what language he was speaking or what this all meant. But, I asked James for a few price quotes, just for funsies. Here was his breakdown:

• Wiper blades = $20 + tax
• Wheel bearing repack = $100 + tax
• Front and rear shocks = $460.76 + $95.71 recommended alignment + tax = $602.00
• Outer tie rod ends = $310.71 + tax
• Power steering and brake fluid exchange = $200

He said he could do it all for $1133.80, which included a small discount for getting everything done in one fail swoop. After apologizing for my guffaw, I politely declined and explained that I just moved to town and don't have a job yet to help pay for these costs. I asked if there was anything super serious for me to have done. He recommended a power steering fluid exchange (Ford Rangers are notorious for power steering issues, apparently) and brake fluid exchange. Again, I declined and paid the man for his services. Total cost of the oil change that day was $24.27 (with coupon). By declining his recommendations, I saved myself $1109.53, but paid greatly in my worry that my truck was on it's way to the junk yard and that I had purchased a dud in Seattle.

And then, as VH-1 "Behind the Music" programs usually go, disaster struck. But more on that in my next post. It's 10:00 PM and I have to be to work by 6:00 AM tomorrow. So, I must wish you a good night and happy mechanic-ing!

Training Wheels

How do you begin a blog post? Your first blog post on a fresh blog? Well, I guess we should start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start. I own a 1996 Ford Ranger Super Cab 3.0L V6 Rear-wheel drive.This truck currently has over 210,000 miles on it. With this truck's age and mileage comes great responsibility.

In July 2011, we sold our 1985 Volvo 240 GL ("Nellie") for $800 and bought this truck (recently named "Francis") for $1400. No frills. No A/C. Just a truck with a camper shell that would take our family and our possessions from Seattle to Austin. From the get-go, Francis gave us problems. I took her to get inspected on July 20,2011 so I could change the title to my name and she failed! Fail codes:

P0125 - Insufficient Coolant Temperature for Closed Loop Fuel Control

P0401 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Flow Insufficient Detected

Great. Just great. My partner took it to Affordable Tire & Brake in Seattle, and dropped $153.25 for a diagnostic test. The EGR Valve tested good with good flow. The EGR solenoid failed, as did the temperature sensor. They recommended at a new EGR solenoid and a new thermostat. The mechanic also recommended a new drag links (aka inner tie rods), oil change, air filter, and alignment. We knew the alignment was bad taking the truck to the shop, but we had no idea it would be something as major as a drag link replacement. Perfect.

I wanted a second opinion. My partner took the truck to Les Schwab Tires. Sure enough, the truck needed the drag links replaced. Luckily, the EGR thing was a quick fix that they did for free. We also would need two new tires on the back to get us to Texas. They quoted $300 for the drag link replacement and another $300 for new tires, balance, and alignment. 

I used a life line and phoned a friend. My partner's friend, Ben, is pretty good with auto repair. He said we could change the oil and thermostat ourselves. He said he wouldn't mind helping with the drag link replacement, either, because it would be fun to learn. I chickened out of it. I was not feeling adventurous and was happy enough to just learn to change the oil and thermostat on the truck. Looking back, and knowing what I know now, a inner tie rod replacement is not that big of a deal and I could have done it for much cheaper than what we were charged at Les Schwab, but what are ya gonna do?

We forked over $601.52 to Les Schwab. It was painful, but the truck only cost $1400 (talked down from $2000) and we were planning on driving the truck from Seattle to Austin, so well worth it.

A few days before Les Schwab, I went to NAPA Auto Parts (my first trip ever) and bought a thermostat ($5.55), thermostat gasket ($0.65), oil filter ($3.29), 5 gallons of 10w30 motor oil ($20.45), and an air filter ($10.49). We took the truck to a home garage that belonged to Ben's friend to learn how to change our oil, air filter, and thermostat. I think it was here that slightly sparked my interest in mechanics. We got dirty. We learned new things. We worked with our hands on our own truck! It was a blast! And we saved money doing it ourselves! Total cost was $44.27, whereas I believe we were quoted almost $80 or so to have this all professionally done. And when you're planning a move to Austin, every penny saved counts!

We arrived safe and sound (and slightly overheated--not the truck, just our family) in Austin on August 2011. Since then, the truck has taken us through many highs and lows. As mentioned earlier, with an old truck comes great responsibility...and when you have very little money to spend on taking your truck to the shop every time it sneezes or hiccups, you learn that you are capable of more than ever thought possible.

Within the past few months, I have successfully completed several D-I-Y repairs and maintenance on little Francis. I started posting updates and pictures on Facebook. A friend of mine mentioned I should start blogging about it. Her partner thought up the title for the blog. With such a clever blog title, I HAD to start a blog. So, I hope you enjoy my adventures. I'll post D-I-Y adventures past and adventures present. Thanks for reading. And thanks for your encouragement as I continue this amazing journey!