had a great time yesterday with A. the girl I've been seeing weekly now for a few months. since I was off for fall break, she and I had planned to spend the day together since she works weekend night shifts at an emergency veterinarian place. anyway, we had a great time walking around the new outlet mall in OKC and then up north to check out the new WHole Foods store. We were going to eat the buffet there but she has a thing about germs and food and the place was so crowded that she wasn't feeling it for the buffet at all. ha so we went across the street to Republic instead. got some great pulled chicken cheesy nachos, and then we both had a small salad and the pulled chicken sandwich. yum.
The new outlet mall is definitely geared toward moms I've decided. ha for example the J Crew and Banana Republic and Gap store are all about 3/4 women's and about 1/4 to one side or other for men. that should tell you a LOT about OKC. The men are shopping the NIKE and Under Armor stores and that's about it probably. ha well also the place has about two or more kitchen/cooking places and then some kid and baby and kiddie toy stores etc etc. overall a nice new mall and addition to OKC. We've never had an outlet store before. but still it's not the same as Premium Outletmalls in Dallas or Austin I'd say. San Marcos Texas still one of the most I've enjoyed running around. we did have fun checking it all out, only thing I bought were some gym socks and she got a hat somewhere. I've got the NYC trip coming up to save money for PLUS the PICKUP repair bill.
speaking of my wonderful pick up, I got home by 430 and my mom and dad came and picked me up to take me to the garage that had my truck ready. paid the man and drove home. sweet! got my ranger back. thanks for all the comments bout the truck btw. My dad kept all our cars running growing up and knows this guy who fixed mine and he's completely trusted even if the labor was a bit high. we know he does things exactly right and what's needed. having had my truck since 02, I bought it with only 12k miles on it and it now has 166k so it was time for major maintenance. after fall break I'm going to take it back in for brake pads and then the front end ball/joint replacement. for right now I got wheels again, yee haw!
today I'll be jumping into the 20 essays I have to grade this week. I'm going to do 4 or 5 and then reward myself with some time working outside in the yard some or watching more of the "Doc Martin" series on Youtube. I'm just finishing series 4, and there's only one more series to go. yikes. cheers
3 comments:
So are you and A an item?
Glad you got your truck back.
Dan,
A few words about ball joints.
They are such a safety issue you need to be particular about the brand you use. Avoid the cheap Chinese junk on this critcal part.
The parent company Affinia Group owns the following brands: Raybestos, Spicer, and McQay Norris. They also supply Nappa with ball joints. They make a couple of different grades of ball joints, I would recommend their highest grade because the real expense in replacing them is in the labor, not so much the part.
-Raybestos PROFESSIONAL Grade
-McQuay Norris EXTREME DUTY
-Napa GOLD
Listed above are the models to ask for, pay attention the part in bold letters. All three joint brands listed above are the same ball joint and get this, they are made in Oklahoma!
Another popular brand is Moog. It used to be the best joint on the market for your dad's generation, but a few years back the company was sold to parent company Federal Mogul, and some of the production was moved to Mexico. The quality is hit or miss, and they are usually more expensive than those I listed above. Motorcraft joints are re-branded Moogs and are also over priced.
I also like Raybestos PROFESSIONAL grade brake pads.
With 166K miles, you should really change the tie rod ends while your doing the ball joints and then get a computerized front end alignment. If you do the work at different times you may end up paying for two front end alignments, which would be a waste. Use the same brand of tie rods as ball joints, the brands I mentioned above.
Also, while all of the parts are off, it is a good time to change the front shocks. I like KYB Gas-Adjust (about $50 each, made in US, Japan) or Billstein (about $85 each, made in Germany).
You mentioned $800 for changing ball joints. That is more than a litte outragous. For example, the ball joints on your truck are the press in type, which means you remove a small metal ring then use an oversized C-clamp to press the joint in or out of a hole. You have an upper and lower joint on each front wheel. It would take no more than one hour per wheel to change press in joints. A set of four ball joints should cost around $150 or less, then about two hours labor. Assuming your shop charges $100 per hour, the total job should be $350 - $400, or maybe $500 at MOST. You really should shop around, most tire shops replace ball joints and tie rod ends. Ask about the brand of products they use, some will allow you to supply the parts so you can save $. If you really love your mechanic, often times a conversation about the price and amount of labor involved will drop the price. Showing that you have some knowledge about the work involved helps with mechanic honesty and pricing.
PS - there are several videos on youtube about changing ball joints on a ford ranger\explorer, if you want to see how it is done.
Good luck with A. A man with your genes needs to procreate. Facing the facts, guys may be more fun to ogle, but you can only make babies with a girl. I can tell from the way you approach your students that you will be a great father.
If you can enjoy shopping with A, and she has good values, you can very likely make a marriage work. Quite a few years ago, I chose the path I am recommending to you. It has worked out very well.
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