New project and the discovery that Junk yards are awesome!!!

Ok, it's been a little over a month since my kitchen project was completed, and I must say that I'm still loving it.  I still find myself staring at my shiny wooden floors and am just so happy.  The pine portion is already showing some scratches from the critters, but that was expected.  I've got some throw rugs down on that area to protect it, so it's ok.  It is always going to be better than that awful white carpet.  My new fridge is in and still working great.  My DB just loves it, so I'm happy that he is happy.  I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from my kitchen projects, so I'm pretty stoked.  Unfortunately, I can't go too long without working on some sort of project.  My brain just gets bored I guess.  Plus, there is the stress relief factor from working on something like that, so if I don't have one then I have no outlet for my stress from work/life.  It is clear that I needed something new to focus on, so I have recently turned my attention to my vehicles. 

I actually have two old vehicles, and I love them both.  One is a Ford Explorer which is about 15 years old and the other is a Sable which is a young 10 years old.  I love buying old used cars because I can get them inexpensively and can pay cash for them.  Can I get a "Yay" for no car payments?  I just don't understand how someone would volunteer to spend $500+/month for years just to own a car.  My car is not status for me and as long as it gets me where I need to go and can haul my crap around when I need it I'm happy.  Anyway, my Explorer is my work vehicle meaning it is how I schlep all of my stuff around for my projects not to mention being the critter mover too.  The state inspection was due at the end of October, and happily it passed.  When you have old cars that is one thing that is always a concern.  Inspections are a necessary evil.  They are important because they will inform you if something critical needs to be repaired before it actually breaks, but you always worry about what they will find and how much it will cost to fix whatever needs to be done.  Add to the worry the fact that I hadn't really driven it in several weeks, nor cleaned it out in what probably is about a year.  So, it was full of dirt, dog fur, crumbs, shriveled up plant pieces, sawdust and a thick layer of dust on the dashboard and everywhere else.  Oh, and I had spider webs and ants too.  It was so bad that I was totally grossed out just driving it back from the inspection station, and felt bad for the poor guy who had to do the inspection. 

As you can imagine I was thrilled to hear that the truck had passed inspection with no problems, so the next morning I got up with the plan to have a "bless the vehicle" day and clean it up.  I used to have a really old Bonneville and every time I wanted to get something "new", I would do this and once she was all clean, shiny and looking new again I didn't see the need for a "new" vehicle.  So, I took the truck to a local car wash that has great shop vacs that work really well.  Fortunately, I don't generally have much trash in my car, so I just started vacuuming.  It took me forever because some of the stuff like the sawdust was pretty ground into the carpeting.  It was already looking worlds better with just the vacuuming being done.  I also put down a new rubber mat in the cargo area.  I had purchased it several months ago and it was still rolled up in the plastic and had been flopping around in the back since then.  I bought it after the project that caused all of the sawdust, and wished I had it prior to making that mess.  I hadn't put it down yet because I didn't see much of a point until I vacuumed up the previous mess.  It really had become a vicious cycle as you can see.  After vacuuming, I started on the detailing.  I cleaned, scrubbed and shined up the interior until it looked mostly new again.  I was so happy to have it shiny and clean.  You could actually see out of the windows again, and the seats were no longer covered in dog fur.  It was beautiful!  Then I zeroed in on my next project.

All of the cleanliness brought my attention to some of the wear and tear that happens when you own a 15 year old vehicle.  I really got to notice some of the pieces inside that were cracked and broken.  It isn't that I hadn't realized they were broken prior.  It is just that the dirt helped split my focus so the broken stuff didn't bother me.  Now that it was clean the broken pieces were like a glaring beacon to my OCD tendencies.  My cruise control switch worked, but was broken so it was only attached by the wires and it hung down from rather than being attached to the steering wheel.  While plugging in my cell phone one day, the plastic piece that held the cigarette lighter broke and pushed the lighter into the dashboard.  The center console vinyl was cracked and would stab me in the arm with sharp vinyl pieces every time I rested my arm there.  Then there are the myriad of warning lights on the dashboard, that were nothing really major, but still an annoyance.  No matter how clean and shiny the truck was, those areas needing repair just took away from the awesomeness.   So, I decided to get started fixing some of this.

I started with Google and found some great YouTube videos on how to replace the cruise control switch and the bezel which is the big plastic thing that holds the radio, climate control, cigarette lighter, etc.  They both looked really simple to do so I felt pretty confident that I could replace them.  I was most worried about the cruise control switch because I was worried about setting off the airbag accidently, but the video showed me how to do it properly and it was very simple.  I was then off to hunt through eBay to find parts.  The parts were a little expensive, but not too bad when you compare to new stuff from the dealer.  Then I read some car repair blogs suggesting how easy it was to find parts at the junk yard.  That's the advantage of owning Fords....they made lots of them and parts are very easy to come by.  I thought that going to the junk yard was a brilliant idea, and surprised that it hadn't occurred to me sooner.  So, I planned a day for my venture, studied videos on how to remove/replace the parts I wanted and headed out there with my little tool kit.   I have to say that I had a TOTAL BLAST.  I totally LOVE the junk yard!!  Have I mentioned that I'm a strange girl?   It's like a huge yard sale for car parts, and so much fun!  I did get some strange looks from the guys also wandering around there as I was stripping parts out, but I didn't care.  Besides, the looks were clearly more surprise and admiration at seeing this "little girl" out there stripping parts rather than the creepy looks that could sometimes happen.  It took me awhile to translate what I'd watched in videos with the actual removing of the parts, but I figured it out quickly.  There is a learning curve after all.  Going to the junk yard helps with learning too because you basically get to practice working on the cars there and if you accidently break something it doesn't really matter because the cars are already scrapped.  I was so proud of myself though, and even more happy when I found out that the parts I got came to a total of about $5 (rather than $130 on eBay or $500+ from the dealer).  I got home and installed them within minutes (thanks to the practice at the junk yard) and everything worked perfectly!  I was so irritated at myself for waiting as long as I did when it only cost me $5 and some effort to fix it.  Had I only known it was so easy! 

Still on my car repair high and feeling pretty full of myself for doing a good job already, I decided to tackle the air bag light that had been flashing at me for almost 2 years.  I already knew that it had something to do with the passenger side because when I moved the seat all of the way forward, the light went out.  I had also asked a mechanic about a year ago run the error light code while I was getting something else worked on and he said it was a sensor gone bad and it would cost about $300 to replace.  Again, I Googled and found some wonderful advice.  Now, the actual mechanics online said to take it to a shop and not to mess with it because you could deploy the airbag, blah, blah, blah, but the "regular" people on the Explorer forums said that this error is common because the connection and/or wires under the seat often comes loose from moving the seat back and forth (to let people in and out since it is 2-door) and also because of people stretching their feet under the seat and catching the wire.  So, I figured I'd check that first.  Dad always says to start with checking the easy stuff first anyway.  I went out there and checked the connection and pushed the clips together and even pushed wires in more.  Sure enough, when I turned the engine on again, the light went out and hasn't been back on since.  YAY!  I saved $300+ for a "fix" that didn't cost me a dime.  Double YAY!!!

Suffice it to say, I'm now REALLY full of myself.  I've gone on to reupholster the center console armrest with some matching interior vinyl I found on eBay for about $11 and have even progressed to tinkering on the Sable too by replacing the headlight housing.  My headlights were so frosted over and those headlight cleaning kits are CRAP!  My dad and I have tried nearly every one and everyone we tried was just useless.  It had gotten so bad that I couldn't see hardly a thing while driving at night.  Dad suggested getting those super bright headlights, but I said that it doesn't really matter how bright the light is if it can't penetrate through the frosting on the lens.  I replaced them last night, and not only do they make the car look amazing but I can actually SEE at night now.  The difference really is astounding.  Of course those parts I bought new rather than at the junk yard (because they were all the same or worse than what I had), but it was $100 well spent.

So, the only thing left to do on my truck is to repair the rear ABS speed control sensor.  It's the last light I have glaring at me on my dashboard.  It isn't too terribly important, but having that light on does mean that I don't have the antilock breaks working.  The "regular" breaks work of course, but it would be nice to have that extra safety feature especially with winter fast approaching.  Apparently, it's a real easy fix too, but it involves crawling under the truck.  I'm not exactly a fan of the whole crawling under the truck thing though especially because it is already cold outside and is supposed to rain this weekend.  It just doesn't seem like fun to fix stuff in a cold rain.  The sensor costs about $25, but I called my favorite mechanic and they can do the work and replace it for $82.  It might just be worth paying the extra $60 to have them do it.  Again, this has to do with my dad's lesson on being cheap Vs. being stupid cheap.  I'm fine with doing the minor interior repair stuff.  You know, the stuff that if you screw up no one will die from it and the car is still drivable.  However, when it comes to important vehicle functioning it may be best to let a professional handle it...especially one with a heated, dry garage and a car lift. 

Stay tuned.....