This past weekend I spent 15 hours working with my sons to rebuild the top half of an engine. The 1996 Jeep Cherokee that my oldest son drives was misfiring in one of the cylinders. We worked on all of the possible causes and determined one of the valves was bad on the 3rd cylinder. I could have paid $800 for a valve job as I don't know how to do that. Instead I just purchased a new cylinder head for $300 and replaced it with my boys.
We started working on the engine Friday night. We were not sure how easy the exhaust manifold bolts would be to remove and we wanted them to soak in PB Blaster overnight. We drained the radiator, removed the power steering pump, and sprayed the bolts. The next morning my son removed the air compressor for the air conditioning system without disconnecting the refrigerant hoses. By then we had enough stuff removed from the engine we could remove the valve cover and head. Sure it took a bit longer than a certified mechanic but after putting everything back together, the engine started right up. We were all very happy and there was much rejoicing.
The next morning my oldest son posted pictures of our handiwork on his Facebook page. It was a huge accomplishment for all of us and we felt like we were ready to tackle more complex automotive projects. The whole experience made me realize that experiencing success is a vital part of the human existence. More importantly, it is up to us to create our own successes. Should you be looking for your own success, my advice is to avoid computers. Most people think I am bald because of my kids. Nope, it is because I work with computers.
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