June 6th, 2004 (Post #46)

June 6th, 2004
Air Conditioning
JagGuy’s daughter had complained that there was no A/C in the Black Rangie so
he endeavored to repair it. So being as I wanted my A/C to work as well, mostly because
the wifey complained that it wasn’t working. I decided to prod him a bit and we worked
on the trucks one past Sunday. Thinking I was in for an expensive repair and I expected to
spend at least $300(US) I was amazed when I had cold air coming out of my vents just $40 later. Read about it HERE

The cats are back to rattling but I am mostly ignoring them.

The Big White Bus has not been idling as of late and a fellow at the Pirate 4×4 board reminded
me about the idler control valve, which gets sooty after awhile and must be cleaned. I had forgotten about that. As I posted, this happens every year and I seem to forget, every year, how I fixed it the last time I had the problem.

How about them gas prices? Wow who would’ve figured that kind of price hike. Funny when things happen in other states to production facilities our prices go up. It’s strange because our gas plants here were not affected. You can go down and look at where your gas is made in Wynnewood Oklahoma. Very strange indeed. The only good news in all of this is tax revenues are up. I wonder what they’ll blow it on this year?

It is a time of mourning in our nation as The Great Communicator, Ronald Reagan has passed away. Prayers go out to the family for their comfort. Thank you sir for giving us back the pride we have as Americans.

March 26th, 2004 (Post #44)

March 26th, 2004
Cats are rattlin’
The catalytic converters on the Big White Bus are rattling something fierce! I could have swore I had only 3 quarts of oil and dropped a rod on the way home from RovErica’s softball game. Go Lions! Anyway, it sounds terrible. I will again look for a solution this week and report back faithfully as always. I think I saw a “Y” pipe and “cat” for the same price as my local shop wanted to charge me for cats alone…

where did I put that link….

November 24th, 2003 (Post #35)

November 24, 2003
Updates
I could have told you cold weather was coming. As you will see the list of repairs for the Big White Bus has only grown right here before Christmas and the weather was beautiful the last two weeks. But alas no money in the pocket of this hapless Rover owner for repairs.

Well lots of things have been going on lets get them listed. I have reported the Error 34 and it’s cause, I am sure, is the oxygen sensors. So I consulted the site Rangerovers.net and am going to buy the sensors fairly soon. I am going to try the NGK equivilent parts at the reduced cost. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I also have to have new tie-rod ends. Those are obviously getting critical due some noticable
variations in my steering. This is a less exciting repair but again very important. As I don’t wish
to pay for two alignments I will probably order a bushing set also. With the addition of installing my new springs and shocks this will make for a very interesting Saturday I am sure.

I have a catalytic converter with a nasty rattle also. I will probably wait to do this as I am not sure I can afford to put that much out all at once. This is not so critical and I can stand the noise for a bit more.

A new leak in the power steering hoses near the steering box is going to be yet another adventure. I have learned a lot from the last time and will be more careful this time. I hope they will be able to be recrimped and if not I will have a new set made. This is a tiring annoyance and I don’t want to do this project again.

This morning I noticed a bit of anti-freeze on the drive way on the driver’s side of the truck. I was running late and not dressed for auto maintenance this morning so that will also wait ’til later. I can’t think of any good reason for the leak over there so I am a bit concerned.

As you can see dear friends the Big White Bus is showing it’s age. We intended to take her on a trip this fall to Denver but with all these things I decided not to risk the long drive. Sad as she would have been a more comfortable alternative to our Taurus. I have been contemplating a big rebuild but I don’t have a third car so that will also have to wait. My laziness and my financial situation have crept up on me and it shows due to the list above.