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Old 04-03-2012, 09:50 AM   #43 (permalink)
Tango Charlie
Deadly Efficient
 
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Goshen, Indiana
Posts: 1,234

Olivia - '03 Pontiac Vibe base
90 day: 36.01 mpg (US)

R2-D2 - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 58.81 mpg (US)
Thanks: 134
Thanked 176 Times in 91 Posts
Did an oil and filter change last night.

I figured the Insight, being aluminum and all fancy 'n stuff, deserved a new hydraulic service jack. So I picked up a nice aluminum 1-1/2 ton Craftsman. I purposefully bought a smaller one so that when the wife volunteers me to do a free brake job on somebody's Explorer, I can say, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, but I can't do it- my jack can't lift your FREAKING TANK!"

Anyway, the oil change provided my first opportunity to poke around underneath the car. While loosening the drain plug, it seemed the entire engine swung and rocked quite a bit. Which got me looking at the mounts. Yup, the rubber insert is sheared in the aft mount. Dang, another $83.

I knew the belly panels were not installed, the seller had put them in the back of the car after she had run over a coon and ripped them off. Man, that must've been one hard-headed coon! The front mounting brackets for the panels are all boogered. I'll have to either straighten them or get new ones before I can fab up some coroplast replacements.

Oh, one more thing; I buffed the headlight lenses. A coworker swore that avocado was the best thing to use, so I tried it. They're cheap and the wife loves guacamole, so what's to lose, right?. After rubbing for ten minutes, I quit. It sorta worked, but left a lot to be desired. I was actually surprised how much it did work. But I finished them off with a Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer kit, and they look awesome. Then I went inside and had chips and guacamole. I'd post pictures (of the headlights, not the guacamole), but the home computer is kaput, and I forgot to get the SD card out of the camera this morning. Bugger!
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Last edited by Tango Charlie; 04-04-2012 at 02:42 PM..
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