Being a surprisingly warm and sunny day, my daughter brightly announced she was going out the work on her car. Yes, the reticent auto mechanic was voluntarily gathering tools and parts with an invitation to join her. Heck, how could I resist?

It is recommended that spark plug wires or wiresets be replaced on a vehicle every 30,000 miles. Today my daughter replaced hers not only because it was time but rabbits had gnawed one in half. Wiresets have a great deal of current running through them so they literally burn away. Worn wires increase resistence resulting in less amperage to the spark plugs, decreased gas mileage and poor engine performance.

She also needed to do something about her plugged EGR valve and to replace missing or broken vacuum hoses. A new valve costs more than what the car is worth so our plan was to take it off and clean out the carbon buildup. It was plugged therefore breaking vacuum hoses.

I really didn't do much but help loosen stuff and work on the EGR carbon problem. By the time I was finished, she had replaced the distributor cap, rotor and had the new wires in place on the spark plugs. Clever girl. We both hunted down the missing or broken vacuum hoses and closed the hood. We were finished except for a test drive.

I could tell by the sound in her voice that everything was running smoothly. No more eratic idling but a smooth quiet ride. I'm proud of her. She's not only learned how to work on her own car but has worked on mine, helped in some of the most daunting projects here at the ranch, designed websites, started corporations and created astounding business plans. She's amazing.