Duuuuude

I ever tell you I now know how to change the air filter on two different types of cars?

Well, in case I haven't already.... hey, you guys!  I can change the air filter on two different types of cars!!!

So I don't have a whole lot of financial... uh... flex?  freedom?  uh.. bounty?  at the moment, so the van is not getting all the magical upgrades I'd like her to have one day (soon?!)

But she's been struggling with starting so a few months ago Jason and I started looking at what that might be. 

(On his advice) we started with the simple/free stuff, so I learned how to take off the doghouse (the van has its engine "inside" the van, rather than out in front like with most vehicles, so it's covered by a ... uh... plastic case that they call the doghouse.  It's just a matter of unclipping the clips, unscrewing the screws and then finding the magic way to maneuver it out.  (Which I'm still figuring out with much swearing and sweating... ahem)  So we took off the doghouse and he adjusted the idle screw (? that's a thing right?  that's the right name?  idle... screw?) and that maybe helped, maybe didn't.

But we'd also talked about it getting a new air filter, and since I hadn't put in a new one since being on playa (and the year of sitting down in California!) we went and bought a new one (A.. K&N, which I thought for the longest time was "Koening" because of how Jason pronounced it!) and I asked if I could put it in myself.

Turns out it's SUPER simple in an old(er) van.  Once the doghouse is off, it's a matter of finding the round thing, unscrewing the screw thing, taking the lid off, popping out the old one, popping in the new one, putting the lid back on, screwing the screw thing back on and.... done!  FANCY SCHMANCY!!!!

Van's running a lot better now too, yay!

I then wanted to see if it was as easy on my car, so I just googled the make, model, year of my car and the video was RIGHT THERE on youtube so I watched it, went to my car, found the filter, took it out, looked at it, saw it was clean and put it back and then I realized that I know how to change the air filter in two types of vehicles (and I bet some more just cuz some others will have the same layout!)

So, yeah, dude.... I'm actually pretty stoked and proud of myself even though it's a really small thing and in the realm of auto mechanics it's not all that special but still.  Woo hoo me!