Change of Profession? Not quite yet.

Im feeling pretty good about my mechanics skills these days. OK, Ill admit some would say that I dont have any mechanics skills but I'm trying to prove them wrong (and save some money while Im at it). Here is my latest adventure in trying to keep my 2003 Chevy Impala with 141,599 miles running.

So, it was a beautiful afternoon and I was on my way home from work and stopped off at hackenmuellers butcher shop (which by the way is probably the best butcher shop in the twin cities) to pick up some steaks to grill. About 100 ft after leaving my parking spot my power steering failed and my tempature gauge was slowly starting to climb. I was only 2 miles from home so I didnt have to panic, although if youve ever had to steer your car without power steering you know you get quite the workout. After I got home and popped the hood I could clearly see that the serpentine belt was mangled amongst the wheels and pulleys of the engine. Not good. So, my first call was to my mechanic friend Mike, from work. He said that it should be something I can handle on my own and that the an auto shop would not be neccesary. So, armed with my Christmas present from mom and dad (a very nice mechanics socket set) I ventured back out to my car to further assess the damage. After removing a 4 foot cross bar support and the coolant overflow tank to gain better access to work I found that the bearings in the tensioner pulley were also shredded to bits (thats the picture to the left). I was able to pick up the new belt and pulley for $40. Not bad. Installation was A LOT easier than expected. The hardest part was trying to get all the shredded pieces of the old serpentine belt out of the wheels and pulleys on the engine. About 30 minutes later I was finished. Finally, I bravely started the car half expecting it to blow up the second I turned the ignition. Much to my shagrin it started and the belt was running just fine. Im told that had I taken the car to a shop they would have charged somewhere between $150-$200. Now thats a nice savings! And trust me, I have reminded my wife of that at least 3 times a day since.

So, now I can add serpentine belt replacement to the list of things I can fix on a car: full break job, fuel pressure regulator, and self oil changes. I keep telling Sue that the trade off for doing work on the car myself should be that I get to purchase more tools but she's not quite there yet. Im still working on her though.