Yes - she runs - or more importantly - she stops. No I am not talking about Evie's need for speed, I am talking about our trusty minivan. The breaks in the van are finally fixed! Hooray!
So what was wrong? I know you all are waiting with baited breath to find out. The sensor below the master cylinder was leaking and that was where we were losing fluid. ( that's what you were going to guess I know). Unfortunately it was hard to see where the leak was coming from, so Andrew thought we should replace the master cylinder ( doesn' t that part sound so important - it was hard for me to remember for some reason. When the tow truck guy asked what was wrong - I said, " a part of the breaking system that sounds like the boss" or something equally stupid). We bought the master part from from Auto Value Parts. We were so impressed with their customer service and talked about how we liked buying from them so much more than from Canadian Tire. Unfortunately, the part they sold us was faulty and it wouldn't work. We couldn't get any pressure back in the breaks, no matter how long we bled the lines, though on the up side we did get to spend a lot of quality time together in the garage. Andrew finally got fed up and we had AMA tow the van to the school, where they noticed the leaky sensor and finally decided to try it with the old master cylinder. Needless to say we are not as impressed with Auto Value Parts as we once were. We'll see what there customer service is like when we try to take back the faulty part.
Anyway, we are back on the road and loving it. It was so great to drive to the park with the kids last night while Andrew was at his meeting. That would not have happened before. The girls are especially happy to be back in the Van where there is air conditioning and I am happy the Alice is back in her booster seat ( it wouldn't fit in the car).
Special thank yous go out to:
My Mom and Dad for loaning us their van for a couple of weeks,
Gary the hero mechanic at the high school who figured it all out,
And for Jenny and her mom for picking up Jackie from school a couple of times.
And Andrew for saving us all the money!
The experience was great since we really appreciate our van now, and I have acquired some new skills. I can now check break fluid, buy break fluid and add break fluid to the car. Also, I know where the master cylinder is. Do you?
2 comments:
We're learning similar things right now too! We thought it was the starter. Nope. Maybe a new battery? Well, ours was not too strong so we did get a new one of those. Could it be the alternator? Nope. Now maybe they think it could be as simple as a hose. Hope to be back on the road soon just like you!
I have no idea where the master cylinder is??!! That is so cool that you guys fixed it yourself. Truly amazing. We would have had to spend a ton of money for someone else to fix it.
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