WTVS News

Archive for the ‘Automotive’ Category

Car repair does sometimes seem to be a lot like medical science. There are way too many complicated parts for the ordinary person to handle, and it’s best to leave it to the professionals. But there are certain key differences that are greater than the parallels, that make learning car maintenance a good idea. Jeeps are made of steel and other kinds of metal, and the parts are much more replaceable than the ones on the human body, so even a mistake here and there can be easily remedied.

It’s a kind of learning, like anything, where even mistakes can be educational. Sometimes the mistakes are more educational than doing everything right the first time. Just ask anyone who’s ever filled their car with diesel by accident. With a good repair manual, it’s possible to learn and avoid some of the more obvious errors, and it’s a great exercise in thinking. Like the human body, getting to know your vehicle inside and out doesn’t just have a practical benefit, although that’s certainly a big part of it. Cars, like the body, have systems , and getting to know how each system works eventually creates a bigger picture of how it all works together.

There’s no reason not to get more familiar with a vehicle, even though it might be daunting at first. With a Ford Bronco repair manual , or a Jeep Wagoneer repair manual , even these complex machines can become demystified. There’s a logic to how everything is put together, and there’s a logic in how things run. It does take a little time, and a lot of effort, but eventually, this logic will work its way into learning how to diagnose problems. Because like the body, the infinite parts eventually become revealed as not so infinite, and that’s when the learning curve takes hold, and suddenly things all start to make sense. That’s the road to learning how to keep your own Jeep alive longer than you may have imagined.

I have always driven older cars with high odometer readings.  This has lead to some anxiety when taking off on road trips, or just simple driving through the city streets of Phoenix.  One time, my Honda Accord decided to just quit running, at midnight, on the I10 freeway heading from Pasadena to Santa Monica.  I pulled off to the side of the very infrequently deserted Los Angeles highway.  I popped my hood and spent a few minutes looking at the engine, as if I would somehow be able to figure out what was wrong.  But I knew nothing about DIY auto repair…I did not know how to do it myself.

A good friend of mine uses motor cycle manuals to fix his vintage BMW bike, but I always just assumed that the workings of an engine would just be too complicated to even try and understand.  So, I got back into my Honda and turned the key.  It started, so I sputtered along back to my friend’s house that I had just left, holding my breath the entire way.  I had no cell phone, so I had to make it back.  I left the car at his place and he drove me home.  The next day, I went back and had the car towed to my mechanic, who was conveniently located in South Pasadena.  The problem was a simple one, one that I really could have fixed, had I taken the time to learn just a little bit about the inner workings of my mysterious Honda.

The problem was with one of the radiator hoses.  I could have known that the hose was about to blow had, I just taken a little bit of time to learn how to spot problems waiting to happen.  The hose had been dried out from years of driving the car in the desert of Phoenix.  The part itself cost $10.  But between the tow and the labor, it cost just about $300. Sukha, my mechanic, was a very good man, which is the reason he was my mechanic even though I lived miles away in Santa Monica.  Not only did he let me watch him change the hose, he gave me one of his small engine repair manuals to take with me.  Now, I couldn’t rebuild an engine today, but the small things?  Well they just don’t scare me much anymore.  Thanks to Sukha in South Pas!