Ptocheia.net » poor little Kia

Lubricants and pliers and meats and other fun things

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:01:34 +0000

So my car needed an oil change. We picked up the oil and filter, and, as the wrench I’ve been using was Carolyn’s, I looked for a new wrench. All they seemed to have at Advance Auto were these weird belt wrenches, which I’d never used before. As Drew needed help figuring out stuff for his car, there was some guy helping us (who couldn’t have been a day over 20). I asked him about the wrenches, and he said he didn’t recommend the belt wrenches, and that you can remove your oil filter easily by whacking a screwdriver into it and twisting it off that way. I was wary of this method, as it sounded both messy and potentially difficult to achieve given the angle I had to position myself into in order to reach my oil filter, but I thought I’d give it a whirl as he seemed to adamant that this was the way to go.

Well, it was both messy and awkward. I’d hoped I could just twist the filter off with my hands, as I had a Fram filter on and they have a really good gripping surface. No go. Tried it with one of those kitchen rubber lid twisty things, still no go. Tried whacking a screwdriver into the filter using a hammer. Got it in, and found it impossible to turn, so I had to whack said screwdriver in further. By this point, residual oil is dripping down the screwdriver, onto my hand, down my arm, and onto the hammer. I kept having to rest my arms, as there were all of these car parts in the way and I needed to hold both arms at angles not comfortable to hold for long periods of time. Got the screwdriver in enough, and twisted. It turned, just a little bit, until the lever that the screwdriver made ran into other car parts. Still couldn’t get the filter off with my hands, even with the loosening. So, made another hole. Everything is doused with oil at this point. Hole took entirely too long to make, as I was sore and pooped. It worked, eventually, and I got the filter off. Had to throw my poor blue hoodie away, though, it was unsalvageable.

Didn’t do Drew’s car yet, no way in Hell are we undertaking that method for his car. Don’t even know where the parts are gonna be on his, as he’s never changed his own oil before. So we went to Lowes and Home Depot, neither of them carried oil filter pliers, the bastards! I’ve located a pair, though, at Checkers Auto, so I’ll have to stop by there tomorrow or whenever next is convenient. Incidentally, there is an infinite amount of schlock carried at Lowes and Home Despot now, what with their tupperware bins and home accents and stuff. It’s like everyone wants to compete with Walmart. Soon you’ll be able to buy underwear and bananas at Lowes/Home Depot, too.

In other news, I just got a lb. of ceviche from the grocery store for a little over a buck a pound. It’s got a kick to it, too.

Put Xmas lights up, along with our wee little purple tree. Once Xmas is over this year, I look forward to scarfing up reject lights and decorations off of Craigslist so next year will be fabulous.

My poor smooshed car

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:54:14 +0000

So my car is ‘fixed’. Or about as fixed as I’m capable of making it.

I ordered the rear brake light, and that came in the other day. I was worried that I might have difficulty trying to attach it, but it attached with a single plug, no wiring involved or anything. We popped out the backseat and I crawled into the trunk that way, after emptying of all the junk, including the ramps I’d just bought before the accident. Everything that needed to remove came off easily with your standard range of tools plus a bit of oil. It was kind of awkward maneuvering in the trunk, but the plug for the rear light was obvious, so that got hooked up pretty easily. Tested the light, works perfectly, yay!

I secured the light as best I could with duct take (gorilla tape!), and also taped up a bit of plastic in the areas where I was concerned about potential leaking. From there, I slathered duct tape all over the areas where possible leak areas, along with parts where the paint was completely flaked off. I still need to get a hold of some paint at some point, as the paint is peeling off of other parts of the car. Suppose it’s less of a rush now, since the car is technically worth negative dollars and all, but I’d still like to see it run as long as possible (where “as long as possible” means “when I have a steadier income and can actually afford to get a new car”). I had been thinking about getting some black car paint to touch up places, and then I could do…something(?)…to make the ghetto-fabulous back not look so awful. Not sure what that is, though. I don’t care too much though, I suppose. Car still runs fine, and that’s all that really matters. I’ll miss the use of my trunk, though.

Though, there is one good thing about all of this. The cost of getting the brake light plus shipping, plus the cost of the tape I bought? About $150. The amount of the check the insurance company mailed to me for the car? About $3000. I heart dollars.

Magical Deoderant Plus Bonus Car Question!

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:44:43 +0000

First off, I would like to announce that my underarms smell like pina colada. I got a “tropical island” scented deodorant, and it makes me want to drink whenever I smell it.

So I drive a Kia Rio, and it has a 96 hp and a 28.1 LB / HP ratio. While I am not fully sure what these figures mean, I know for a fact that my car was much happier driving around Richmond then it is driving around in the foothills of the Rockies It struggles up hills and it’s often really hard to make it to the speed limit (albeit, the speed limit out here is often 75, but still). I’m thinking that for my next car, I’ll probably want to get something with a better engine. And then Drew and I were trying to figure out fuel efficiency for such things, and Google proved no help. So here’s a question for anyone that knows about cars: would having a car with a higher horsepower give me better fuel efficiency for driving on hills? I’m sure that, if nothing else, it would make going up the hills more pleasant. However, I’m not really sure of the connection between higher horsepower (or a higher ratio, for that matter) and if you use less gas because of that (or more gas, for that matter). Or if the change in gas usage would be negligible. Any advice is appreciated!