I'm your biggest fan!
Wednesday - already? The last few days were a blur as always so today I was finally able to get back to the truck. As you recall, we were working on the defrost blower motor. I looked online and found one for $97 and then I found another for $51, but the one for $51 didn't have the "wheel" as they call it - I call it the "squirrel cage fan". In any case, I emailed the internet parts company and they emailed me back and said to call so I did. After I spoke to some guy, Frank, I think, he was able to look up the exact fan motor and was able to verify that this motor does NOT come with a replacement fan blade. He said they don't even sell it. Nice. I would have tried to use the one I had, but it is broken up in more than one place and I just broke it up more trying to get it loose from the motor.
Plan B was to go to the local auto-junk "field" where you pay a guy $1 for insurance, take your tools and head out among hundreds of wrecked cars to see if you can find what you need. I held off going because I knew Nathan wanted to have the chance to look around. This guy wanted $45 for his and I had to remove it. No big deal, but at least it comes with the fan. I took off work early and went up there today, but when we got there, they had a big sign that kids aren't allowed out back for insurance purposes. What a bummer! We've been to the other local car/junkyard and Nathan went in. Oh, well - I told him to wait there and all of the mechanic-junk-dealer guys were happy to have him just sit there and be quiet. He did. Meanwhile, I went to "the second row on the right" and looked at some of the most wrecked up cars I'd ever seen. What a mess. I saw more than one engine squished all the way into the front seat. That must have been something to talk (or not talk) about for some time. I went around twice and I didn't see a truck that even RESEMBLED mine, even if I used my imagination. While I was out there wandering in the mud I decided to call the local Dodge dealer/parts counter and ask. They looked it up. "Oh, the motor is $179 and if you need the fan, that's another $87 so you can get them both for just over $260". You could hear me gasp. "Okay, thanks" I said and hung up. $260! You're kidding me, right? That's just robbery. If the internet was only $51... yeah, I know - they are an official dealer. We left and the guys working there didn't sound surprised, as if they knew they didn't have the exact right truck. Nathan had been talking about this place every since I told him that we had to go there. I told him I was sorry they wouldn't let him in and realized it was a bummer, then he said was we were leaving "I wonder if we can go out front and look at that old truck on the ramps?" They have this old, 1950's truck up on ramps - probably just for show. I thought about it for a minute and said "C'mon - the worst they can do is come out and tell us to leave." So we did, we looked at two old trucks and and old car and no one even said a word. (Jamie's right on with her theory that it's a heck of a lot easier to say "Sorry, I didn't know I couldn't do that" than to ask permission first.)
Oh, well. On a whim as we rode back to the house, I stopped at the local Advance Auto to see if they had it and to my utter surprise they had it and for only about $29. I asked about the fan blade and she said "Oh, the wheel. The wheel is $14.99". Now you're really kidding me. So for about $45, I'm getting the motor and fan blade for less than I'd get it online OR at the local junk yard where it's used AND I have to take it off myself. I was just amazed. What a great learning experience for both of us. Advance Auto really came through on that one. We came home and Nathan worked on the right rear wheel while I went to work putting the fan back in place along with the assorted covers and the recirculate valve thing. Done. We tried it out and it works. There is something now wrong with the switch, but I'll work on that next. For now, it's just good that I can have a blower working again. We'll finish checking the left brakes tomorrow and then hopefully we'll go back for a re-inspection on Friday.
Quick View of new fan going into place :
Plan B was to go to the local auto-junk "field" where you pay a guy $1 for insurance, take your tools and head out among hundreds of wrecked cars to see if you can find what you need. I held off going because I knew Nathan wanted to have the chance to look around. This guy wanted $45 for his and I had to remove it. No big deal, but at least it comes with the fan. I took off work early and went up there today, but when we got there, they had a big sign that kids aren't allowed out back for insurance purposes. What a bummer! We've been to the other local car/junkyard and Nathan went in. Oh, well - I told him to wait there and all of the mechanic-junk-dealer guys were happy to have him just sit there and be quiet. He did. Meanwhile, I went to "the second row on the right" and looked at some of the most wrecked up cars I'd ever seen. What a mess. I saw more than one engine squished all the way into the front seat. That must have been something to talk (or not talk) about for some time. I went around twice and I didn't see a truck that even RESEMBLED mine, even if I used my imagination. While I was out there wandering in the mud I decided to call the local Dodge dealer/parts counter and ask. They looked it up. "Oh, the motor is $179 and if you need the fan, that's another $87 so you can get them both for just over $260". You could hear me gasp. "Okay, thanks" I said and hung up. $260! You're kidding me, right? That's just robbery. If the internet was only $51... yeah, I know - they are an official dealer. We left and the guys working there didn't sound surprised, as if they knew they didn't have the exact right truck. Nathan had been talking about this place every since I told him that we had to go there. I told him I was sorry they wouldn't let him in and realized it was a bummer, then he said was we were leaving "I wonder if we can go out front and look at that old truck on the ramps?" They have this old, 1950's truck up on ramps - probably just for show. I thought about it for a minute and said "C'mon - the worst they can do is come out and tell us to leave." So we did, we looked at two old trucks and and old car and no one even said a word. (Jamie's right on with her theory that it's a heck of a lot easier to say "Sorry, I didn't know I couldn't do that" than to ask permission first.)
Oh, well. On a whim as we rode back to the house, I stopped at the local Advance Auto to see if they had it and to my utter surprise they had it and for only about $29. I asked about the fan blade and she said "Oh, the wheel. The wheel is $14.99". Now you're really kidding me. So for about $45, I'm getting the motor and fan blade for less than I'd get it online OR at the local junk yard where it's used AND I have to take it off myself. I was just amazed. What a great learning experience for both of us. Advance Auto really came through on that one. We came home and Nathan worked on the right rear wheel while I went to work putting the fan back in place along with the assorted covers and the recirculate valve thing. Done. We tried it out and it works. There is something now wrong with the switch, but I'll work on that next. For now, it's just good that I can have a blower working again. We'll finish checking the left brakes tomorrow and then hopefully we'll go back for a re-inspection on Friday.
Quick View of new fan going into place :
(I won't mention that once again I did a project twice: I had it all mounted in place and THEN found the gasket that is supposed to go behind it, laying in the garage. UGH! (Charlie Brown style) - but now it's all in place. That's a nice metal fan too, not like the old plastic/broken one)
Comments
nice. well done.
I love this kind of experience I just learn about Cheapest Viagrat and is very helpful thanks for share