An update on the car and the bathroom, both are going to cost more money.

Hello Everyone. I hope all are having a grand day. We had the car taken to a garage to have it repaired. The engine did seize but the timing chain did not break as we thought. Ron asked why the engine locked up and the guy couldn’t tell why yet. It had the correct amount of oil but the anti-freeze which had been full was way down. The mechanic seem to think the engine block could have cracked. Either way it would have to be replaced. The needs a different engine … but new engines for that car are hard to get and the cost has jumped because they are made in Mexico and tRump’s tariffs are jumping up the price. The good news is after calling a dozen different places the man was able to find an engine for it that had only 5,000 miles on it. Basically new. The car it had been in was totaled so he could get it for us for 2 grand. Ron told him to go ahead. He will get back to us with the labor cost.

On the bathroom well all good plans of … Ron got the pipes in for the water lines both hot and cold also the shower drain, we got the toilet taken off, the new floor put down which due to the tiles no locking heeded to be glued with corners ones being brad nailed, the toilet replaced with a new seal. All good. Ron rechecked his measurements and we even set the shower where he wanted it to check the alignment of the water and drain pipes. We moved the shower back out and Ron built half the wall going across the two bathrooms and which would be the side wall of the shower. He installed the vent pipe in the wall. He ran the electric needed for the exhaust fan through the 2x4s.

Then life got in the way of it being easy. This morning we moved the shower in front of where it was to go. Ron had for some reason made the drain pipe far too high from the floor decided to block the shower up so we could slide it back in place and lower it down over the pipe. We got it blocked up and several times the blocks fell sideways so we scrambled to keep the shower from doing any damage like braking a water pipe. Then as he got it back nearly to the wall reality made itself clear.

The shower did not fit between the wall and the water pipes and the shower drain was off center of the hole in the shower itself. Ron tried so hard to force it to wedge it in place until I reminded him that if he broke the pipes then the floor would have to be taken up and as it was glued that means all new floor tiles. So we stopped for the day. Tomorrow we move the shower out of the way and he will need to move the wall. I hate to take even a couple inches out of the master bathroom but I guess if we have to do it to make getting both bathrooms done, then we do. Below are the current pictures. Best wishes for all and hugs for those that want them.

The mechanic just left

One of the things that got me down was last Thursday the car died as I was driving home. The car had been acting up and we were planing to have it checked when Ron got paid. The car did not give us that time. I was lucky in that when it died I was able to coast on to a side street that was safer and better than being on the main road. But there is bad news. Remember when the Ford dealership told us we would need a new engine for $10 grand, well they were premature but it may come to that.

What the mechanic told us is that the timing chain broke. There are three sprockets. The bad news is it is not just the timing chain that went. I don’t understand it but because of what the top three sprockets do somehow that made the pistons and values all crash into each other. That means engine seized. It is going to be an expensive fix.

Now for the worse news. The guy that came and who has fixed our car before can’t fix it. Because the way they get to the engine is they unbolt it and then raise the body with a car lift. He doesn’t have one. So he is looking around to find out who can fix it. We have no clue as to what it will cost. So that is one thing getting me down. Best wishes for everyone and hugs to those that want them. Hugs

Just an update on the week and my actions.

Hi everyone. I have a video started to address a lot of what happened. But I had a horrible week and only wanted to hide from life. Long story short if I don’t finish the video as so often happen. At the beginning of the week I talked to my primary care doctor about my childhood in vague terms, the intrusive thoughts that have gotten worse, and the nightmares / yelling out at night. He admitted he was out of his depth on the issue but would help as much as they could and that they have a therapist on site that works with a psychiatrist and if I would see her she could help me better. Next week I will call her. He prescribed a medication to help me but I won’t take it. It kills your sex drive and ability entirely. Ron got on it before we knew what it did, and so now he will try to get off it. For a long time we did not know or understand why his desire and ability just stopped, now we know that it was the medication. Then Thursday coming home from the allergist the car broke down. I was lucky I was able to get it safety off the road on to a side street. Then I dealt with the getting it towed and all that. Then Friday I saw a podiatrist and found out that there is nothing they can do to help me, another one thing I have to learn to live with. It was all too much for me. Today we are finishing the floor in the small bathroom and reseating the toilet which is a horrible hard job for a weakening 70 year old man and a disabled 62 yr old with bone / muscle / nerve problems. My plan for this weekend is to catch up on all the comments I missed over the week by withdrawing from everything. Thanks to everyone for being here and to Ali and Randy for all the posts they make. Hugs

An update on the car situation. Changed the plugs

So as many may have read here we recently took the car to the Ford dealership for an oil change. On the way there the engine light came on. Ron had noticed the car was running rough when first started. I had not noticed as I thought the thing always sounded like it needed a new muffler. But when they took the car back they came and told Ron that it needed a new engine for $10 grand. Ron did not fall for it and after three hours drove it home.

So on Monday Ron called the mechanic that works from his home or will come to yours. He said to bring it over Tuesday morning. I followed Ron over because we did not know how bad the car was and if he might need to keep it. He had six cars in his driveway. He moved one out and had Ron drive our car in its place. He had a tablet that he plugged into the car and it told him everything also he could control the car from it. The dealership wanted $360 to do what he did for free. He showed us how the #1 plug was not firing. That is why it sounded rough. He shut it off and the car smoothed out. I asked if we needed to leave it, and he said no it was a quick and easy fix, replace the plugs. So I left, he and Ron went out to get the plugs. He put them on his account so they would be cheaper and Ron paid for them. So $40 dollars for plugs.

He then put them in and had Ron drive it for 5 to 10 minutes. Put it on the diagnostic on it and it showed all plugs firing. He did say it might foul again and if it did then it was the valve cover gasket that would need to be replaced. So Ron asked how much he owed for the repair and the guy said $80 dollars. Ron was stunned. He had spent hours in the sun doing this for only $80. Ron gave him $100. I figured that was smart. The guy did great by us and took the car right away. We might need him again. Plus the dealership charged us nearly $500 to do the test and change the oil. This driveway mechanic did the diagnosis for free and changed the plugs for $80 plus the $20 tip Ron wanted him to have. Hugs

An update on the engine that the dealership claimed we needed to replace.

So first I thank all of you who read and responded to the post about how the dealership was trying to extort my 70 yr old husband into giving them the car and either buying a $10,000 engine for a 7-year-old car, or trying to force him into buying a set of hybrids they have not been able to sell … the 1.5 hybrid engine which no one wants. I learned a lot from each of you. I am clueless about engines.

A couple of years ago when the dealership smashed the front of our car due to a worker taking it for the butler service that we paid for that touched up the paint and applied a new clear coat, they wanted us to take one of the 1.5 engine hybrids. We wanted to have the same 2.0 engine we had only in the hybrid model. However they had a three-year waiting list for them. They dicked us around for nearly five months with each call telling us how they could put us in one of those stuck on the lot. We did not give in.

So everyone knows how they tried to get Ron to leave the car. I did not realize until today they asked that while Ron was in the service line. The guy took the car information and then told Ron they would gladly take him home he shouldn’t wait. Ron told them he wanted only an oil change so it shouldn’t take much time. They then pulled the thing of making him wait two hours then coming to tell him the engine was blown and needed to be replaced, so they would take him home. Ron at that time told them he drove it in and he would drive it home. I learned today that he told the service rep, “See those windows? They will be iced over and blocked by 8 feet of snow before I leave my car here. Bring it out to me as I am driving it home”.

It still took them an hour to return the car to him. They claimed not to have done anything other than hook the diagnostics thing to it despite Ron telling them not to. They took $100 off the price because Ron told them not to do it, still they charged us $260 for the diagnostic. All they claimed to have done is the oil change and rotate the tires along with checking fluids. It took over three hours.

Which makes what I am going to write next make them even more sinister. So Monday Ron called the guy that fixes cars at his home on his driveway or comes to your home with his fully equipped van. He told Ron to bring it over on the next day, Tuesday morning. We did, I followed Ron to his home. He had six vehicles in his driveway but he moved a car out and put ours in his driveway.

He had a tablet with programs that could diagnose the car issues. He showed us how the cylinders were firing. #2, #3, #4 were firing normally. He shut # 1 off and even I could hear how the car smoothed out. I just never noticed it before. The number 1 plug was not working well, firing only a bit of the time. I got panicked. Then he told us that it looked to him that the car needed the plugs changed. He asked if we noticed smoke or other stuff and we had not.

Ron sent me home and he and the guy went and got the four new plugs. The guy put them on his account so we would get his discount and Ron paid for them. So they were $10 dollars apiece and it cost us around that price. Then he took the plugs out and put the new ones in. Then he checked it on his tablet and showed Ron how all cylinders were firing as they should. He then asked Ron to drive the car around for ten or 15 minutes to see if it was running right.

Ron said the car was running perfectly so he went to pay the guy. Remember Ron bought the plugs at the guy’s discount, so the guy told Ron that all his work over 3 or 4 hours were only costing $80 dollars. Ron bless his heart and I love him doing what I would have done had I been there. He said sorry, but no. You took our car in with only one day’s notice, put it first, worked with us to keep us from all the things the dealership wanted to do to us. You need more than $80 dollars. Ron gave him $100 because the guy wouldn’t accept anything more. But he did say that he was willing to work on our van that has the issue of the lights on the A/C part of the dash not working.

A decent man well worth paying. This is the third time we have used his service, and each time we are stunned by how great he is at repairing the problem and the low cost. The dealership wanted to charge us $360 for doing the diagnostics. This man did it for free with a tablet that showed him everything and he could shut the plugs off with it showing us the difference with the bad plug out of the system. No $360 dollar charge. Our friend James who lived with us and still sends me texts calling me dad … oh how I wish … is having car troubles and Ron is sending him this guy’s information. I think the world is not as dark as I thought a week ago. There are still some people willing to do good in this world of darkness. Hugs