Call me kooky

I took my car in for an oil change, only a few hundred miles over the mark this time. My car is old and beat up so oil changes probably make a whole lot of sense. Jiffey lube has changed the way they do the whole customer info bit and it always throws me for a loop but whatever.

So the girl taking all the info is a trainee and a bit nervous, I’ve been there and done that and due to unemployment have nowhere to be so I don’t care how long this takes.

I end up spending way more than I intended. Fuel system clean? sure! New radiator cap? It’s corroded, I can see that with my bad eyes. Lets get it now before I forget. New airfilter? I suspected it was getting dirty and since I’m here get that too. It ended up being over $150. An ounce of prevention and supposedly better gas millage? fuck it, why not?

Now, which part did I do wrong? The next monday I’m driving around and the check engine light comes on. Well, the weather is doing it’s normal rapid change bit and the car typicaly doesn’t like that…… but I just got the oil changed. Shit. So I’m thinking to myself, “I’ll have to go back to jiffy lube and be an ass. And ten to one it’s nothing they did and completely coinicedental.”. If it’s not something jiffy lube can fix that means I have to take it into the dealer. That’s at least 80 bucks for them to hook up the code reader, and the time to get shuffled back and forth. The dealer has been nice but they do have to make money somewhere.

After a lot of thinking something occurred to me, a nagging little thought. I checked my thought out and I was right. There’s a tube that comes off the engine block and plugs into the air intake tube. It doesn’t fit all that well and when you futz with the air intake, which you have to to get the air filter changed, it’s very easy to dislodge the tube that doesn’t fit.

Not jiffy lube’s fault, my own stupidity for not thinking about that. I know it’s an issue but didn’t think it would be a problem. Jam the tube back in and still have the error code. I still can’t remember how the dodge computers handle automaticly clearing the code. I have to clear the code so I can find out if the stupid tube was actually the problem or not. I end up pulling the fuse for the fuel pump.

Of course, it’s a mini fuse. Can’t grip it with my fingers and the fuse puller from the tracer is too big for the space. Yay for pliers. Computer reset and the car is running fine. God I love technology.

Call me kooky,
Phosphers