 | Thursday, December 20, 2007 |  |
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Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,
and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.Norman Vincent Peale |
I just received the following 2007 Truck Report from my good friend Jeff. I have to say he has more determination than I do to keep his vehicle on the road for nearly 300,000 miles! I know how a trusty vehicle can become part of the family ... like our old van did ... but we didn’t have even half that many miles on our old van. My hat is off to you Jeff! In this day and age of throw-away everything it is good to see somebody still willing to keep something going as long as you have. Merry Christmas to you and your wife Tahdra and the rest of the family ... including the old Ford truck.
[The following from Jeff’s email to me.]
Odometer reading as of December 19, 2007: 273575 *actual mileage is greater due to low-reading speedometer/odometer. This is 2633 miles since this time last year.
February 14: Replaced alt. belt, spark plugs (Motorcraft BSF42C), cap and rotor, air filter ($32.71).
May 11: Replaced spark plug wires ($12.99).
May 27: Replaced ignition pick-up and reluctor ($34.43).
May 30: Replaced spark plugs (NGK WR5) ($11.47).
June 2: Replaced heater core, hoses, thermostat, gasket, crankcase filter ($46.80).
June 6: Replaced spark plugs (Autolite AP45) ($16.08).
August 18 & 25, September 8 & 22: Replaced brake lines, hoses, calipers ($147.98).
October 3: Replaced coil, spark plugs (Autolite AP46) ($26.29).
October 9: Replaced tie rod ends (left and right, inner and outer) and sleeves ($69.72).
October 16: Sancken Automotive replaced radius arm bushings, rebuilt both rear springs, and performed a front wheel alignment ($578.72).
October 31: Farm and Fleet resealed front left tire on rim ($15.65).
December 3: Meineke replaced exhaust pipe, muffler (free replacement), and tailpipe ($143.94).
The truck spent most of the summer and fall in the garage while I used Isaac’s Colt to get around. I think the truck felt snubbed, due to all the attention it demanded. Most of the year, I was fighting poor engine performance, that kept me changing ignition components. The installation of “hot” plugs seems to have helped. One morning I blew a rear brake line, which led to replacement of all the lines and hoses. Spotting a loose tie rod end led to complete steering linkage replacement and an alignment. That led to repair of the rear springs. I’m happy about that, since the bed is now level with the road! In hindsight, this may have been the year to move on to a newer truck. But with this year’s investment, I’ll have to get a few more years out of it. (I don’t mind!) Isaac’s Colt is back in the garage, and the truck is getting me around well (so far) through the snow and salt this winter.
OK, Tahdra made me add it up: total repair cost this year equals $1136.78, or $0.43 per mile!
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People look at a 1297 copy of the Magna Carta before it was sold at Sotheby’s auction house for $21,321,000, in New York, December 18, 2007. The Magna Carta is known as the basis of many parts of current law, most notably, the writ of habeas corpus, which allows appeal by prisoners against unlawful imprisonment by government.(Chip East/Reuters) |
At The Office
Why is Christmas just like a day at the office?
You do all the work, and the fat guy with the suit gets all the credit. |
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Border Disorder
