Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Working on the PT Cruiser

Well, a few weeks ago we picked up a 2001 PT cruiser from the auction.  I did not follow all of my auction rules as close as I usually do and I got bit a little on it.  There was some major work that we missed.  So with the typical minor work we figured we would do it ourselves. 

First up the battery was kind of weak. After removing it we discovered it was bulging on the sides, which is a good indicator that the plates are not where they are supposed to be.  To replace the battery is a little bit of struggle and an exercise in 3D tetris.  From looking at the air filter the battery is right in front of the air box under the air intake ducting.  On other vehicles that I have worked on the battery is held in with a strap that goes over top of the battery, well not in this instance.  For the life of me I could not figure out how to get this out on my own.  Well a quick trip in to the computer and a view on YouTube I discovered that you had to pull out the air box with a good yank to get at the anchor for the battery.  After this it was smooth sailing to get the battery replaced.

Next up was the rear brake light.  That was simple, just a torx screw and the light assembly comes out.  Just twist out the bulb and replace.  This was a 3157 bulb.

Now to the front driver side signal light.  Learning from my previous experience I did a quick search on YouTube to see how to change the bulb.  To access the bulb, one needs to turn the wheel in and from the wheel well there is an access hatch in the molding of the wheel well housing that needs to be pryed open to gain access to the rear of the front light assembly.  After some cajoling I gained access to the lights and it was a simple twist and change of the 3157NA bulb.

So the moral of the story to me is that if I am to do work on the PT cruiser is to either YouTube search my query before I start the work so that I can be prepared for what I need to do before I begin the job. 

Share in the comments section some of your questions or insights on working on a PT Cruiser. 

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An End to the April A to Z blogging challenge

Well, the month of April is over and so is the April A to Z blogging challenge.  It has been a whirlwind and I did not know if I was going to be able to keep up with daily posts and the busy demands of my young family.  I was able to get all the posts out on their appropriate day, though some were at the eleventh hour.  The biggest part of my success was that I was able to prepare with topics before the month.  I came up with all of the topics prior to the month  This helped when I sat down at the computer to write the post I already had a topic to write on.  I now have more posts in the month of April than in my previous months worth of work.  I did not necessarily cover just projects I was working on, but kept to the theme of my blog of DIY projects.

I am very grateful to all the people that came and read my posts.  I have had over 500 pageviews in the last month, which is not a lot by the big wigs standards, but it is pretty good for me where I may get at the most 50 pageviews in a month.  I am also grateful to those that left comments as I have emphasized a few times in the last month that community is the most important thing along with the discussion that ensues from that community.

I was only able to read a few of the blogs that were involved in the challenge, which if I were to participate again next year, I would endeavor to get out into that community and have some discussions.  Also, because I was pressed for time I never proof read any of my posts prior to getting them out.  I took the approach that quantity was the name of the game over quality, so the quality may have suffered a little.  Next time I would like to have a graphic for every post as it helps it stand out when I post to my social media outlets. 

Thanks again for all that have stopped by, especially those that subscribed or left comments. Leave some comments on your experience from the month of April A to Z blogging challenge.


If you like what you have read, please subscribe to the blog, or follow me on twitter at @bjshideler. Also, share this post with your friends on your favorite social media sites.