I Have the Power!

Yesterday I’ve taken yet another step into manhood by fixing something else that broke on my car. My power steering fluid was leaking pretty bad, so we had to bench the car.  It’s been sitting in the garage since Thursday night. I took the bus/train/bus combination to work Friday and hoped I wouldn’t have to do that Tuesday.  My wife ordered the part and it was to arrive Monday. Since I work from home on Monday, it was perfect timing.  We thought the power steering pump might be bad and I was not looking forward to replacing that. I saw some tutorials on YouTube, but all those guys had the right tools. I’m still borrowing stuff from my brother’s stash.

Well the part came, but it was the wrong part.  My wife diagnosed the car Friday and saw that the hose on the very bottom of the system was leaking. So; She thought she ordered a power steering hose. When it came, it had a hose and some other stuff with it.  She called the local parts store and they suggested that she bring the original hose so they can compare it. I got underneath the car and spent a fare amount of time trying to get the hose off.  It had clamps and the hose seemed very used and fused!

The funny thing about working on a car is, the amount of space you have to work with.  If I was able to raise the car above my head, it would probably be easier to get to the part I’m trying to remove. On top of that I have to twist and turn my hands, arms, and shoulders in a way that does not maximize my strength.  It’s good and bad; bad because it’ll take me longer to force the part off – good because as I continue to try and take that part, my strength, in that position is increasing.

Ok; so I finally got the part off. I had to cut the top hose (I saw that trick on YouTube) since we were replacing it. I was messy like a grease monkey and washed my hands thoroughly. I noticed that my clothes was a mess and I then realized that I’ve crossed over into that greasy world. I would now have to set clothes aside for fixing the car. My wife came back a short time later with screw clamps and the hose. It was much easier putting the hose back on the car. I happily screwed the clamps shut and took the car out for a spin. After readjusting the clamps a bit. The car stopped leaking.

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