Hey Dads! Are you a mechanic or have you given much of your hard-earned income to mechanics? Maybe you’re somewhere in the middle. I’m not a mechanic but I’ve got three sons and I’m really hoping one of them picks up the trade. But judging from the grunts, groans, and grumbles I get whenever we try to work on a vehicle I’m not sure mechanics grow on our family tree. Our troop gets around in a 15-year-old 15-passenger van and once in awhile it needs some TLC. The weather’s warming up so today was a day to do some of those things.
Job number one: change two headlights. A buddy texted me the other day when he saw me driving in town: “You’ve got a headlight out.” I don’t know if he just assumed the giant rusty van was our family or not. He was right. He later told me it was the handsome dad at the wheel whom he recognized. Aw, shucks. I bought a new headlight and thought it would be a quick pop out, pop in kind of a job. Nope. Can’t get to that headlight without tools. Vehicle designers please take note. A headlight should simply be changed sans tools por favor.
While checking which bulb needed to be changed I noticed that I also had a hi-beam light that was out. Back to Canadian Tire for another bulb. Headlights must be high-value, high-stolen items because they literally keep them under lock and key. What is the world coming to?
A couple of my mechanics-in-training joined me out on the driveway so mechanic school could begin. Lesson 1: changing low-beam AND hi-beam headlights. Further exploration revealed that the hi-beam bulb could be replaced without tools. Boom. One done, one to go. I sent one of my apprentices to the shop to grab a few sizes of ratchets to unbolt the necessary components to reach broken bulb number two. He’s a handy kid and had it all apart pretty quick. Bulb number two installed. Parts bolted back on.
We started making a list of other jobs to be done on the big, beautiful van. We attempted to do a couple of those jobs but they got bigger than we could handle. Here is where I realized that perhaps I do have an up-and-coming mechanic. Many years ago I bought the Haynes Repair Manual for just such occasions as this. As he started unbolting and disassembling more things, I casually asked, “Want me to go grab the manual a sec?” Like a wizened 12-year-old mechanic his answer was, “I don’t think we need that.” Spoken like a true car guy. Well done, son. You’ll advance far beyond your father in mechanical aptitude.
My lovely wife reminded me that some guys pay a lot of money to do challenging father-son activities together. And here we were in our very own driveway doing challenging father-son activities…FOR FREE! Maybe there’s something you can repair in your driveway, dad. Grab a few helpers and see if you can fix it. Time flies! Make every moment count! And you probably don’t even need the manual.
Jason Weening tries to avoid working on vans with his 10 kids and one patient wife. Read about their other adventures in his book, “Yes, Dear…I’m Watching Them”, available on Amazon.