Car Repair

July 3, 2026

GRIIIIIIIIIIIIIINDCLANGCLANGCLANG*

Driving home my car suddenly sounded like a bucket of bolts… being fed through a paper shredder.

In the morning, I did some research, came up with some theories, jacked up the car, and popped off the front tire to take a look. Everything looked fine. But one gentle tap on the right place (see: research + theory) and CLANG CLANG. The dust shield was done. Fully rusted out, hanging on to the car by gumption alone. GRIIIIIIND indeed!

After a quick call to my mechanic buddy Joe to discuss the situation (*Joe holds zero liability for me having his number and any and all of my subsequent actions…), I removed the worn out part. My car is 14 years old, so in auto years, this shield was 102. It was trying very hard to return to the earth from whence it came.

Part removed, I can now safely drive to the dealership for next steps. (It is not an immediately critical component; some people never replace them after they fail.)

Being able to diagnose and resolve the pressing issue – and the subsequent grind-free test drive to ice cream – is absolutely delicious! Victory tastes like mint chip🍦

It took me a loooooong time to find a mechanic mentor, with a lot of false starts and a few jerky dudes. But working on many “unrelated” activities primed me well for working on the car. Sewing. Baking. Fixing. Making. Human activities are more intertwined and interrelated than advertised. Put this bit here. Get this part ready. Read the instructions. Pull out your tools / ingredients / threads and buttons. Remove this, add that. Take your time. Know what you don’t know. Play within your limits. Listen to experts. Be safe, be smart. Plan ahead. Take a class. Give it a go.

There’s no one way in to becoming a fixer and a maker and a doer. Which means there are so many ways in. A mender, a patcher, a builder, a baker.

Will it take awhile to fully find your fixit sea-legs? Sure. Maybe. Could be 5 or 10 or 20 years. The only secret is the time passes anyways. Who do you want to be when you get to the other side? 💚🔧