More DIY repairs on my clunker

I took my 8 year old clunker to the Nissan dealer the other day to take advantage of the $79 radiator flush coupon that expired at the end of the year, and was told that my oil pressure switch was leaking. I was quoted a price of $150 for the repair, so I decided to replace the part myself.

I headed back to the motorvate.ca web site, which was useful when I saved more than $500 by replacing my knock sensor myself, and found that a leaking oil pressure switch was a common problem with my car that was easy to take care of.

I picked up a new oil pressure switch for $11.27 and had the part swapped out in less than an hour. I did drain my engine oil before the repair, so I had to add the cost of a few quarts of 5W-30 oil (about $2 each) to the job. When all was said and done, I was able to get the job done for less than $20, which is quite a bit cheaper than the $150 I was quoted at the dealer.

As I've mentioned before, I find the repairs that an older car require to be emotionally draining. While my Nissan had spoiled me with trouble free service for several years, I have had to perform repairs on my car four times since July to the tune of about $250 in parts. That cost would easily have topped $1000 in parts and labor charges if I had not been able to do the repairs myself.

I also have another repair coming up on the radar screen, since my front and rear brakes will need to be serviced in the near future. Hurray for me...