Episode 8: “Smokey and the Engine Cover Bandit” in the Never ending Saga of the Most Beat up 22 Month Old Car in the World

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Episode 8: “Smokey and the Engine Cover Bandit” in the Never ending Saga of the Most Beat up 22 Month Old Car in the World

I hit 35,000 miles this week, so it was time for another trip to EZ-Lube. After getting ripped for $130 for an oil change and power steering flush (my baby only gets the good synthetic stuff now) I was on my way to West Covina to eat some spaghetti at Amy’s house. As I’m lazily driving down Citrus Street I see what is either dust blowing over my hood or smoke coming out of the hood. When I got to her house I opened up the hood and saw- yep – that’s smoke alright. They’d spilled the oil on the lower engine bay and it was burning off (and not exactly smelling like roses either). To my surprise I noticed something else. My engine cover was gone. I immediately called EZ Lube. After being told for fifteen minutes by someone that “nah – that car doesn’t have an engine cover, Boss, never seen a Mazda with an engine cover, Boss” (this is tantamount to working at Target and not knowing what the “bullseye logo” is) I got out my receipt and asked to talk to the actual employee that changed the oil. He told me that he remembered that when he opened the hood there wasn’t an engine cover. So this means one of three things has happened:

#1 (most likely) when Star Mazda removed the engine cover to pop the drive belt back on after this incident they forgot to put it back on

#2 EZ Lube took it off to aid in the cleanup of their oil spill on my car and forgot to put it back on, but didn’t want to admit it.

#3 Black – market Mazda engine cover bandits broke into my garage in the middle of the night and absconded with my cover.

So, now I have to call Star Mazda on Monday and prepare to hear “huh, we don’t know what you’re talking about – but if you want to buy a new cover we can get it for you and install it for about $100”

So now my question to you all is – do I need an engine cover? Is it a necessity – or is it just cosmetic? I’d rather not have to get another freaking rental car and leave my car at the dealer for another day just to get this engine cover if it isn’t really necessary for the normal operation of the car.

3 thoughts on “Episode 8: “Smokey and the Engine Cover Bandit” in the Never ending Saga of the Most Beat up 22 Month Old Car in the World

  1. Assume you are talking about the plastic shroud that covers the top of the engine. Mazada’s v-six is a Ford (I belive) design. First time I saw that I thought “wow, making the engine pretty”. On reflection, I decided that they put it there to keep an owner from sticking his fingers into the belts & getting a few million. No proof of this- just my thought.
    I don’t think the oil place would go to the trouble of stripping the shroud off to wipe off the oil-I get oil on the engine every time I change the oil (and the smoke) due to the location of the filter. When your mother got the front bumper replaced (impact with a coon) the shop left a shroud under the bumper off. When I checked under the car and pointed this out they said “you don’t need it”. “Probably true-but if you want to get paid-PUT IT ON!”
    Star Mazda might have broken it taking it off and thought you would never check. Or a tech was just trying to speed up the process.

  2. uh…actually not far from the truth…

    That same band of cats that lost a little sibling to my engine bay still has its members crawl all over my car all the time. They pee on themselves (usually while sitting on my storage boxes) and then take a tour of the hood and roof of my car before settling down for a nap by the windshield.

    I called Star Mazda yesterday and Terry informed me that a few weeks ago a Tech had found a wayward engine cover. So, all I have to do is go over there this Saturday and have it put back on.

    Speaking of storage boxes… A while ago I put the boxes my LCD monitors came in down in the garage (everybody stores stuff in front of their cars in “their spot”). A few weeks ago I noticed one of the boxes was gone…. So, I don’t have engine cover bandits – but EMPTY electronics box bandits! Wonder what the pawn shop gave them for a monitor box (WITH STYROFOAM STILL IN IT!!!). Should I call around to all the pawn shops? File a police report? I think the police are scared to come to my neighborhood. If the traffic cops would spend five seconds on my street they could make more money than a downtown parking lot. I guess the rough translation for “Garage Entrance” in spanish means “please, park here as often as possible and block residents from entering or exiting parking garage!”

    And obviously whoever wrote the spanish versions of the LA county license exam (yes, you can take it in spanish….) accidentally wrote that red paint on a curb means parking is encouraged and four-way lights (or “emergency lights” as we white-folk call them) are there to make it legal to park anywhere you want (in the middle of the street, on the sidewalk, etc.) – but ONLY if you honk your horn loudly and then leave your vehicle unattended for long periods of time!

    If you think I’m being racist, come visit me! …maybe I should make a photo essay on this subject one of these days…

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