Hello, and welcome to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I will admit up front that I am not mechanically inclined. I was more of a nerdy kid but I did do some simple work on my car…changing the spark plugs, oil, or air filter…sometimes venturing into working on the alternator, battery, or radiator, but nothing complicated like brakes or the carburetor. One of the main reasons was that I was afraid I would get into something like that and not be able to get it back together, leaving me stranded since that was my only means of transportation. Although I was not overly mechanically inclined I could do other things other than being nerdy. I have put in drywall, electrical wiring, plumbing, painting, cement block …and so on…I think you get the picture. Anyway speaking of air filters…I was driving in my car the other day and it dawned on me that I had not changed my air filter for some time now. Usually when I get an oil change I will have them do the air filter at the same time…so I thought…what the heck…I can do this. That evening after purchasing an air filter for my Honda CRV, I decided to go out in the garage and make a quick swap during a television commercial. Now in the old days…the air filter sat on top of the carburetor in a big metal pan, and all you had to do was twist off the wing nut, lift the top off, pull out the old filter, drop in the new one, put the lid back on, and tighten the wing nut, and you could be back in front of the television before the commercials end. I popped my hood…and WHOA! This is not air filter that I am familiar with. Matter of fact…I was not even sure where it was. Based on the location I could pretty well surmise where it was supposed to be…but to get to it I would have to remove five bolts and two air hoses, and pop open a plastic case…where I suspected the air filter was hiding. Just to make sure, before I tore into the car, I pulled up some YouTube tutorials and found one that not only walked me through this step-by-step…the car was the same exact model and color as my CRV…how neat is that!? Of course, that was not the end of this story. Not by a long shot. One of the bolts was frozen tight, and of course it was in the farthest corner and in the most inaccessible spot. After much effort and going through several different screwdrivers, and socket sets I was finally able to get it loose. Yea! Then of course one of the bolts dropped out of its socket before I could grab it, and of course…again…instead of falling to the garage floor…disappeared in the bowels of the engine to never be found again. Oh well…four bolts work just as well as five [I hope!]
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
‘The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. – Confucius
NEW HEARING AID
An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100 percent. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, “Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.” The gentleman replied, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I’ve changed my will three times!”
That is a wrap for today. As always, be good, do good, play safe, and remember to keep your mechanic’s phone number on speed dial.
JR
