Category Archives: Car

A Little Pride

I am sure my grand audience is tired of the umpteenth update about my car’s power steering leak (although this won’t be the last), but the power steering leak appears to be gone altogether.

Onto the next project…

Fix One Problem, Make Another…Sort of…

Fixing anything sometimes involves unintended effects that themselves become problems later on (like some law of history).

With my car and its stubborn power steering leak, replacing one hose sometimes means stripping a bolt which then needs to be replaced (one thing after another as infinitum).

Stripped bolt

But the important thing is to focus on the forward progress, not on the challenge of the struggle, and little by little, you will get there…

And the leak seems almost gone!

No leak!
Little to no leak!

Some Projects…

Some projects are easy, and some projects are well, stubborn

So I thought I had fixed this power steering leak for good, but look what I found a few days back…

Two leaks!

So even though most of the leaking had been fixed, these two areas were leaking for some reason. Thankfully, some expert advice from an online friend suggested I change a clamp (the metal device on the hose above). I had replaced the factory one with an inferior one. And I had to fix my mistake (what a learning process!).

Thankfully, they were cheap, and here’s a newer photo, with factory OEM clamps (man I have a deep respect for the Japanese and their high quality parts and work…Toyota/Lexus forever!).

New clamp on hose/no leaks

Pray that this is the end of power steering leak saga…but if not, that’s ok! Another project for next week :).

Power Steering Leak No More! (For the most part)

For whoever is following my Joe-works-on-his-car series, I am pretty proud of this particular fix. My power steering line was leaking pretty bad, and, after replacing the high pressure line, part of the low pressure line, some seals and the hose to the reservoir, we have this…

Very little to no leak!

Only took my 12 or more hours over the course of a few weeks 😅

Onto the next project…

Another Car Project

This week, I worked on another part of the power steering line on my car. The leak was still there, and I knew it was an intermediate line, which I didn’t think would be too hard of a job. But without the right screws, sometimes things get harder. Moreover, you just don’t always know what you’re in for. Still, stay focused on the goal and have patience. And I did, and I got it done. Below are the old and new power steering low pressure intermediate lines.

Old
New

Look at all that grease! And man, I burned a lot of calories on this job. Enjoy your Sunday!

That Moment

That moment when all of the day’s chores are done: what a special moment.

Today, I changed the power steering hose on my car. It still needs some adjustment, but it is running just fine. I replaced it because it was leaking (and it was 25 years old most likely). It was quite a job, and sometimes, even the right tools can’t make the work any easier: four hours or more, and probably another one hour to adjust the hose. But I feel good! Another project accomplished.

So many small parts in a car, and lots of learning in the process.

Car should be good to go for a while now.

Old one

New one

Small is Small?

Over the weekend, I spent 4-6 hours replacing a hose and some parts on the power steering on my car. I was successful, even though I’m still sore 🤣. But the Lexus drives well again.

Cars are interesting machines. I was close to done when I realized I was missing a very small but very (very) important seal (a rubber piece that is small and keeps liquid from escaping and air from getting into tight spaces).

Pictured below, not having this seal meant I could barely steer (and the car groaned and moaned unhappily). But once I replaced it, everything went back to normal: all was well in the world again.

Small enough to fit on your pinky, I’ve pictured it below. Sometimes, in this world, even the smallest thing can make a huge difference.

Pay It Forward

Helped a Spanish speaker jumpstart their car in the rain at the Sprouts. I remember being in that same position when I first got my Volvo. Always good to pay it forward when you can.