I Love Working on Cars and All Things Mechanical – aka Wrenching
I haven’t done a Boomer’s Favorites piece in quite a while, and although this isn’t a specific “list”, the topic itself…wrenching, is definitely one of my favorites. Wrenching is just a colloquialism for using tools and working on things yourself. It primarily applies to cars, and is a term that no doubt blossomed from the brains of automotive writers and bloggers, however it certainly has crossover to motorcycles, RVs, snowmobiles, household appliance, and pretty much anything that might need a strong toolbox inventory.
For me….fixing, repairing, and improving things all fall under the category of wrenching, and I love it. With three cars, an RV, a pool, and a house…the opportunity to fix, repair, or improve comes around quite often…almost daily in fact.
Still Willing to Call in the Experts
My love of wrenching does not mean I am afraid to call in the experts. Rather, it means that I analyze and research everything I can to determine if that is necessary, while always assuming a DIY posture to begin with. Calling in the professionals also applies to big jobs that are simply way too time consuming.
For example, although I am capable of replacing 100 feet of 8ft fencing, I am not willing to do so. It would take me a long time to complete, between work and other responsibilities, and the demands of digging holes and hauling supplies calls for a specialist. For something like this, I’m calling in the experts.
In fairness, replacing a fence isn’t really wrenching either. Mowing the lawn is certainly not wrenching…but fixing the mower is. Putting a new roof on the house would not really qualify either, but repairing the attic fan would. The term can vary, but ultimately its about fixing things yourself with a wrench and variety of other tools…the more the merrier!
Recent Wrenching Success
Lately, I’ve had a small string of successes that no doubt contributed to my desire to pen this article. Sticking with wrenching origins, I did some great work with an older car we have. We thought we might trade it in when we purchased a new car recently, but what they wanted to give us was a joke. They would have had it on the lot for 4X that amount the next day.
We opted to keep it and I spent $500 in tools and parts and did the $2000 worth of labor myself. The car is nearly 20 years old, but very low mileage and solid. After successfully completing the maintenance, I now have a solid, used $10k-$12k car that will last another 75,000 miles.
I also had some recent success with the in-ground pool. I tried out a new see-through salt cell style that is absolutely fantastic, and combined with a complete new set of filter grids, my pool is deliciously clean and beautiful.
The good pool work was on the heels of some RV success, having replaced a slide topper, and a macerator toilet module. The hydronic heating system is giving me fits however, and instead of taking it in this time, I’m going to tackle it myself.
Why Turn To Wrenching, or DIY in General?
At this point in life, I always turn to DIY wrenching first. That is to say I try to analyze the steps, and determine what someone else would charge to do the work, and exactly how they would do it. I then weigh that against my skills, available tools (I have a bunch), and the required time. The goal is to figure out what the hardest part of the task would be, and determine if you can get there.
Most repairs are a series of basic tests and simple steps that on the whole might be daunting, but if you break them down…they aren’t really that bad. If you haven’t learned that Google and YouTube are your best friends when it comes to DIY, then let me alert you to that now. With the added capabilities of AI, there is no excuse for at least trying to do some wrenching yourself to fix any problem that crops up.
A Perfect Example
One great example of this was with the outside AC unit at the house. I would find that the outside unit (fan & compressor) would not always shut off. Inside the house, the temperature would reach the desired cooling temperature, and the blower would turn off…but the outside unit kept running.
Rather than immediately calling the “AC guy”, I did some research. I learned that a very common cause of this “stuck” behavior is often caused by what is called a faulty “contactor”. This $15 part is tucked away behind a panel on the outside unit, and over time the contacts themselves tend to stick or fuse together, so that when the signal to stop is sent, they can’t separate to break the current. As long as you can find and cut the power via the breaker, this is an easy part to replace.
Instead of an expensive and inconvenient service call, I took a $15 gamble and fixed it myself in less than 20 minutes with parts from Amazon.
Break Down Every Task And Do The Research
Almost every wrenching task can be broken down into its base components and performed relatively easily. Whether its the pool, the RV, cars, bicycles, or washing machines, most things are fixable in some way. The good news is, if they aren’t…or you can’t find a way to do it yourself, you are now armed with the right information to make the correct service call, or buy a replacment, and you don’t feel quite so bad about doing either.
The Joy of Wrenching
So what is the “Joy of Wrenching”? It’s that satisfaction every time you jump in the pool, walk by the RV, drive the car, or use the washing machine that you saved time, saved money, and did the work according to your standards. There is a simple joy in using the right tools and getting the work done. There is the joy of self-reliance, not having to depend on a stranger to keep your home running smoothly.
Actually doing the work is a joy unto itself too. Keeping busy, staying active, using your brain, solving problems. It’s the type of joy God intended for a person to work with their hands and yield results.
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God – Ecclesiastes 2:24.
It’s incredibly rewarding to know that everything is well-maintained, in good repair (or in “good nick” as the Brits say) and working properly. Knowing you have completed repairs, upgrades, and replacements that keep your investments running and operating properly is deeply satisfying.
When the wife and I are sitting out in the backyard, she’s enjoying the flowers and the birds, while I’m analyzing the performance of the pool pump and the pool cleaner. When I see them working properly, knowing that I spent time fixing and repairing them…there is joy…joy in wrenching.