Looks good !

 

its past my bed time

 

The wife heads back to school starting tomorrow - kids go back early this year too down here - my son’s first day of class is August 14! Back when I was a kid we didn’t start school until after Labor Day - kids are getting gipped out of a couple of weeks of summer vacation nowadays.....

 

They need more time to teach all the non gender unisex stuff and to let them figure out which restroom they want to use.

 

First problem with my truck, 5 years old, 89,000 miles. The fan has a severe vibration. When it started, I thought it was a flat tire or an engine problem. It is not noticeable at lowest setting but as you increase the speed setting it become intolerable. It happens whether AC is on or not. It’s as if a blade has come off making it out of balance. Hate to think what it will cost!

 

I guess it all depends on how they have the fan motor positioned and whether you have to tear half the dashboard apart just to get to it. I’ve got a blend door actuator on my ‘08 Taurus that is clicking and going to need some attention soon - haven’t gone on YouTube yet to figure out whether that’s a DIY job I want to tackle or if I will just turn it over to the dealer and let them mess with it!

 

Just checked YouTube and it actually looks pretty easy to get to - at least as easy as anything can be when working at the awkward angle required to reach underneath the passenger side dash! I suppose the factory “squirrel cage” may have broken or even dropped a weight and become unbalanced? I wonder if the cage is even sold separately if you need it - might only come as part of the fan motor assembly....???

 

I just checked YouTube myself. I was shocked at how easy it is. May do it myself. Yes, you can get the cage separately but I think the factory one is pressed on. Illl go for the complete unit. Looks to be less than $50.

 

Working on updating my thread with more pics

 

Put a coat of wax on the bed of the ‘09 Ranger this weekend - I do this every couple of years just to keep it looking good. Kind of a hard area of the truck to detail - it seems as if you are always working on it hunched over or at an odd angle! Nor sure what I’ll do once I get up around Paw or Bluejay’s age......😂

 

It’s painful for sure. I wanted to install the new blower fan but I’m having some serious pain in the right shoulder rotator cuff area. Patrick offered to help out and the wife convinced me it was a good idea to let him do it. Looks like a pretty simpl job except for the angle you have to work and the limited space.

You get to the point you let a lot lot of stuff left undone that you used to do.

 

I’ve noticed that with one of my BIL’s back home in Minnesota who is a big car guy - he’s in his early 70’s now and I’ve noticed that he’s really backed off on how he keeps up his collector cars and the number of shows he does.

He used to be obsessive about having the vehicles perfectly detailed and ready to go, while now they pretty much get a wash and a coat of wax before he puts them away in the fall and then rest of the year it’s just a little spot-clean here and there. This entire summer I think he’s only done one show - he’s a bigger guy and I think it’s getting hard for him to be outside in the summer heat all day.

I’m far and away the youngest in my family and it’s very strange to watch my sisters and brothers-in-law’s beginning to deal with various health issues that impact their ability to do all the things they never would have given a second thought to when I was a kid......

 

Took the truck to Patrick for the blower fan replacement. When he pulled it out there was a piece of plastic in there rolling around. He determined that it came from the recirculating door. Ended up putting the original fan back in as there was nothing wrong with it. Everything works fine except the door to allow recirculating does not open. I can live with that for now. Will be a major job to replace that and may not ever be worth it.

 

Ranger bed after my weekend detail - not bad for a 10-year-old truck.....

 

So what does that mean - no “Max Air”.....???