My belly may be smaller, but my hands are still XXXL

[LittleBill 2,231]

We all have those NSV moments. Sometimes they are mixed. I don't really WANT my hands to get smaller, although if I could let the air out of them a little bit once in a while so they would fit places better, that might work. On the plus side (or should that be the minus side?), I have lost enough weight that it is much easier to drape myself over the side of my truck so I can better see where I can't fit my hands to work on things that need worked on.

Today was "change the headlight day". I've been changing headlights since the days of "sealed beams", where you had to re-aim the light every time you changed it. I was thrilled when plug in halogen bulbs came into being. But now, They (with a capital T) have decided to cram even more stuff in and around them to make it virtually impossible to do with any sort of efficiency. I do not care for the engineers who design machinery which has to be worked on by normal human beings. I think they are still angry for the way they were treated in school by their fellows, and this is one way of getting revenge.

To get to the offending bulb, I had to remove this thing called the air box. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the wise men who designed this thing decided it would be a good idea to use two different types of fasteners to hold the bottom of the air box onto the frame in the truck. One type is molded into the box itself, while the other (of which there is only one) is a soft rubber protrusion, which is designed to compress and not pop back into place when one attempts to reinstall the air box. That was eventually solved by the judicious (and forceful) application of some pliers, gripping that pliable part and pulling it out about two inches before it snapped back.

I managed to get the box off the truck and expose the base of the lamp. These same worthies designed a bayonet mount. That's a good idea. They designed it though, to twist TOWARDS the wall of the truck instead of the other way! Who thought that was a good idea!?! I could hear snickering coming over a cubicle wall from somewhere in Detroit. And of course, there was some metal frame welded around the whole thing designed to make anyone with an XXXL sized hand cringe with frustration while trying to insert it into the available space and actually TURN the bulb in its mount.

I finally got the bulb in, and decided it would be a good idea to make sure it was working properly before I buttoned everything back up. I did not want to go through all that only to discover I had to take it all apart again because something didn't seat properly. It was then that I discovered that the air box is important for the engine running, not for the air in the cabin. At first I thought I had done something hideously wrong. It made horrendous gasping noises, like a fat person who had just run up several flights of stairs. I could see the dollars flying out of my wallet to make it right again. But I just clenched my teeth, and resolved not to panic until I got it all back together for another test.

I got it all together except for the last bolt. That was the one I dropped earlier, and which Mrs. LittleBill retrieved for me. She is a big help for me when I do this stuff, because her hands will fit into places I could never get mine. And this was one of those cases. Of course, there is a huge downside to this. It never fails. Mrs. LittleBill will step in to help me complete a task that is a physical impossibility for me. This is usually reaching in someplace just like this. Of course, this is ALSO when one of the neighbors will drive by, and see her leaning into the engine compartment with me standing there handing her tools, or worse, just watching. How embarrassing is that!?!

Finally, I tested the whole thing out one more time to make sure the lights worked, AND the engine was back to purring the way it is supposed to. It was then I noticed the notice on the dash computer. If you can't make it out in the picture, it is warning me that the hood is open. I am glad for that, because you know, I might never have noticed. I was just about ready to drive away.

Edited December 23, 2016 by LittleBill

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

@@LittleBill

Man do I know your pain! BTW is that a 2007 Chevy 1500? Also the passenger side low beam?

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

[LittleBill 2,231]

@@LittleBill

Man do I know your pain! BTW is that a 2007 Chevy 1500? Also the passenger side low beam?

Close. It is an '09, and yes, passenger side low beam. The good news is, the low beam is on the top. Otherwise Mrs. LittleBill might be posting a picture of me stuck inside upside down with my legs waving around in the air! This thing is pushing 160,000 miles.

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

@@LittleBill

Man do I know your pain! BTW is that a 2007 Chevy 1500? Also the passenger side low beam?

Close. It is an '09, and yes, passenger side low beam. The good news is, the low beam is on the top. Otherwise Mrs. LittleBill might be posting a picture of me stuck inside upside down with my legs waving around in the air! This thing is pushing 160,000 miles.

Similar to this?

One of my trucks has 380k. Yours is just getting broke in.

[LittleBill 2,231]

@ I sure hope mine lasts that long. The price of a new one is more than twice what we paid for our first house. And yeah, sort of like that, only more vertical.

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

If I told you what I've paid for most of my vehicles you would be quite surprised. That 380k truck was $350. I have purchased 2 new vehicles and both were junk! My black dually is the most that I've paid in a long time, 9k in 2012 and we drove it back to Oregon. We bought it in Orlando.

[LittleBill 2,231]

See, you sound like two of my sons-in-laws. They are both mechanics by trade, and that is what they do - buy older vehicles, and then either maintain them for themselves or fix them up and flip them.

I am not a mechanic. I can work on vehicles, and when we were young and poor, there was many a time I was laying underneath a car or truck with a wrench in one hand and a Chilton's manual in the other. I did stuff that most people said you shouldn't be able to do, just because I didn't know any better to not try.

Give me woodworking tools, or a house to renovate, and I am happy. But I want my vehicles to just work, or have someone else do the work. The main reason I even replaced this bulb is because I have some night driving to do in the next couple days, and it can't wait for inspection on Tuesday.

If I ever buy another truck, I want a heavier duty one for pulling a bigger trailer. I've owned a couple of 3500's (well, one was a 350 it was so old) but I would be happy with a diesel 2500 and 4WD. But I ain't ready to spend on a new one for that!

[LittleBill 2,231]

Way back in 1997, I drove my K3500 down to Ft. Lauderdale. It was right at the end of February, going into March, so it was as cold as could be up here, and hot down there. About 200 miles north of my destination, the AC crapped out. I was seriously bummed. I made it down to where I was going to be staying, and called the local dealership. Apparently they had stacks of AC units lying around, because of the climate.

They fixed my truck right up, but when I came to pick it up, the service writer was laughing. He said the guys in the shop wanted to know who drove these kinds of trucks! It was a 4WD crew cab with an 8' bed. He said, "Boys, this man is from Pennsylvania. This is the family car up there!"

I told him he was closer than he knew. It was indeed the family "car". I was running a woodworking business on the second shift, so to speak, and home schooling our daughters during the day. Mrs. LittleBill was driving a sedan to work that would not even fit all of us if we had to. A year later, we were able to step into a Suburban for her. We got a lot of looks when we told people our Suburban was the little vehicle.

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

I do buy and sell. I literally have owned just about everything from a classic mini cooper to a F-800 26' box truck. I do it out of necessity as well. Wages suck here so if you want to get ahead you have to do something about it.

Wood working is definitely not my thing but I can't afford for someone else to build something for me so I will do it myself. Once we get a bit ahead again (darn medical bills!) I fully intend to add another 20' to my 20x20 garage.

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

I have to admit that I love seeing the look on someone's face when I park a dually where the don't think that I can. This was literally the only available parking space.

[LittleBill 2,231]

HAHAHAHA!!! I can relate. I can parallel park my truck in a spot that is about 2' longer than it is. Our middle daughter took her driver's test in the Suburban. The cop told her he could not wait to bust on the people who complained they could not park their subcompacts after that.

Here are some examples of my woodworking. I'm not exactly a carpenter. That is another skill set.

[highfunctioningfatman 2,675]

Gorgeous work Bill!

[LittleBill 2,231]

Thank you!

[Lynkaosgood 23]

That is amazing work Bill!!! At the moment, funny you speak of cars. My mil loaned hubby and I her car until hubby and I could afford our own car (hopefully soon!!) Well hers is a 2014 Chevy Spark. Well it's a common problem that heater core goes out on these models. (Mil voided any warranty by having a random guy bypass the heater core with a system of hoses and clamps.) Here we are in Colorado with no heat whatsoever, the hose and clamps separate often so driving is frustrating filling the car with smoke and gross fumes. Hubby is my a mechanic, but a nurse, but can temporarily fix the hack job of the heater core. The fix is $700+ hubby and I can't afford it along with mil. Hubby tried to fix it himself, but does not have the tools or room (it's a tiny car he's 6'5) to completely take car dash apart and put back together. Bill wish you lived closer to give pointers and assist us with finding a good used vehicle!!

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