Interesting suggestion, Joe.
I want to thank everybody for their thoughts and suggestions. In thinking about it, if he’d rather not do the job for whatever reason, the decision is his to make. I guess I was really just trying to deal with my own disappointment rather than his reluctance, and that ain’t right. I was really thinking of myself rather than him.
Oh well, there’ll be other days and other challenges. I’ll “post out” and turn the forum over to people with real problems now, rather than my self-involved ego problem.
Almost 10 years ago I had knee surgery and I was laid up for 3 weeks. Unfortunately during that time my 4Runner needed new calipers. I couldn’t do it so I enlisted the help of my then 14yo. At this point he never even had done an oil change. But I was able to talk him through it…and we’re all still alive.
I dunno. I guess I’d just offer assistance like you have and if he doesn’t bite, leave it alone. I’ve paid upward of $1000 for a fuel pump change but I still wouldn’t do it myself. Look at it this way, if you talked him into it and something went wrong, you’d be the one with the problem. Sometimes the money is just not the issue.
I remember my dad had a new 72 Plymouth that he drove 100 miles a day in to work. The radio would constantly cut out on him and drove him nuts. The dealer had it out three times and for several weeks at a time but still didn’t fix it. I begged him to let me take a look at it but he didn’t want me working on his new car. Finally he was so frustrated he gave in and I took it apart and went over all the solder joints. One was a cold solder joint and causing the problem. Worked fine after that. But he really had to be desperate before anyone but the dealer could look at it. Now if I would have wrecked the radio, it would have been my dime.
Some things are best left to the “techno kings” somethings are designed to be user non serviceable ,the thing to remember on DIY projects are the changing technologies,“Sharkbites” and “Pex” have made sweat soldering a copper pipe almost extinct,once I stated using pex and Sharkbites I never looked back ,same as with power tools.If its your hobby and you have plenty of time then go for the difficult auto repair,been helping my brother on his old carburated Chevy pickup this past week or so,really made me appreciate fuel injection.
Reminds me of the satellite dish installers ,they act like installing one of those dishes is a big deal,but really it is quite easy.
Years ago, I had no fear of repairing my television and high fidelity equipment. This was back in the days of vacuum tubes. I had a problem with a flat screen TV that was under warranty. I was talking to the young technician that was sent to repair the set. He said that there was no way he would open up an old CRT TV with its high voltage. I didn’t even think twice about that back then. Yet I wouldn’t attempt a repair of a modern flat screen set.
I figured as long as you didn’t touch anything you were ok. Made a few trips to Rexall Drug to use their tube tester for my $5 Washington’s Birthday TV set. To stay with cars though, I had all my model cars on top plus a jet and ship. Ah, 57, 58 Ford, Merc, 40 Ford, etc. and watching the Twilight Zone in my room, heart thumping wondering if Kathy would be in Sunday school or not.
We knew not to stick your hand in the innards of an old CRT TV set ,got some pretty nasty shocks back in the formative years,my elder brother kept the wheels turning on the old junk ,that Dad and Grandpa refused to do any maintenance on ,no wonder I’m not excited about Chariots now.
Mike in NH story reminds me of how different people can be. I had a friend who got a mirror put over the operating table so he could watch his knee operation. Me knock me out and wake me up when it is over.
I’m with you @Barkydog. I had a stent placed in my LAD artery in 2010. They knocked me out to put the apparatus in my leg, but I woke up still on the operating table. I informed them that I was awake and suggested that they put me out again, but they just went ahead and stuffed that stent inside me while I was fully awake. I didn’t feel a thing, except for the catheter rattling around in the apparatus stuck in my leg. It was a bit unnerving at first.