My high maintenance Life Partner…

I am not sure, but I think I may have accidentally sold my soul to the devil, also known as the mechanic at the auto shop. 🙂

Here is a picture of my ’90 Mustang LX (ok mine needs paint and body work…)

I have been having an assortment of difficulties with my car as of late, mainly dealing with the coolant system. They told me when I bought it that there was a leak in it someplace and it has been one thing after another.

1. The heater core
   It turns out that a lot of my original issue was likely this little problem. I made the assumption that the wet floor on the passenger side was from the door that doesn’t quite align properly. Turns out that the core had a leak and since it is on the inside of the firewall, wet floor.

   My solution? I bypassed the heater core with one of the hoses that connected it to the main system, a temp fix at best since the hose was not shaped for this little maneuver.

2. My badly patched bypass
   As I said above, I knew my fix wouldn’t last forever, but I though it would work for at least a week or two. Good thing I had already been to my local Pep Boys where a very nice Part’s Department guy let me rummage through the assortment of hoses so I could find a ½ inch hose with a 180° turn of the appropriate size.

   A few days later I was headed home when the car started “smoking(?)” at Beverly Glen/Mulholland and as it was too dark to see anything under the hood and since home was all downhill from there, I coasted the rest of the way and parked it immediately.

   The next day I went to see what had happened and I think I must have nicked the hose trying to install it, I had a new pinhole that had been the issue. I spent the afternoon cursing out the car while trying to get the old hose off and the new one on.

   Why do they make 8-cylinder engines almost impossible to manipulate around under the hood?

3. Today’s issues
1. The Lower Radiator Hose
   Last Friday I noticed more water coming out of my engine, but this time it was from the front of the engine. Gads!!!

   I felt around the radiator hoses and felt a couple of spots in the lower radiator hose. I was not in the mood to deal with this myself today, so I took it to a local mechanic that several friends use.

   I figured that I would kill two birds with one stone and get an Oil Change at the same time.

2. The Water Pump
   I had heard a strange sound under the car a couple of times, so I asked him to check under the car and see if they could find something that may have punctured the hose. Sure, it’s only a guess, but worth looking into.

   While doing this, they found that my water pump was leaking. It cost me twice as much by itself than the hose and oil change… Eeek!

Now don’t get the wrong impression. I am happy to fix the car, thank God that I have the cash in the bank to do it, but it was a bit of a shock, $300.00 total.

Some of the Hidden Blessings in the above…
I guess for a car that I got for a steal and haven’t really had to do that much to, I am really lucky.

So instead of thinking that I am upset, I am just venting a touch and trying to realize the blessings that are hidden in the situation.

Where the cash flow issue is frustrating for me, ok ANY time I have to spend money that I am not planning on it’s annoying. But with business having been as slow as late it freaks me out a bit. This is one of the issues that I am still working on. I tend to get a touch (right) manic when my cash flow and savings are running low. The universe always works it out, but I still get insane. Maybe that’s why I keep going through the lesson again and again.

As of late, I have wondered if I really need a car. Well, in Los Angeles the answer is a fairly well sounded “Oh HELL YES!!!” At least while I am doing on-site computer services and trying to get my coaching working.

I am learning the hard way that I need to let go and just be in the moment, I am quite aware that I am both attached to money, my stability and I am finding myself worrying about my rent for next month when I just paid it 6 days ago (it’s due on the 15^th).

These things will continue until I learn the lessons, I seem to bit a touch slow in this area… ;-P