How's Your 'Fuel Thermometer'?

Nice to have you back, Readers!

Let me guess: You're confused by the title, aren't you? Keep reading, and you'll soon see what this edition is all about.

In the auto parts business, we get calls from a wide variety of customers, with an equally varied degree of car knowledge. Over the weekend, my boss fielded the call of a rather confused customer. He was so caught off-guard by the customer's thought process, that he relayed the story to us after the fact (in case we faced a similar situation). Here's the gist of the conversation:

Customer: Hi, I need a new 'fuel thermometer' for my Ford Fusion.
My Boss: What is the car doing to make you think that?
Customer: Well, I put $10 in gas in the car, and the needle only went up to the 1/4 [full] mark.

[At this point my boss looked up a fuel pump/sending unit assembly - probably $300 or so, if not more - and quoted it to the gentleman.]

Customer: Man, that's a lot! Uhhhh, maybe I'll just put some more gas in it.
My Boss: Okay, that sounds like a good place to start.

Now, let me point out a few things here:

1. The gentleman stated he had put $10 in gas in his car.
2. Gas prices in the area were ~$3.579 to $3.699 per gallon.
3. Math check: He added less than 3 gallons!
4. The Fusion (model year unknown) holds ~17 to 18 gallons.
5. The customer said his fuel needle only showed 1/4 full.
6. Math check #2: 18gal * 1/4 = 4.5gal. (Amount of gas in his '1/4 full' tank.)

So, if he was on "E" (or very near it) and added less than 3gal, it makes sense that he'd be lucky to reach the 1/4 mark!

You know, I am actually old enough to remember when a big stink was raised locally, over gas prices reaching $1.00 per gallon. I have vivid memories of driving my stepmom's Horizon during (junior year? of) high school, seeing the brand new Thornton's with its light-up price board that came ready for 'triple digit' figures, and noticing an employee was adding a '1' in front of the decimal. I distinctly remember the angry honks and shouts from cars that cruised by, voicing the driver's displeasure.
But, that was about 20 years ago. And, though I remember many people mentioning a weekly budget of a '$10 tank' for fuel, we are quite a far cry from those times. Your weekly fuel budget is probably at least $35 to $40, if not more. And that's mostly just for commuting to and from work/school and home! Let's face facts: Our fuel budgets are jacked up due to jacked up prices, not necessarily increased fuel consumption.

Oh, and by the way...

If *your* fuel guage does start acting suspiciously, please remember that it reports the fuel *level*, not the *temperature*. The part you may need will be called a 'fuel level sensor' or 'fuel sending unit'. It is generally a 'float arm' attached to your vehicle's fuel pump assembly, which is inside the tank. And most of the time, you wind up buying the entire fuel pump assembly to get it (hence the hefty price tag mentioned above).

Until next time, be sure to give your vehicle the Golden Rule treatment. But also remember to stop, think, and apply a bit of logic to any 'problem' that seems to arise.

See you again soon!

PPM

Tips for Easier Records-Keeping

Hello again, Readers!

In my last post, I promised a future edition that focused on making your record-keeping easier. I decided to heed the adage of 'no time like the present', so we will cover that very topic today. Actually, I did already touch on this very topic back in November 2011, with the post "Warranty Enforcement 101". Tip #3 of that post gave a quick overview of how to preserve receipts for future warranty claims. This post will go deeper, including more details about that and a step-by-step filing system.

First things first: 
How many vehicles do you own? Write them down on a list. Be sure also to count motorcycles and RV's in the mix. While you're at it, you might consider adding any watercraft (boats, jetski's, etc.), ATV's, mopeds/scooters, and lawn equipment that you have. Pretty much, if it has an engine, you want it on your list. Yes, this is daunting right now, but the work will pay off tremendously. I promise you this!

Get your supplies:
For every vehicle on your list, you will need a 1" hard-bound binder. These usually have a clear plastic cover around them, that allows you to slip a title page in the outside pouch. Make sure yours do, too. If you own a vehicle long enough, you may need to get a larger binder later; for now, the 1" size is the way to go.

If anything else on your list has an ID number (boats, ATV's, etc), I recommend using the 'vehicle' binder method. When you eventually sell such an item, you will get better offers by having this book available as part of the sale.

All of your small engine/lawn equipment (push mower, weed whacker, chainsaw, snowblower, leaf-blower) can generally share one binder. I would recommend a 2" binder for this shared-binder category. If you have a riding mower, you can either do the 1" dedicated binder method for it, or you can put it in the very front of the lawn equipment's shared binder. Since I believe they have an ID number, I would recommend a dedicated binder, but that is your decision to make.

Aside from the binders mentioned above, you will also need the following:
Clear page protectors
Tabbed binder dividers
Plain printer paper
Permanent Marker or Self-adhesive labels (your choice - labels can be made by a label-gun)

Setting-Up Your System:
1. Create a 'Vehicle Maintenance Log' sheet.
  a. In lines across the top, leave open fields for the vehicle's details (year, make, model, engine, color, VIN). Leave enough space to fill in the blanks by hand. Be sure to include a "Page __" spot.
  b. Add a simple table below this. Three columns are all you need: Date, Odometer/Mileage, Description of Repair/Maintenance. The table should have as many lines as will fit neatly on the page.
  c. Print off 2-3 copies for each vehicle (and items that have an ID number).

2. Choose a vehicle on your list. Gather a 1" binder, 10 page protectors and 3 dividers.

3. Using your computer (or any type-and-print device), create a title page for the binder. Be sure to include the color, year, make, model and VIN on this page. Print this out and slip it into the outside front pouch.

4. Fill in the appropriate ID information on the Log sheet you created. Place "Page 1" face-up in front of you, with the other 1-2 copies stacked underneath it. Insert the whole 'packet' into one of the page protectors. Place this protector and one empty protector behind the first tabbed divider.

5. Of the 8 remaining page protectors, place 4 behind each of the other tabbed dividers. Using the labels that came with them, mark the dividers this way: Maintenance Log, Parts Receipts, Repair Receipts.

6. Open the binder, thread the rings through the holes of your organized stack, then seal it up. Use permanent marker or a self-adhesive label to write the year, make, model, color and VIN (at least the last 4-8 characters of it) on the spine of the binder. Store the binder on your bookshelf.

7. Repeat steps 2-6 for the remaining vehicles on your list.

NOTE: Certain items like watercraft and lawn equipment have maintenance intervals based on 'hours used' instead of 'mileage driven'. Refer to your owner's manual to figure out which interval type you should reference on your maintenance log. I recommend creating a separate Maintenance Log that works better for these items. (Mostly, just changing 'mileage' to 'hours' on the table would work well. But you may also want to tweak the 'equipment information' portion to reflect the machinery's details.)

Maintaining Your System:

The hard part was the set-up, so now you're on 'easy street'! Every time you do any repair or maintenance (oil and filter change, air filter change, any fluids flushed, etc):

1. Grab that vehicle's binder from the bookshelf. 

2. Pull your Log out of the protector and fill in the particulars (date, miles, job description).

3. File the receipts in the appropriate section - 'repair' if you had a shop do the job, 'parts' if you got the items from a parts store and did the job yourself.

    *NOTE: Consider making a photocopy of any parts store receipt before filing it.*

4. Put the binder back on the bookshelf. You're done!

As with nearly any system, the hardest part is setting it up in the first place. Once you have that done, keeping up with it is a breeze. A lot like cleaning your home: get your routine in place, don't slack off, and you will always be company-ready in 5 minutes or less. Speaking of which, I had better go now. Housekeeping duties are calling me.

Remember to keep those records well, so you can save your sanity. And treat your vehicle as well as you want it to treat you.

See you again soon!

PPM