Oil change odyssey

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RSie

Idiot In Training
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The wife and I cosigned for the resident 17 yr old last winter to pick up this '07 Dodge Caliber. Nice car for him, cheap on gas. I've been telling the kid all summer that we need to change the oil. Dealer had changed it just before he got it, and looked like it on the dipstick. I asked the dealer what was in it for oil, he used plain 10-30. The dealer is a one-guy dealer, car was his mom's car, so he knew all the history, and he an honest guy. Boy was busy all summer, I was busy too.. oil never got changed. Boy comes home Monday with a release form for us to sign.. he can get his oil changed at school! Good deal. He texts me Tuesday.. 'I need an oil filter'. I stop after work and pick him one up at the NAPA on the way.. they have a sale on so I get filters for all our cars. Wednesday he comes home... I ask if he got his oil change done. 'No. I need oil too'. Good christ. I give him a jug of 10w-30 I have in the garage. He comes home Thursday.. 'get your oil changed?'... 'No! It's the wrong oil! I need 5w-20! The teacher wouldn't use that 10w30!' F** me! Okay, I stop at NAPA again, and get oil.. told the guy at NAPA the story and he rolled his eyes and laughed at me. The car has 130,000 miles on it. So, kid comes home Friday... 'get your oil changed?'.. 'No, no time in the shop for that today'. Yesterday, he asks me if I can change his oil.. 'ok, but you're gonna help'. Tell the kid I'm ready to change his oil, yeah it's gonna be on the gravel with snow/sun/hail/rain in no order, as I have no room in the garage yet. I look underneath, and yeah, I can do this without jacking it. Drain plug came out nice and easy... filter, not so much. Hand wrenching isn't working. My oil filter wrench doesn't go small enough.. tried with a wrench snugged up next to the filter, not enough room. Finally jacked it up and pounded a screwdriver through the filter to get it loose. Kid was amazed.. told him to not do this like I did when I was your age at 2 AM at a gas station and you wind up in the ER at 3 AM with a nurse picking out oil soaked tin and scrubbing oil out of your hand for an hour... that wasn't fun.

Anyway, he's good to go.

He did say the teacher thinks he needs a new belt. Dammit.
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I asked him before he got it..you really ok with a yellow car? He was. It's really been a great little car for him.. 25 MPG, sunroof, open the hatch and a pairs of speakers fold down.. it really is a cool little car. Back seat folds down too, enough to sleep (or do other things) in. Not a hot rod (which I like as a dad).. I'd have loved that car at 17 looking back.
 
I'll get this one off my chest. As most know I gave my son a 76 Power Wagon last year. Drove it to Colorado. Drunk driver hits it this summer and pays him out 2200. I sent him the tail light that got broke and I also brought him the heater fan switch that I broke before I gave it to him. He had been previously using a jumper wire.. so I asked him about every other week all summer long have you drove the truck have you put the tail light in... Same answer we all seem to get from our sons..NO.... He told me a couple days ago says there's two inches of ice and snow all over everything the the fan blower doesn't work.. I said like a starter maybe you can rap on the motor? This is great idea and I hear bang bang bang bang really loud and tell him not that hard! Dad I'm hammering the hood to get the ice off of it...:BangHead:,,,...
:thumbsup:...
 
So didn't they teach him to change oil at school or did he expect the teacher to do all the work?
 
Maybe instead of replacing the belt you could drill a few holes and tighten the buckle......

When my kids turned 16 , I gave them a hand me down car, and told them they had to keep it up and keep insurance on them, their responsibility. If they didn`t , I WOULD DISABLE IT AND THEY WOULD DO WITH OUT . They are 41 and 37 now , very succesful and well balanced . Proud of them both.
Wife and GOD did a good job !
 
I have fought my son how to do an oil change and rotate the tires along with some other things like brakes and belts. He is away at college and I happened to be talking to him when he mentioned the Charger was about due for an oil change. Since he lives where he cannot work on it I told him to just find a place there and have it done. A couple of Dahl’s later I got a text from him asking which oil filter I run in it and what size the drain plug is. Of course that made me call him to find out what the deal was. Turned out there is a friend that is living off campus in a house. He went out and bought a jack, jackstands, and all the other necessary tools to do the job. He gave me a call after it was done and said not only did he get his oil changed but also taught Tessa how to do hers.
 
My first car at 18 was a 1971 Dodge Demon born with top banana yellow FY1.
 
I asked him before he got it..you really ok with a yellow car? He was. It's really been a great little car for him.. 25 MPG, sunroof, open the hatch and a pairs of speakers fold down.. it really is a cool little car. Back seat folds down too, enough to sleep (or do other things) in. Not a hot rod (which I like as a dad).. I'd have loved that car at 17 looking back.

Keep in mind...you will do a lot of tie rod ends...ball joints...and the rear bushings will seize up...

I had 3 sets of tie rod ends done in 70,000 kms.

Out of warranty I finally bought better aftermarket ones I can grease...and they are still good.

Car only has 125000 kms on it now...probably my last new chrysler product. Well...its a good winter car now.
 
I tell my daughter to bring car to shop and WE can do the oil change. I look outside, car is there, kid is gone. Pull it into shop and inside is a total pig pen. i back it out without doing oil change. Not going to look after inside, im not maintaining it.
Will see what happens when she moves back home.
Wrote off the van we gave her to drive.
So now she thinks we are giving her the last one in the fleet, over my dead body...
 
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