Meet Terry, she is my four wheeled baby and we are very close. She has seen me travel the country. actually travel North America, why stop at the border right? She is my go-to gal when I went to go “wineing” no seriously, who else would I want to share share these moments with? OK, you are right, Kent obviously but Terry is right up there as my dependable companion.
Thanksgiving weekend I decided it was one last opportunity to give her a little TLC ( Tender Linda Care). A little wash and shine before the winter hits and the perfect time for it because the temperatures were amazing. ( ignore the fashionable outfit, we were also painting the hallway and closing the pool so hence the amazing paint clothes, PS this sweatshirt is my Sons of Maxwell shirt, you may know them as the United Breaks Guitars guys but, I know them as two of the most amazing guys you could want to meet.)
So back to Terry, really she is the focus of today, she really does love a long hot bath but I Sunday I opted for a quick shower and shine. Little buffing on the fender never hurt anyone right. Typical me, I ran out of supplies so I took a quick trip to Canadian Tire to re-stock. Did you know that Canadian Tire is not just for awesome outdoor furniture, kitchen appliances and Christmas Decor ( OK I may be a frequent shopper) but they also carry all kinds of automotive supplies, I know shocking right?
While I was at Canadian Tire I picked up a new FRAM Cabin Air Filter as well as a FRAM Engine Filter. I have been reading a lot about these filters lately and figured what the heck I should be able to do this. If Terry is going to be pre-winter cleaned she may as well be really clean, filters and all. Little hint, I wandered all over the store looking for the filters and could not find them, at our Canadian Tire they are located in the special area that you have to go ask for. ( took me longer to find the filters then it did to install them)
The FRAM filters are not all identical so be sure to check the handy dandy guide to see which ones best fit your vehicle.
Ironically I am one of those totally oblivious people I really had no idea there was a filter behind my glove box (honest). When I asked Kent about it he really gave me the oddest of looks and asked me why do you think an oil change costs so much, I replace the filters every time. Well knock me over with a feather, I really didn’t know but figured heck an opportunity to do this ourselves and save on the next oil change. I finished cleaning Terry and went to work on the filter changes.
FRAM Fresh Breeze Cabin Air Filters can remove 98% of dirt and dust and even allergens from the air, meaning it stops 98% from getting to you, and after seeing the filter after only three months I am very grateful. It was very dirty.
The package said this could be done in 15 minutes, funny thing I think is actually took us 20 minutes but 18 of those minutes was spent trying to get the glove box out. It really is such a simple process.
1) Open your glove box
2) Open FRAM Cabin Filter box and read the enclosed instructions ( very important)
3) follow the manufacturers instructions for removing the glove box so you can reach the old filter
4) Remove old filter
5) Insert new filter
6) pat yourself on the back you have completed the task
I have to share this, I truly was hoping to create one of those really simple and easy how to videos but instead this is a how not to…. we didn’t read the instructions clearly enough from GMC. so getting the old filter out took way too much time, but this blog is about real life, so this is really what happened.
So after successfully changing the FRAM Cabin Air Filter and a little cursing and feeling pretty proud of myself I patted Terry on the back for a job well done and decided we could now tackle the Engine Air Filter, also from FRAM.
This one actually only took five minutes, two minutes to figure out where the filter was housed and then unscrew four screws, remove the old and add the new, re-screw and you are done.
It is said that the Air Filters are the engines first line of defense and I have to agree, stopping that dirt, dust and grime from hitting the engine has to be a huge preventative measure. FRAM does recommend changing the filter every 12000 km’s ( but you should always “follow recommended change intervals as noted in your vehicles owners manual”)
We change the filter when we go for our oil change normally, this time though the oil change is October 31st and woohoo I have already changed both ( or Kent and I did). Money in my pocket so back to Canadian Tire for some home decor I think.
With a little trial and error we figured out exactly what to do and now I am prepared for what is required in the future. Are you daring enough to try this? Take the FRAM challenge, try your hand and maybe check out a few other stories.
