From NOC Monkey to Grease Monkey
I'm used to fixing computers or doing minor repairs around the house when it comes to being handy. Owning a motorcycle and having a limited budget, I've delved more into mechanics than ever before in the last couple of years. I'd much rather fix my car or bike myself rather than take it to a shop and feel my wallet get lighter.
It was time to change my brake pads on my Saturn soon, so I obtained said pads, and swung by my parent's place so I could use my dad's jack stands. Two hours later, interupted by lunch and waiting longer than expected for the anti-squeak compound to dry on the pads, we're done. The brakes feel like new.
Great story Bob..why bother telling it?
Well, my dad followed me home so he could get his ladder out of my garage. I climbed out of my car after pulling into my driveway, and he informs me I have no brake lights. Neat. Something else to fix. It's not a fuse, it's not a bad connection, it's not bad bulbs (all 3 at once, I DON'T think so. I hadn't seen any signs of Uncle Murphy poking around today).
It's the brake switch. Great. What a PAIN in the ASS to remove. Well I'm lucky in that I'm not 6'3" tall like my dad, and could almost lay comfortably with my feet rested on the top of the driverside door frame or back of the seat. I had to help my dad out twice while we were looking at it. It turns out nobody in Lincoln or Omaha carries them (I was 2 hours late calling the Saturn dealership, and figured I'd get gouged there anyway). Looking at the switch i'm 98% sure I can get it apart, but dad says I should bother or trust any home remedy repair job on something that important.
Good point, dad, but I can't get a new switch until Tuesday anyway...so after he goes home, I pull the sucker apart. I managed to completely dismantle it, and buff down all of the carbon scoring from metal on metal and arcing action, clean up all the terminals the wires connect to, and reassemble it. I plug that badboy back in, and the switch not only works, but reliably. In our troubleshooting earlier today, I was able to get it to work for a bit unmounted, hanging from the dash, but not when it was actually installed. And it would only work for a couple releases of the switch, and start failing again. I managed a trip out to Walmart tonight and back, without one failed brake light illumination.
I also replaced my engine coolant temperature sensor (ECTS) today. $19.17 with tax at the Saturn dealership. It costs $75 to have them replace it for you. I think not! Sure, I had to buy a deep socket 13mm socket to add to my tools, but I got to buy tools! For a grand total of $23.17 including the sensor and some antifreeze I had to add after losing some in the replacement procedure. The orginal sensor had a tip made of resin. Saturn started using brass-tipped sensors in 1999 or so. The resin ones failed in a vast majority of 90's Saturns at some point, and mine was no exception. One nice clean crack down the tip.
Again, nice story, b...aww shaddup. My saturn would often idle rough when starting it, even if it was warm from recent trips. My coolant temp gauge consistently shot up to and stayed at 1/4 while the car was running, even in stop and go traffic, and the fan never kicked itself on (but worked with the AC running). And my fuel economy wasn't quite where I felt it should be. Well, I replaced it, and drove a bit to see what kind of a difference it made, and the thing ran like CRAP. Rough idle, accelleration was slow and chunky at times...worse than before. It helps if you read and FOLLOW the directions Bob! So 3 miles later I stopped and reset the engine computer (pulled the PCM fuse, waited a minute, and plugged it back in).
It's like driving a new car. It idles all nice and smooth, the temp gauge works, and the fan kicks on as needed (I let it sit idle for a while after a longer drive). My brakes feel great and aren't screaming at me, and my brake lights work(I'm scared to think of how long that was an issue)! Who knows what Saturn would have charged me for all of that.
Tomorrow I'm gonna clean it out completely, and then wash and wax it. I'll be testing my gas mileage out on my trip to Omaha tomorrow.
I'm not sorry for the rant. ;)
It was time to change my brake pads on my Saturn soon, so I obtained said pads, and swung by my parent's place so I could use my dad's jack stands. Two hours later, interupted by lunch and waiting longer than expected for the anti-squeak compound to dry on the pads, we're done. The brakes feel like new.
Great story Bob..why bother telling it?
Well, my dad followed me home so he could get his ladder out of my garage. I climbed out of my car after pulling into my driveway, and he informs me I have no brake lights. Neat. Something else to fix. It's not a fuse, it's not a bad connection, it's not bad bulbs (all 3 at once, I DON'T think so. I hadn't seen any signs of Uncle Murphy poking around today).
It's the brake switch. Great. What a PAIN in the ASS to remove. Well I'm lucky in that I'm not 6'3" tall like my dad, and could almost lay comfortably with my feet rested on the top of the driverside door frame or back of the seat. I had to help my dad out twice while we were looking at it. It turns out nobody in Lincoln or Omaha carries them (I was 2 hours late calling the Saturn dealership, and figured I'd get gouged there anyway). Looking at the switch i'm 98% sure I can get it apart, but dad says I should bother or trust any home remedy repair job on something that important.
Good point, dad, but I can't get a new switch until Tuesday anyway...so after he goes home, I pull the sucker apart. I managed to completely dismantle it, and buff down all of the carbon scoring from metal on metal and arcing action, clean up all the terminals the wires connect to, and reassemble it. I plug that badboy back in, and the switch not only works, but reliably. In our troubleshooting earlier today, I was able to get it to work for a bit unmounted, hanging from the dash, but not when it was actually installed. And it would only work for a couple releases of the switch, and start failing again. I managed a trip out to Walmart tonight and back, without one failed brake light illumination.
I also replaced my engine coolant temperature sensor (ECTS) today. $19.17 with tax at the Saturn dealership. It costs $75 to have them replace it for you. I think not! Sure, I had to buy a deep socket 13mm socket to add to my tools, but I got to buy tools! For a grand total of $23.17 including the sensor and some antifreeze I had to add after losing some in the replacement procedure. The orginal sensor had a tip made of resin. Saturn started using brass-tipped sensors in 1999 or so. The resin ones failed in a vast majority of 90's Saturns at some point, and mine was no exception. One nice clean crack down the tip.
Again, nice story, b...aww shaddup. My saturn would often idle rough when starting it, even if it was warm from recent trips. My coolant temp gauge consistently shot up to and stayed at 1/4 while the car was running, even in stop and go traffic, and the fan never kicked itself on (but worked with the AC running). And my fuel economy wasn't quite where I felt it should be. Well, I replaced it, and drove a bit to see what kind of a difference it made, and the thing ran like CRAP. Rough idle, accelleration was slow and chunky at times...worse than before. It helps if you read and FOLLOW the directions Bob! So 3 miles later I stopped and reset the engine computer (pulled the PCM fuse, waited a minute, and plugged it back in).
It's like driving a new car. It idles all nice and smooth, the temp gauge works, and the fan kicks on as needed (I let it sit idle for a while after a longer drive). My brakes feel great and aren't screaming at me, and my brake lights work(I'm scared to think of how long that was an issue)! Who knows what Saturn would have charged me for all of that.
Tomorrow I'm gonna clean it out completely, and then wash and wax it. I'll be testing my gas mileage out on my trip to Omaha tomorrow.
I'm not sorry for the rant. ;)