Car Stuff

Yesterday it felt so good to just be home! I decided to look at the cars. The Taurus had a burned out headlight and the windshield washer system was not working.

I replaced the headlamp although it was not as easy as you might guess. I wasn’t sure how to get at it – the front is sealed and the back is totally covered with junk. I finally went to the manual. I had to remove an electronic control module that was in the way and then I could just barely fit my hand in. It took lots of effort and several bruises to finally get the old one out. First you have to pull the elecal connector but they don’t tell you that you have no way to grab it. I had to unscrew the lamp retaining ring in order to get hold of the connector. After that the bulb came out but with some effort. Without assurance from the manual that I was doing the right thing, I would not have had the confidence to exert as much force as I did on these fragile things. Putting the new one in was a breeze. (of course in this process I neglected to change into old clothes. I had on one of my new shirts (who needs to put on old clothes to change a light bulb?). Anyway, you guessed it, my shirt is covered with black from the engine. I’m not sure it will come out. : (

The windshield washers were spitting out some fluid but with very little force. I filled the system and it was no different. I was thinking pump at this poi8nt but wasn’t sure. I decided to just follow the line as far back as I could and see if there was anything obvious. Sure enough, the tubing leading from the strut mount to the nozzle was cracked. It hangs right above the engine and after 10 years it was brittle and leaking. First I had to figure out how to remove the felt type insulation covering the underside of the hood without damaging the connectors. This was needed to expose the tubing. Then I had to pry and pull the tubing off hoping not to damage anything, including my hands. A few more bruises and I had the sucker in my hand. But would they have one at the dealer?  On the way to the flea market I stopped in and ……. YES! They had the part although it was the entire tube from the strut cap all the way to each nozzle on the hood. Of course, you have to buy the entire thing but it was only $15. And, of course the thing was not designed to just use the part that I needed. I had to install it as a unit. After the flea market I went back to work. It didn’t take 30 minutes to install and put things back together. Then I turned on the washer to get the "good feeling" of a job well done and ……. SHIT. The fluid starts spraying the top of the car instead of the windshield. Grrrrrrrrr. 

So I look at the nozzles but don’t see anything wrong or adjustable. Then I vaguely recall that they used to spray near the top of the window but the force the air would usually force it down mostly into place. But still, right now they were totally missing the windshield. (The angle of the wind shield is so steep on the Taurus and the location of the nozzle is such that a couple of degrees makes all the difference. So, I pull everything back apart (insulation, tubing) so that I can remove the nozzle. I get out my magnifying class to look closer….. Nothing. I go on line to see if anyone else in the world has this problem…. Nothing.  I grab a needle and gently poke at the orifice…… Nothing I can tell.  I go look at the hood to see if there is any way to adjust there……. Nothing.  I reinstall the nozzle and jam a piece of cardboard under the back end to see if it makes a difference. When I give it a try – it works. I remove the cardboard and try it again.  It still works. So I go poke around the passenger side with the needle and that side now works OK too. I’m not sure for how long but I’ve had enough of this problem.

Some other time I’ll tell about trying to fix the trunk liner molding on the Alero – I’m still working on it!

Namaste,

Ernie