I like working on my car. I devoted most of this weekend to this, hence the dearth of posts the last couple of days. (OK, my sister-in-law’s wedding was in there, too.)
My car (in it’s current incarnation, a pickup truck) serves me faithfully, and I have this odd notion that I should take care of it personally. I just don’t trust other people with my baby.
I’m always worried that someone will forget something critical or neglect something because they’re either having a bad day or got a phone call at an inopportune moment. So, I do it myself. I’ve managed to amass a pretty fair set of tools along the way, it seems every new job requires some new tool I don’t have- today it was a 1 1/16″ socket.
Today’s job was new front brakes and rotors. I changed the brake pads about 3 years ago at 70,000 miles, the truck’s at 147,000 now. Looking at the rotors, it was clear it was going to be a bigger job this time. I spent $44.00 apiece for the rotors and $20 for the brake pads. I decided to change the wheel bearings while I was at it, so there went another $20. Total, $128, and I know it’s right.
There’s a certain amount of peace of mind and satisfaction in simple jobs, and getting your hands dirty now and again is good for the soul. I recommend it.