@matigo If I had opted not to have the procedure my vision would have remained blurred. To go from 20:20 vision to mush so suddenly showed a problem that had to be fixed.
Posterior Capsulotomy laser eye treatment performed today, I'm already experiencing improved vision. Some six weeks ago my vision in my right eye became blurred and hazy, four years ago the opthamologist who performed the cataract operation in 2015 mentioned the likelihood of such a problem. Here's a good explanation of the problem and the fix: https://www.mtwaverleyeye.com.au/posterior-capsulotomy
@matigo No reason why not, it's only 11.5 years old with a mere 232,000 km done, of which I contributed 98,000 in six years of ownership. It's a 2012 Mazda2 4-door hatchback (do you call that a 5-door?) with a 5-speed manual transmission and 1498 cc engine. Said engine is a non-displacement type, which means if the valve timing chain should fail for some reason, the pistons cannot come into contact with the valves.
I recently had some work done on my car by a mobile mechanic, he had to replace the serpentine drive belt that powers the water pump, alternator and air conditioning. The old belt tore itself to bits suddenly some 40km from home, so the car was undrivable and had to be towed back home.
He also had to replace the belt's tensioning pulley as it was wobbling from side to side because of worn bushings. I got him to do a 10,000 km service as that was due, one of the items that needed replacing was a dusty air cleaner filter. He wasn't able to source a replacement pulley that day so he arranged to come back 6 days later.
I noticed after this service that there was excessive induction noice under acceleration and when he returned to fit the new pulley I noticed two of the five spring clips holding the air cleaner cover in place had worked loose. Once reattached, the excessive induction noise was gone.
There's creek running through this suburb called Toomuc Creek. We've had very heavy rainfall over the last two days and the upper reaches which run through farmland are very flooded. Toomuc gains another letter, becoming Toomuch Creek.
It's not getting any better. There's good reasons I'm receiving a disability support pension: my lower back is very fragile and arthritis in my left knee inhibits mobility greatly: So when I used the line trimmer to reduce the length of the overgrown grass in the back yard two weeks ago, I twisted awkwardly and since then the left side of my lower back has been exceptionally painful. Ice packs, heat packs and various liniments provide temporary relief. Few positions are comfortable for very long, standing, sitting or lying down need to change frequently. I'm not overly happy with things at present.
I used to use a 30cm box fan in my bedroom to stop the space from getting too stuffy at night. But that was rather loud and really moved to much air. Now I use a 15cm rechargeable battery fan that's far quieter and still move plenty of air.
Daihatsu, Toyota's small car subsidiary, shuts down factories due to falsified safety tests.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-27/japan-auto-maker-daihatsu-suspends-production-safety-testing/103268528
Two days ago my car lost its air conditioning, coolant system pump and alternator. There was an almighty squeal and screech followed thumping and flapping sounds from within the engine bay.
I found a shady spot in a safe location, checked the serpentine belt that drives those accessories. It was thoroughly shredded. I called the auto club and a service van arrived. The mechanic confirmed my diagnosis and arranged for a flatbed tow truck. I had to pay for an extra 16 km as the level of service agreement I have only allows for 30 km of free towing.
When we arrived at the auto club affiliated repairer at 3pm on Friday, it was closed so I arranged to have the car dropped off at home.
For the preceding week I'd been suffering from a really sore lower back and getting up int the cab of the Hino truck was quite a trial.
Once home I made an appointment with a mobile mechanic who replaced the belt and showed me that the tensioning pulley had excess sideways slop which would have contributed to the serpentine belt's sudden demise. While he was there I got him to do a 10,000km service as it was due.
The job's not over yet. He's coming back on Friday to replace the tensioning pulley. The all-up cost of this episode will be in excess of A$1000, for a car that's 11 years old with 232,000km on the odometer.
My back is still exceptionally sore.