The Wannabe Mechanic

So I learned that (1) the problem was definitely the front O2 sensor; (2) O2 sensors are way too expensive; and (3) it was easier to replace than I had expected.

We've had an issue with the Rav for nearly a year now, and it happened the day after we'd taken it into the Dealer to have its annual check-up -- you know, one of those 'milestone' check-ups when the car has turned over a certain number of miles and they decide it's time for you to come in and lay some money on the altar so they can keep selling overpriced cars. I was coming back from someplace -- I think it was the hardware store -- and just as I turned into the driveway, the 'Check Engine' light came on, and the 4WD light, and a couple other lights. Made me mad. We'd just got it back from the shop. I was so mad, there was no way I was going to take it back there. I'd fix it myself. Naturally, absolutely nothing was fixed over the next year or so. The car drove fine (other than no cruise control). I occasionally looked into it, trying to track down the cause of the P12701 fault (02 Sensor Fault, Bank 2, Sensor 1). Odd thing was, the brakes started s...

  These snow tires have been sitting in my garage now for several years now, since the last Subaru had to endure winter driving, back when Mary was driving the old blue one to school. How long has it been? Three years? Four? I've lost count. But it was high-time the old tires were making themselves useful again, so I put them up on Craigslist for a reasonable price, and, a week later, they were gone. Found a nice, young family in a nice, new Subaru that needed 'em to get through the snowy winter. Now there's just a tad more space in the garage. And I miss my Subarus.

My wife got me these cool new rides! She's the best!!

I got a call from Deb tonight. She was at work, at the mall, and heard there was some crazy person -- probably drunk -- driving around the parking lot, running into parked cars and then continuing to drive. It's a pretty big mall. With lots of parked cars. So...what are the odds that this idiot driver manages to hit her car? 100%. At least it is tonight. The idiot apparently was driving around the area near the mall, in the parking lots of some of the outlying stores, hitting several cars, before deciding [if that is the right word] to enter the main parking lot which surrounds the mall building itself. And then he started cruising down the aisles, side-swiping several cars before saving the best move for last. He ended his crime spree by slamming into Deb's car hard enough to shove it into the car next to her; it ended up with crumple zones on either side of the trunk, and the car next to her also sustained serious damage. Then he stopped. Or was stopped. I'm...

Broken Timing Belt Yeah, it was probably obvious from the start. I was really, really hoping it wasn't, though, because I really, really didn't want to tear into the engine and then try to put it back together again, especially since I have no easy way to move it into the 3rd bay so that I can work on it without disrupting the other cars that need protection from the winter blasts. Which means I'll have to work on it where it sits. Sigh. Actually, the Camry isn't nearly so bad as the old Subaru Legacy, since it only has two notches to line up on the various sprockets (one on the cam and one on the crank). For the Legacy, I had to count notches! Yikes! But I'm a long way off from lining up notches. I still have to pull off the timing belt cover. Then the timing belt. Then put it all back together again. Correctly. Upper Timing Belt Cover: Removed! There are actually two timing belt covers: upper and lower. There are 6 bolts holding the upper timin...

It's been a long time since a car has been parked inside the 3rd bay of the garage. For the past year, that particular bay has been stuffed beyond comprehension with all the junk that has been accumulating over the past 15 years. It took a lot of effort to finally get it all cleared out, but on Saturday, it happened. The bay was clear. There was room to actually drive the Rav into the bay and park it -- and even walk around it afterward! It's hard to explain how wonderful that feels. If you've ever had a room or closet in your house that was a thorn in your side because it was always jam-packed full of junk, and you kept saying to yourself, "One of these days, I'm going to sort through all that junk and clean out that room and use it the way it is supposed to be used," and suddenly one day you found (or took) the time to do what you've been wanting to do, and at the end of the day you look in there and realize that a miracle has occurred and the ro...