This plan worked well for most things: oil changes, brake jobs, water pumps, AC motors, and alternators. I didn’t have the tools to handle the more complicated stuff, or so I usually thought.
It was somewhere in 2019-2020 (just before COVID shut down the world), and I was commuting to PA to complete my Ph.D. Every Sunday, I would drive 4 hours to school, and every Friday, I would drive 4 hours home. We had two cars because my wife and kids needed one while I was 4 hours away with my vehicle. Then it happened: my car stopped producing heat in the cabin. I could hear the blower working, but the cabin had no heat. Without getting too much into it, three fans determined whether air from the AC system, external vents, or off the engine was pumped into the cabin, depending on which selection you made in the control knob. When I selected heat, there was a disturbing clicking noise and nothing but cool air.
It was pushing toward November, and the weather was turning. It was cold in NY and PA. Driving the car was also becoming difficult because I could see out the window or feel my hands. I had to repair the vehicle.
Throughout several weekends, I went through the task of replacing the blower fans (all three). They are very inconveniently located, and each one took me over an hour to replace. The upside is that they were $12 parts, so it didn’t cost me much. The only problem was it didn’t work—still no heat in the cabin.
While in PA, I continued researching the issue and determined that it must be the heater core if it wasn’t the blowers. The heater core was a $100+ part. The repair estimate was nearly $500 due to the location of the heater core behind the dashboard on the firewall between the engine and the cabin. The repair could take two or three days, and I couldn’t be without the car that long.
So, I decided to leave campus Thursday night and have Friday and Saturday (plus a little bit of Sunday if needed) to repair the car. I arrived home late on Thursday evening, and the part had arrived a few days prior. Friday morning came, and I pulled the car into the garage. With my Haynes manual in hand and Google on my phone, I began.
By the end of Friday, my 40-foot workbench was filled with screws, bolts, and hardware from inside my car. I had taken the front seats out, the steering column apart, the center console with shifter, and pulled the frame that contained the dashboard 1 foot away from the firewall. I disconnected the airbags (which you are not supposed to do). My car was utterly undrivable, and I had 36 hours to put it back together. It had taken me nearly 16 hours to take it apart.
After not nearly enough sleep on Saturday morning, I continued the process and replaced the heater core. This process took me several hours, and then I began putting Humpty-Dumpty back together again. Mid-morning, I finished and had the car put back together with only a few extra pieces. They were not mission-critical because I drove that car for another 30,000 miles. I had successfully reassembled the car, and then came several vital tests. The first was whether or not the car would start. It did, success! Secondly, I had to be able to drive it around the block. It did, success! Then I checked the heat. WHAT?! Still no heat!!! I was out of time. I drove back to college in the cold again.
The following weekend, I took one more run at the $12 fans (I was not pulling the car apart again). After some additional reading, it turns out that when you replace those fans, you have to make sure the dials in the car are set a certain way when you remove the old ones and install the new ones, or they will not work correctly. I had missed this step. With this knowledge in hand, one more attempt at the fan, and presto, HEAT! In all likelihood, the heater core was fine, and I spent three days tearing apart my car for nothing.
What did I learn? First of all, reread those directions to make sure you are following the correct procedure. More importantly, I realized I could take the car apart and reassemble it. Throughout the weekend, my youngest child (who is now in school to be an auto mechanic) helped me several times. My wife came out at multiple points to help, and my best friends lent a hand when they could. It was frustrating, and I screamed, cried, and said words that would make a sailor blush on many occasions. However, through all of that, I kept plugging away. Sure, it was out of necessity, but I never let circumstances defeat me.
Over the years, I have learned a lot about car repair. There are still jobs I won’t do (most engine repair, transmission, and gas tank replacement), but I am usually willing to try other repairs before I have it towed to a mechanic. The tenacity my car repair experiences have taught me translates to most other tasks I try. I apply the drive to most home repairs I attempt. The heater repair has reinforced my belief that I can tackle most challenges if I keep pressing forward.
Throughout our lives, we encounter many challenges. What are the successes in your life that prove to you that you can persevere over new obstacles? Retell those stories whenever you have met a challenge you can’t overcome. Chances are you can find a way!
Be well!
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