Even if I knew the problem I don't have the tools, knowledge or desire to work in a cramped engine compartment for hours. For whatever the reason(s) our vehicles have become more complicated with time. They are far better than the vehicles of my youth, too.
I can't make myself believe that the factories designed these systems as a means to scam owners out of their money. If I were a dealer or parts house that had to constantly deal with a customer that was doing everything possible to keep from spending a dime with me I don't think I'd bend over backwards to keep him from wasting a dollar.
When my older brother came back from The Hague in '67 he was going to buy a new car. A two door Plymouth Belvedere. I asked him if he were getting a/c on it and he let me know right then he was not about to pay some auto company $400 for an air conditioner. I told him, to no avail, that he was making a mistake. He was an engineer that worked for Redstone Arsenal and you couldn't tell him anything.
Two years later he decided that he needed a station wagon so he went back to the Plymouth dealer in Huntsville to trade. The same salesman that sold him the Belvedere told him they were not the least bit interested in taking the Belvedere in on trade. When he asked them the reason they told him they couldn't sell a car without a/c. I snickered.
Another example of his all-knowing genius; he was showing me his property out in Lacey's Spring (even though I could see every square foot from the dining room table). He showed me his persimmon tree and pointed to a beautiful persimmon on the tree that was a deep orange. Only problem was the persimmon was slick and shiny. He remarked that there was a good one right there. I told him it was not ready. He argued that it was...just look at that color.
After being put in my place I told him to dig in and enjoy it. He plucked it off and popped it into his mouth and bit down....for about a second. I looked at him and said that I didn't have a college education like his but I did know enough to know you don't eat a persimmon that is not shriveled up like a prune.
He ain't changed a bit.
