Underwood's Personal Blog

I recorded the first 2 parts of our 40 Days of Love series at First Baptist Simpsonville. List here…

• 40 Days of Love – Part 1 
• 40 Days of Love – Part 2

The other night the “Check Engine” light came on in our 2002 Saturn SC2. I found out from looking online that AutoZone will read the computer codes from your car for free which I think is awesome. The Saturn stealership wanted $90 to check it. I took the car by AutoZone and found out it was either the ECTS (Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor) or the thermostat. I went ahead and got both since they were cheap and headed home to start the repairs. I had no idea where the ECTS was located and wanted to replace it first to see. I found it at the right of the engine looking from the front of the car.

The ECTS is fairly simple to replace, just take the old one out, put some plumbers tape on the threads of the new ECTS, put it in and you’re done. In my case I had a remove the battery connection and let it sit about 10min and once I reconnected the battery the check engine light was reset.

Here’s a video I found on YouTube that documents the entire process!

So I went down to my parents today and helped my dad put an Olds 455 in my brothers 72 Pontiac which used to be my mom’s car in college. I hadn’t helped him put an engine in a car in about 10 years so I really looked forward to it this week. We had a great time getting the engine ready, setting the mounts, rolling the car in the garage, lining things up, and placing the engine. I’m glad I was able to spend time working with my dad, brothers and cousin on this!

Mandy and I went to Winter Jam last night at the Bi-Lo Center. There were 8 super Christian artists including New Song, Brandon Heath, tobyMac, and others. The night was great, the building packed with believers, many of whom were teens. It was a great sight. We plan on arriving earlier next year as we wound up behind the stage but we were thankful to be part of such an awesome event.

So it has been a about 5 days or a full work week for me since I got my new tires installed on my truck and I thought it is time to post a review. I had General Grabber AT2 tires in size 275/65R18 installed. I wanted an aggressive All Terrain to replace my BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A’s that came on the truck (and which I replaced with the same for the second round of tires). The BF Goodrich All Terrain TA KO’s were very expensive in 18in rims and I found the Generals. I am VERY satisfied to the extent I want an excuse to drive somewhere. They have a bit of a whir under 45 on the highway but just enough to make you feel like you’re driving a 4×4 – easily drowned out by the radio, AC, etc. At higher speeds there’s no sound at all, a wonderfully smooth ride, and so far great traction in wet and dry conditions. Sometime in the next month I’m going to go off-roading to test them but won’t be able to for a while due to my schedule. I’ve gotten great comments about the look of the tires and I think once these are worn out, I’ll be getting another set.

side view with the tires

a view of the tread

straight on view

We went to the first night of our community group for the “40 Days of Love” series at First Baptist Simpsonville. We met at Starbucks. I really enjoyed the beginning of the series but most of all the chance to meet new folks and build relationships. The Lord really spoke to my heart and I know the next few weeks will challenge me and be greatly beneficial. There were 5 folks in our 20’s group all of whom seemed really nice. We discussed how love should be our primary focus and through that we should love God and our neighbors. The rest of the week we will learn how we can accomplish those goals looking at the best example, Jesus Christ. It should be fun!