Today started out pretty routine. While delivering meals, however, I noticed the car was struggling to start. I called Dennis and told him I thought the battery might be going out, and he needed to check it when I got home. I left the car running during my remaining deliveries, so I wouldn’t end up “dead in the water”. I made it home fine, and Dennis took the car to the auto parts store to get it checked out. Sure enough, the battery was bad…and the alternator also needed to be replaced.
Dennis has always done our car maintenance and repair, when
possible. The last few years, however, he has started taking it in for getting
the oil changed. And we haven’t really had any repairs in a long time (other
than body work). Prices have risen so dramatically, the parts alone were pretty
expensive. So he decided to go ahead and replace the alternator himself. He has
done it dozens of times in the past!
About six hours later, he is still working on it. Auto
manufacturers do not build engines that are easy to work on anymore. Dennis has
watched MANY You Tube videos trying to learn all the tricks for working on this
vehicle. After over an hour of trying to get ONE bolt off (which wasn’t visible
without using a mirror, and wasn’t accessible without using several socket
extensions), he finally got the alternator unhooked…but now he can’t get it
out. I’m not sure what all he is going to have to take off before there it a
space large enough to fit it through! Then he’ll have to reverse the process
while installing the new alternator. I’ve been trying to be his “mechanic’s
assistant”, which basically means holding the mirror and light, so he can see
what he’s doing. Nothing too strenuous, but unpleasant none-the-less in 105
degree heat. He is hoping to finish tonight, but I’m not sure that’s going to
be possible. His poor hands are all scraped up and he has bruises all over his
forearms. I think it might have been worth hiring this job done! We are
definitely not “spring chickens” anymore!
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