Wife's 4kqcs may have to be taken away

[Jenny Curtis]

She's your wife.  Of course she deserves to drive the 4kq.

It sounds like your wife let a few tankfulls of gas get by without
checking the oil.   I'd wager a guess that on occasion you might have
forgotten or blown off doing something your wife asked you to do.

  Before I had the lifters replaced, they clacked towards the end of my
3000 miles and once my mechanic gave me a stern lecture about it.  My
mechanic-- a subjective professional who's opinion isn't loaded with
baggage. A husband's lecture is probably not going to be taken as
graciously or seriously.  Sorry, but that's the nature of relationships.

 As a female who drives the same car, perhaps I can give you some
insight into your wife's psychology.  I sometimes forget to change the
oil because I hate doing it at the service station when I fill-up which
is most people's reminder.   I think I actively repress it, if I do
remember because I hate doing it so much.  If I pop the hood open in
public some oily guy has to come help lil old me check the oil.  Grrr.
 It doesn't help that the dip stick on the 4kq is a POS.  It's really
hard to tell much at all from it.  So if I'm standing there thinking
about it for a second or two, then the oily guy takes this as a sign of
my incompetence and tries to take over. This even happens in the winter
when I'm so bundled up it's difficult to tell whether I'm a girl or a
bear or what.  The other thing that's kind of a pain about adding oil to
the 4kq is that the engine is at a slight slant.  It's really hard to
get the oil bottle up to the hole without making a mess, especially when
you are in a hurry. You need one of those funnels which never seem to be
in stock at a service station.  Getting oil on your engine block and
your coat sleeves sucks.   My guess is that your wife has probably tried
to follow your advice at a service station and had a bad experience in
some way.  Not wanting to admit incompetence at something so seemingly
simple, is not something wives are likely to  do with their husbands.

I would either check the oil myself, or encourage her to check it once a
week when she get's home in the warmth and mental comfort of your
garage.  If you've got the oil/funnel/rags on hand it will be no big
deal for her to add a bit, if necessary, especially after a few
sucessful times of doing it.  She will feel confident and comfortable
doing it.  She might even start checking her tire pressure and washer
fluid, while she's at it.  Ok, I'm getting carried away now.

Finally, remember it's one thing to give someone a lesson.  It's
entirely different for them to actually deal with it in the real world.
 The tire changing is a great example.  Get your wife a decent jack for
her car (the one that comes with the 4kq is junk on anything but
perfectly dry even pavement) if you expect her to change a flat.
 Otherwise AAA might be a good idea.

Jenny
'86 4kqcs:The Eurotrash Princes
'84 Ur-Q: WOOOHOOO!