Tag Archives: #F-150

RDP: Trucks

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I found a new challenge through my WordPress Reader (and Cee). It’s called the Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP). I’ll give it a try. Here’s mine for today on truck…

 

I’ve always liked trucks. I’ve had one of my own for years. I drove a 1973 El Camino until I overheated the engine and froze up the block. I loved that old car! Sometimes I felt like Fred Flintstone since the floor was rusted out so bad. The bed was just about useless for hauling anything because of the huge holes rusted through the metal. It leaked so bad when it rained, even hitchhikers didn’t want to ride with me. 😉

When I couldn’t justify buying a new engine, I got a 1983 El Camino. I kept it for a few years until I got tired of having to fix one thing or another every time I got in from the ship and bought my first ever brand new car (truck). A 1997 Ford F-150.

I’m still driving that one. It’s already a ‘classic’ at 21 years old. I’ve been trying to baby it as much as possible but she’s definitely starting to show her age. After buying this one new and seeing just how much of a rip-off a new car is, I will never buy another new car again in my life! I need to make this one last until I don’t need a car anymore. Practically speaking, that means until I can get my ass out of Texas!

I need to move somewhere I don’t need a car! Right now, Mexico is looking pretty good to me. 🙂

Today’s Project

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As I was leaving my political meetup last night, one of the guys stopped me to tell me my headlight was burned out. Damn! It was dark already, all I needed was to get pulled over and get a ticket (or worse). I was looking over my shoulder the whole way home.

I made it home OK last night, so today I had to figure out how to change out the headlight. I’ve done it before, but that was a long time ago. New cars are nowhere near as easy to work on as the old ones were. Not too many ‘shade-tree mechanics’ around anymore, no wonder why. I gave up working on my cars years ago- it’s just too complicated now.

Thank goodness for Google!

I found this video and it told me exactly how to do the job. It went pretty well. I did have to take the flasher (turn signal) light off, it did make it much easier. Taking it apart was simple once I found the right size wrench. 🙂

The hard part was trying to get those 3 long bolts back in place with their guides in the original position. They’re supposed to slide right down those grey pieces sticking out in the photo. I got the bolts back in, but I’m pretty sure they’re not in the same position. It was really tricky to get all 3 of them back in there. The one in the back is really hard because you really can’t see it and there’s no way to reach back there to guide it either (even with a screwdriver).

It’s important to put them back in the same position they were in.  That’s how the lights are aligned to shine at the road in front of you rather than at the sky or a tree on the side of the road. I’m sure I did not get the light back in the same way it was when I took it out, but it looks like it’ll work well enough.

I tested all the lights and they all work! Yeah!