An unexpected homecoming!

Boy, I really could have used this over the weekend: Neighbor D’s Jeep doesn’t have a trailer hitch and I had to borrow S&L’s pickup to move a bunch of stuff for some other neighbors. But I’ll take what I can get.

During today’s water run I hopelessly stopped at the shop to visit my poor old broken down Yellow Peril – only to find that it was fixed and running and “Didn’t you get my text message?”

No I did NOT get a text message, because it turns out the imbecile who runs the place was sending texts to the wrong frickin’ phone number all this time. But whatever: It was ready to leave! And there was nothing left but to pay the man (an exceptionally non-emotional example of that sort of event, thanks to you guys) and drive it home.

“I don’t want to say I don’t trust these guys,” I said to D&L, “But I don’t trust these guys. So if you’d just stay behind me on the way home, I’d appreciate it.”

As you can see, it was an unnecessary precaution. So far.

Joy! I’m going to go give Tobie a ride.

ETA: Tobie approves! His first Jeep ride in almost four months.

About Joel

You shouldn't ask these questions of a paranoid recluse, you know.
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10 Responses to An unexpected homecoming!

  1. Jim Price says:

    Amazing, . . . but I suspect “so far” is going to be a long-term thing. You are wise not to trust them. And it appears you may need some new door check straps.

  2. coloradohermit says:

    Happy Valentines day Joel!

  3. Robert says:

    Glad The Yellow Peril is back!
    “an unnecessary precaution. So far.” EVERYTHING breaks eventually.
    And I wonder how many youngsters know what “the yellow peril” was/is…

  4. Joel says:

    Door check straps are easy. Replacing the mounting hardware when the bolts are broken off in the frame is harder. The wind blows hard here sometimes.

  5. Ben says:

    Yay! Long may the Yellow Peril live!

    Did any of those minor jobs get done on it, or just the tranny?

  6. Joel says:

    Just the transmission, and the shop is so busy I wasn’t willing to wait longer for them to get around to the rest. They did confirm that the big power steering leak is just a hose and not the gear, so I can fix that myself. I do wish I had insisted that they spin off that one stuck lug nut, though. Can’t get to the left front brake pads till I get past that.

  7. Ben says:

    Do you happen to have access to a die grinder? Cutting disks are amazingly useful things. Cut a deep slot in the nut, finish with a cold chisel. Replace the stud.

  8. Joel says:

    Ben, I thought of that two years ago. Gave it up when I saw how deep into the wheel the nut is. Only a tiny bit of it protrudes, barely enough to get a purchase with a socket. I was lucky enough to get 19 of the 20 nuts off without rounding them. I think the only way I’m going to get it off is to drill through the stud, and so far I haven’t worked up enough want-to to sit down and do it. But I think that when I look at the right-side brake pads I’m going to find that I’m out of excuses.

  9. Ben says:

    I’ve drilled one before, and I learned the value of a high quality drill bit. It did the job in just a few minutes, but not before I spent hours trying to use a crappy bit.

  10. Mark Matis says:

    Another option is to find someone with a welder and weld a socket to the nut. You should then be able to remove the nut if you use a wrench with a sufficiently long lever arm.

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