Grease Girl

On the way to that function I had to stop and fill up the car's tank. I've noticed something though - thanks to working on Olivia, I'm a lot more aware of things in the Ford's engine, and willing to get my hands dirty.

At the petrol station I spotted a whisp of something smokey/steamy - and was able to immediately identify what was going on, stick the hands in the (boiling hot) engine and fix it. I also found myself irritated with the guy that over-filled both the tank and the water resorvoir, and found myself wondering about whether I've been using the correct engine oil or not.

All of which I would have probably let slide or known not much about a couple of months ago.

I like the fact that I know more each day, that I'm gaining confidence to work with things mechanical. I've always wanted to know how my car works and be able to sort things out myself - and now I'm starting to. It's a good feeling to know that I can sort out basic issues, or at least identify what the problem is.

Recently I was struggling with Olivia's starting issues. Although I took a long time to find the very simple solution, I'm amazed that I diagnosed the main problem by sound - fuel starvation. That's a big step up from when I got her, but confirms that I can actually do this. I have to admit I was terrified I'd completely stuff up at first... But it's simply an extension of my "drive by instinct", my habit of tuning in to every movement, noise and vibration (mostly subconciously) as I'm driving. With greater knowledge comes a greater ability to feel what's going on.

So here's to grease. And smelling like petrol for a couple of days. And burning hands on hot engine blocks while adjusting pipes. And all that good stuff! :-)