Proper Preparation

[klunker]

  They say as you grow older, you grow wiser. I think  I have found the secret to eternal youth. Shun wisdom.

  I am planning one more grand prospecting adventure before I get stormed out of the high country. The thought of a vehicle breakdown and a long walk home used to never occur to me but for some reason nowadays it does so I thought I would do a little deferred maintenance on my old Jeep.

  The first item is a pesky water leak. I poked a stick in the bottom radiator hose this spring when some idiot planted a Manzanita bush right in my way. A quick wrap of duct tape has worked well all summer but now the leak is getting to be a bit much. So this time there will be no half a--ed repairs. I Put on two layers of tape. While I was repairing the hose I noticed the tie rod end had wallowed out the tapered hole in the steering knuckle. This could very likely be part of the cause of a violent shake that always develops between 68 and 74 mile per hour (that and three miss matched tires). Two flat washers and a new nail in the castle nut fixed it right up. Now on to the brakes. Last week I discovered, at a very inopportune time, that some one had apparently siphoned the break fluid out of the reservoir. This necessitated finding a very large, very soft , very close tree, very fast. in such circumstances three out of four aint' bad. So I topped off the brake fluid - again. The next little detail is the headlights. It seems they have developed quite a sense of humor, going out at the most hilarious of times. I'm not much of an elektricalishon so I'll just plan on being home by dark. The last item is the starter. It's been acting up lately and won't engage if I'm not parked perfectly level. So I'll simply ask Sourdough Scott if he would like to ride along.

  I'm getting wiser all the time. I hope Sourdough isn"t.

[Gold Seeker]

Klunker, I hear ya, I've been driving my Suburban for quite sometime now, but the wheels just fell off, so time to jack it up and put new wheels on it!!

[1515Art]

Sounds good for another 100k at least, might be just a bit of over kill with the tape...better to be safe than sorry anyway so good on you for the extra layer of protection.

[Sourdough Scott]

I've never been to keen on mataience myself.  But I like to keep my fluid levels topped off at all times. 

So hopefully you changed your muffler bearings. Took the summer air out of your tires and replaced with winter air . And last,but not least, changed this....  Looking forward to our adventure. I THINK??? Bringing  my motorcycle helmet. 

[vanursepaul]

Oh boy... Ready to ride again

[Gold Seeker]

Scott,

That coupon won't do Klunker any good, he doesn't need blinkers out in the boondocks, but I really appreciate you posting it because I drive mostly in the city and I'm tried of getting tickets for no turn signal, the money I'm going to save I can use for buying a new computer monitor, it's hard reading all the new posts on the one I have now after cutting out the coupon!

[mn90403]

I want pictures of these vehicles ...

[Au4Gold2]

Great post.....and subject! Been avoiding fixing my ride as it still putters...but just 2 months ago I had that dreadful day in the foothills...flat tire...slate pierced my side wall to a brand new tire. Problem was, I did not have my spare tire tool kit, that long metal rod that you crank the tire down from underneath the vehicle!! Luckly I was in a walking distance from the main highway and had someone give me a lift home..came back with a jack and a hack saw....took me 2 hours to cut the support rod  and brace that held the tire on. Three hours latter tire replaced. Now my damned 4x4 selector switch is stuck in all wheel drive, wonder when it will go and get me stuck, the list goes on....thanks for the reminder dude... oh crap did I mention front brakes, coolant leak, cracked front wind shield....ohh well hope today is not the day she quits on me. 

[Jim_Alaska]

AuWanderer,

Sounds like a GM truck. My Chevy has the same problems with getting stuck in a four wheel drive position. I have found that if you stop, turn off the ignition and wait a full minute before restarting, this usually resets some nutty computer glitch and the selector switch will now work normally.

The really frustrating one on GM products is the heater/air conditioner. I live with either one being stuck in either the heat or air conditioner position. If you start the truck in the morning and need some heat, you turn up the heat selector, you get heat. But then the problem develops that when it warms up outside, the heat won't turn off, so you bake the rest of the day.  

I have spent hundreds on repairing this, only to have it come back later.

[Au4Gold2]

Hi Jim,

 

 You pegged it, its a 2005 Chevy Tahoe....they are notorious to these problems....