Wipers; Wiping

On Wednesday I went and picked up the wiper control arm for my Infiniti. It was right where they said it would be and cost only $22. The fix took about 2 minutes of snapping the joints to the motor and pivots and then voila the wipers work again. I wonder how much this repair would have been if I chose to pay for the labour. Probably over $100 bucks at least. This was really one of those cases where doing it yourself payed off. Since this was such a simple fix (anyone with minimum amount of mechanical skill, a screw driver, and a 14mm box wrench could do it) it took just a few minutes. If I took it in to get fixed I'd probably be without a car for at least a whole day. I did the fix just in time as it's absolutely pouring outside. Summer can't get here soon enough.

Junkyard Dog

I love going to the junkyard. Often there's some really sweet deals to be had. Like the set of alloy wheels with tires I bought for $250 that were in perfect shape or the spare fob I got for free. There's also something really cool about looking at all the smashed cars. What motor head doesn't like a good car crash. But sometimes going to the junkyard can be unpleasant, usually when having to deal with the people that work at the junkyard. For some reason customer relations is not a high a priority at junkyards so you always have to expect a little attitude in your service while there.

Case in point: Today I ventured out to the yard to find a replacement for the broken windshield wiper control arm in the Infiniti. It's a cheap little plastic and aluminum part that takes two minutes to swap out. When I informed the guy behind the counter that I was going into the yard to remove the part he rudely informed that I wasn't and that he doesn't sell just the arm you have to buy the whole wiper assembly for $75. First, $75 is a crazy price for a second hand wiper assembly. Second, removing the whole assembly would take a long time and in the process require first removing the one piece that I need. Third, no one will ever need the whole assembly because it's always just one piece that will fail. I tried to explain this to him but he had a fit and yelled at me that it's his junkyard and I don't tell him how to run it. I called the Infiniti dealer from the junkyard parking lot expecting an egregious price and a two month waiting time while they get the part from Japan but the part was only $20 and it would be there on Wednesday. I went back in and told the guy how much it was at Infiniti and he told me to f@*& off and buy it there. I will. If individual pieces of the assembly are that cheap new at the dealer, that guy will never sell that whole assembly. What a maroon. Lesson learnt: Always check the dealer first.

Another thing I've realized recently is that things like fuel, air, and oil filters should be bought at the dealer as well. The ones I've bought at Napa or Lordco have been of really low quality and these are important items that prevent future serious problems from occurring. Sure the ones at the dealer are a little bit more but they're specifically designed for your particular car and for performance cars like the G20 and the Miata that really matters and can make a big difference. If you drive a Sunfire you can keep buying your filters at Wal-Mart, they're pretty much the same as the ones from GM.

Air Filter

Todays post is about air filters. Important things: filter the air going into the engine. When a filter gets dirty and clogged a car ends up getting worse fuel economy, reduced power, and can get all stumbly, so it's a good idea to check the air filter often, like when you do an oil change. Now last time I did an oil change on the Infiniti I neglected to do this simple task and as a result I've recently noticed some real poor fuel economy. Usually the Infiniti averages about 12l/100km but lately it's been burning 15 to 20l /100km. That's getting up to SUV territory. So yesterday I took out the filter and sure enough it was covered in road gunk. Now the Infiniti doesn't have a normal paper filter, it's got a fancy FRAM Airhog, it's the type of filter you don't throw away but clean then re oil and it's supposed to be better than a paper one because it lets more air through. However cleaning it and oiling it is a messy chore and it has to be out of the car for at least overnight because it has to dry and then how do you know you've totally cleaned it, I think over time it will get worse and worse. I don't think I would recommend getting one of these, they look fancy but I think it's better to just stick to the cheap throw away paper ones because you know you're getting a clean one out of the box.

I was looking at some old photos from November and I came across this one. It's the Miata shortly before it went off the road watching the sun set. Don't worry, you'll be back soon enough baby.

Towed

Lame. I got towed today. It's pricey: $57 for towing $45 for the ticket, $90 for the ticket if I don't pay before December 24th. That's a lame Christmas present! Trés lame. What's lamer is that it wasn't the Miata that got towed, it was the Infiniti. If I had been driving the Miata there would have been no problem. The reason for the tow and ticket is "Stop within 6 metres of the nearest edge of the closest sidewalk on an intersecting street". That's real clear thanks. I guess I was sticking out to far but I was over by like a meter, it totally looked like a spot and I wasn't even blocking the sidewalk and there was no sign no nothing. How am I supposed to know what 6 meters looks like and where to measure it from? I'll admit it was a risky spot but it wasn't outright breaking the law and ask ten people on the street they would have said it was fine. The Miata is about 1.5 meters shorter than the Infiniti and would have fit no problem. I was still thinking in Miata parking terms not normal car terms. Saddly the Miata is parked for the winter as of today (the insurance expires) so I better get used to looking for normal sized spots. A write up about storing the car for the winter is coming soon.