MMM

(Common Miata Oil Leak)

While replacing the pilot bearing, clutch, etc. on the Lil' Zoom-Zoom I determined my oil leak was located somewhere high on the block, probably near the rear. Googling for common Miata oil leak clued me in to the CAS O-Ring. And the location was exactly in the general neighborhood of where the oil appeared to be originating.

This evening I replaced the Cam Angle Sensor O-Ring on the Miata. After removing the CAS a quick inspection of the underside revealed black gold. The sensor was definitely dripping oil. Jackpot! Hopefully this was my only leak. I will let you know.

The entire procedure took about 2 hours including a trip to the parts store and dinner. Actual under the hood time was probably between 20 - 45 minutes. The instructions over yonder say 10 minutes. It didn't happen like that here.

Total cost including two o-rings and one of this little mirror on a stick thingies was less than $5.

Why two o-rings? Because tomorrow David M. will be bringing his car over for a little More Miata Maintenance. I bet we don't get his done in 10 minutes either.

Odometer: 107K and some change.

Sunday Afternoon Maintenance

This afternoon, in the extreme heat of the afternoon sun, I washed the Miata. (I had two helpers so it took a little longer than normal.)

While washing the car, I found a bunch of tar along the lower half of the car, especially on the drivers side. I happened to have some tar and bug remover so I made a pass at the tar. Unfortunately it leaves a residue so the car is ready for another bath. It will have to wait.

In additional to the wash, I cleaned the windows and applied rain-x.

Next was a quick 8 mile drive to drive to fill up the tank. Technically it should only be about a mile, but I often get side tracked by curvy roads when driving the Miata on a Sunday afternoon.

The fill up proffered a mileage rating of 29.5 per gallon. Sweet. Not as good as my hypermiling experiment but not bad for my lead foot.

Odometer: Just over 106,900, which is what was on the clock when I finished the clutch job.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

The current odometer readings are:

2006 Charger R/T: 11,497

Last years reading was 5,784. Total mileage for 2007: 5,713 miles.

1995 Miata: 105,037

Last years reading was 100,774. Total mileage for 2007: 4,263 miles.

1925 Chevrolet Truck: 17879

I don't recall logging the odometer reading on this one in the past year but I am pretty sure the odometer hasn't moved. At all. Because it doesn't work. My swag for actual mileage for the truck in 2007 would be somewhere between 100 and 200 miles.

1972 GMC: 30520 or 03526

Like the 1925, the odometer(s) for the GMC have not moved. Not because they are broken but because the truck is (still) disassembled. Why two odometer readings? I bought a spare at the junk yard two years ago. I actually bought the second for its plastic bezel. The odometer was a (free) bonus. Today I learned that my odometer is apparently not the original for the truck. It is from a '69. The spare is from a '67. (Date codes are inked on the back side)

2002 Tahoe: 83,479

Again, I did not record a value at the beginning of 2007. I also put a few miles on this one driving it to various vacation destinations.

881

A couple of weeks ago our digital camera called it quits. I was tasked with selection a new one. This turned into another obsession for me. Originally I planned to petition the finance committee for a digital SLR. I have wanted a Canon Rebel XT for a while. After thinking about it thought, I decided that it would not be very practical, what I actually needed was a sub-compact - something that would fit in my pocket. This was also the only requirement provided by the other member of the Obsession A/V club.

I consults with several friends who had recently purchased cameras, Consumer Reports, CNET, and the reviews on Amazon. I made trips to Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy to investigate the cameras in person. I made a spreadsheet and listed several features I felt were important, maximum cost, minimum resolution, maximum size, power up up time, etc. After about a week of investigating I had it narrowed down to one. And then back up to three, and then back down to one again. And then it was time to scour the net for a good price.

Today I placed the order. The new camera should be here in plenty of time for Turkey day.

The Charger had its oil changed yesterday. 10500 Miles

Some how I overlooked this one so I will mention it now. I have now had the Charger 1 year, 1 week, and four days.

After a year of driving it, I would say I like it as much or more as I did when I first got it.

The odometer is currently just over 7000 miles.

I have had the Miata for 3 years, and 4 days shy of a month.

I would tell you how long I have had the GMC pickup but Ginger says it does not count as a vehicle simply because it is undriveable. Perhaps I should count the number of truck pieces I have instead.

GMC Update: Last Wednesday I receive a rebuild kit for the rear differential. Hopefully I can get those parts out of the bucket soon.

Bombs Away

I went by Express Oil to have the oil and filter changed in the Charger today. Total miles on the clock: 6171. They even cleaned the bird droppings off the windshield. Nice.

It seems this car is a bird magnet. It has already been targeted more times than the Dodge pickup was in the 8 years I had it.

Birds prefer reds.

A Week Of Wednesdays

A suspect you are waiting for a recap of the wild evening Jordan and I had last night. There is no such story to tell. It followed the usual script only a few of the cast members were missing. After picking him up, we headed to the homestead, completed his homework, played Nintendo, had dinner, played some more, and then off to bed. We did go out for dinner, but at one point that was in jeopardy. Jordan was concerned it would use up to much play time. After he got most of his mandatory playing done, he recanted and decided dinner out was a good idea, after all he was picking the destination. We headed out to O'Charley's. About halfway there he changed his mind and decided Casa Blanco would be muy bueno. [I did not attempt to influence his decision in any way whatsoever. Honest.]

Odometer Update

The Charger's odometer hit 5900 miles as I returned to work after lunch. It was 5905 when I arrived back home this afternoon.. We now know how far I drive to work. I take the long route too. [According to the blog, I got this car April 4, 2006, and it already had 450 miles on the clock.] Note to self: It's almost time for an oil change.

"Oh where, oh where, oh where, not there, oh where. My little hair brush!"

Not sure why that one popped back into my head.

Off to school...