She's a part-time mechanic too

My car has been acting up. OK, I mean more than usual. The check engine light has been coming on for the past couple of months – ever since the last oil change. And it came on mostly when I was sitting at stoplights.

With the weather getting into the 90s, I checked the antifreeze, or would you call it coolant this time of year? 😉 Anyway, the reservoir leaks. but the raidator stays full.

Yesterday was one of those chicken without a head kind of days. Lots of running around, and it was hot! I don’t know how much over 90… Anyway, after Runninghome to get my daughter, and getting her to her job interview, and heading off to take care of some errands, the car started idling wildly and the car sound like it was going to sieze up. So I shut it off and let it sit while I ran into the store.

When I cam back, I noticed a pool of anti-freeze on the ground. Oh-oh, not good. I happened to have a water bottle with me that I really needed – but I guess the car needed it worse. I poured it in and she seemed happier. I made it back to pick up my daughter, we made a pit stop at Baker’s Square to have a Fajita Pita for me, and the new coconut chicken salad for Emma. Good stuff! No pie. We were stuffed. And we made it home.

This morning I started going through the checklist. It didn’t act like a thermostat problem, the radiator was full… what is the problem? (that would be on top of hte problems I already know about…)

I tried calling my dad. He wasn’t there.

So I went to the internet, and in pretty short time found an article that suggested the fan might be the problem. So, I headed out with more anti-freeze and my can of WD-40. You know, WD-40 and duct tape will fix just about anything 😉

My poor girl is a 1993 Mazda, and an amazing car I must say. She still has those lube holes. I sprayed WD-40 into the lube holes and refilled the reservoir. I was pretty nervous. It was still really hot today – back in the mid 90s again.

I was all prepared to go and try to buy a car that I can’t afford tomorrow.

Guess what? She’s running better than she has in months. The check engine light didn’t come on once today. Granted, I didn’t push her too far, but I think that’s a great sign. We’re going to push her a little harder tomorrow morning. We have a bunch more errands to run.

If she’s still holding on – we might be able to play in the lake tomorrow! Keeping my fingers crossed…

I used to be really scared of trying to fix my car. But heck, I paid $600 for this car 5 years ago and she’s still running. What’s the worst I could do at this point?

If she still running good next week, maybe I’ll break down and fix the valve cover gasket and the spark plugs. We’ll see. But then there’s the gas tank that leaks, and I’m pretty sure she needs a fuel filter. Could be training for my next career move.

And WD-40 fixed my vacuum cleaner a couple days ago.

Believe me – you can always do more than you think you can. Take it from this single mom.

Did you pick up your copy of Live Your Life by Design Instead of by Accident? It’s a good place to start. It’s up at the top right of this page. Grab your copy!