After working in a car dealership for over nine years you’d think a person might pick up quite a bit of knowledge about maintaining an automobile. In my case, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite working at the now defunct Jack Adkins Ford throughout high school and college, I know very little about fixing or caring for my car outside of washing it or changing the windshield wipers. In all fairness, however, my main duties at the dealership were limited to washing cars and changing license plates before being promoted to the high-level position of parts delivery. Even then, while able to identify various car parts, I usually have no idea where they go or what they do.
I wouldn’t say I’m proud of this lack of knowledge but to be totally honest, I am not a car person. In fact, I have no interest whatsoever aside from personal transportation and as long as mine is functioning and looks halfway decent I’m happy. Conversely, I know many people that do fit into this category and subsequently love everything about cars - from driving and fixing them to watching movies and reading about them. To each his own I guess, but in my mind, cars are merely a means to an end and, aside from driving, I am mostly clueless.
Therefore, since a big part of 52to30 is expanding my horizons and becoming more of a well-rounded person, I thought I would try to overcome this automotive ineptitude and change the oil in my car. I realize this isn’t an overly impressive feat, like rebuilding a classic car or modifying an engine for more horsepower, but I’m a novice here and quite frankly, I’m not interested in reinventing myself as a car lover. So instead of finding my next passion project, I’m merely trying to expose myself to a new experience while gaining some useful knowledge – however slight that knowledge may be.
Getting started on this adventure was pretty easy. Aside from using the Internet to review all the necessary steps of performing an oil change, the rest of the research was done by my brother Sean. Always eager to help, and currently employed by a local dealership, Sean looked up and gathered the appropriate oil and filter for the process. He was also kind enough to lend me his oil filter wrench, which is apparently a vital tool in the oil change process. All I had to do was stop by his house to pick everything up.
In addition to all the items Sean provided, I also gathered a socket wrench, drain pan, funnel, a couple of rags and a pair of rubber gloves (Maybe I’m a wuss but I’v
e seen too many mechanics with mangled, oil-stained hands. No thanks.) So with necessary tools assembled I set out to accomplish my first ever oil change. Crawling under my truck, I immediately realized I didn’t have quite as much space as I originally thought. Regardless of this miscalculation, however, I had just enough room to operate and quickly located my drain plug and filter.
After determining the correct socket to remove the drain plug I wedged myself awkwardly behind my front left tire. With the plug just within reach I positioned the drain pan, applied the wrench and established which direction to turn before applying pressure. With the limited range of motion I had to work with I knew I would have to use short strokes to unscrew the plug, but figured that was a good thing since it would prevent me from detaching it too quickly and causing a massive oil spill in the middle of the driveway.
Unfortunately, I quickly realized I was worrying about a future problem while being faced with a more pressing and unexpected obstacle. As I applied increasing levels of pressure to the socket wrench the drain plug refused to budge. In fact, the wrench would just slide off the plug with minimal force and I knew I was in some trouble. I double checked the socket size, tapped th
e plug with a hammer to loosen it up and even switched to vice grips for a tighter hold but that thing wasn’t moving.
Eventually I called Sean back into the game to provide his assistance in this matter. However, despite having more experience than myself (which isn’t saying much) Sean was unable to make any further progress with the drain plug. What he was able to provide though was an explanation. First, as evidenced by the slipping socket wrench, the edges of my drain plug are stripped – only a bit though, so it’s not beyond repair. Also added to this situation is the fact that the plug was last put back on with an air wrench so it too tight to be removed by hand (Maybe I’m overplaying this slightly but I’m just trying to save face).
So after wrestling with this frigging drain plug for over half an hour I decided to throw in the towel. While I’m not the type of person who gives up on things easily I know how to recognize when I’m wasting my time. I could still be out there with the tools available and not making any progress. Therefore, rather than continue this futile effort I elected to put it off until another day. Unfortunately, since I waited until later in the week I did not have enough time to find the necessary tools to finish the job.
So I now have the unfortunate duty of informing you that I was unable to successfully accomplish this week’s experience. When I first set out on this yearlong adventure I fully embraced the possibility of failure some weeks, or at the very least falling short of my expectations. However, with a task as seemingly simple as changing my oil, I never dreamed it would be unsuccessful.
POP CULTURE UPDATE:
Currently Watching : NHL Playoffs
Currently Reading : Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
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