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Mr. Mathnerd's daughter got married last weekend. For a bunch of reasons, her car wound up at my house this week while she was on her honeymoon. Mr. Mathnerd, being a wonderful and loving father, took the opportunity to inspect her car and make sure everything was okay. It's a 2000 model year, so of course things go wrong from time to time. Given that this is almost the same engine as my old Civic (hers is one model year newer but basically the same engine, but an automatic), and I spent untold hundreds of hours keeping my old car on the road and know that engine like the back of my hand, he asked me to help.
Well, everything was not okay. In fact, she came perilously close to disaster. So close, in fact, that I'm shocked she didn't blow up her engine on the drive to our house. It's pretty much not safe to drive more than a mile or so. There's a small gash in the power steering inlet hose spilling fluid everywhere, and almost none in the reservoir, nearly all the engine seals have at least a small leak and there was only about a half quart left in the engine, and the radiator was almost empty. Oh, and the spark plug wires are quite literally falling apart. I'm not even sure how the wire to cylinder 2 is still functioning.
How do you not notice these things??? We asked her when was the last time she changed her oil. Her response was "I don't remember. I'm sure it's overdue". UGH.
So my PSA for the day is this: If you drive an older car, please pay attention! It's really scary how close Mr. Mathnerd's daughter came to disaster simply because she wasn't looking under the hood once or twice a month. We're nervous to even let her drive the thing home without getting it fixed (need to acquire parts). Both Mr. Mathnerd and I nearly had a heart attack when we realized just how bad it was and how much trouble she could have gotten in if any of those things had gotten even a tiny amount worse.
Well, everything was not okay. In fact, she came perilously close to disaster. So close, in fact, that I'm shocked she didn't blow up her engine on the drive to our house. It's pretty much not safe to drive more than a mile or so. There's a small gash in the power steering inlet hose spilling fluid everywhere, and almost none in the reservoir, nearly all the engine seals have at least a small leak and there was only about a half quart left in the engine, and the radiator was almost empty. Oh, and the spark plug wires are quite literally falling apart. I'm not even sure how the wire to cylinder 2 is still functioning.
How do you not notice these things??? We asked her when was the last time she changed her oil. Her response was "I don't remember. I'm sure it's overdue". UGH.
So my PSA for the day is this: If you drive an older car, please pay attention! It's really scary how close Mr. Mathnerd's daughter came to disaster simply because she wasn't looking under the hood once or twice a month. We're nervous to even let her drive the thing home without getting it fixed (need to acquire parts). Both Mr. Mathnerd and I nearly had a heart attack when we realized just how bad it was and how much trouble she could have gotten in if any of those things had gotten even a tiny amount worse.
. I may replace them and flush the brake fluid just because this summer. I also really should flush the transaxle and inverter fluids this year. It's just shy of 160k miles and could use a change. I do love me some hybrid power train!
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