Add some “new” oil, please
The owner’s manual mentions moments like this; what to do when the instrument panel puts up a bright “Service due” label. Go to the garage. It doesn’t elaborate about what might happen if you ignore the label for weeks and weeks (and weeks). Time goes by, OK?
And so, after getting some ready cash (in some ways, electronic payment hasn’t bridged the final frontier of life in the country), I drove over to my local garage. This is a business with a solid mechanical history, as the lifts (and pit) have been busy for about seventy years now. Yes, an earlier generation of car owners probably brought their Model T’s up here for service, after unloading them from the flatcar back in the day.
The firm has kept up with modern changes, while assuring that if a Model T came along, the service bay would take that in stride. I particularly admired the machine lathe and drill press, just behind the welder. My needs were simpler; an oil change. I was happy when I heard the old oil pour out from the drain. At least there was still oil in there, and it hadn’t changed back into bitumen. A small finger wave to us who ignore the advice of the manufacturer.
The exchange for a new filter, and the addition of multiple litres of “new” oil (is that an oxymoron) took care of the mechanical needs. The mechanic also inspected, and offered to replace, the rather gnarly air filter… and remove a huge handful of what looked like shredded wool. It may well be that we’ve provided alternate accommodations to either a mouse family or a squirrel since the last time service was done. All good, right?
