January 20th, 2004 (Post #40)

January 20th, 2004
CV Joint Again!

This week was a great week. We were on our way to visit the Orchid Society and I was nearing the Northern Transavaal Region in South Africa when the CV joint went bust on me again. It was a terrible bit of bad luck what with the wild animals running about and us with out our normal guide. The funny thing is I wasn’t trapsing around in the Transavaal at all. I was on Porter Street in Norman, Oklahoma. I would expect this thing to fail again if I were on the Transavaal ripping it up with my buds. But I’m just tooling along on paved streets. It seems the frustrations never end. By the time the year is over I’ll have a nearly new 1993 Range Rover sitting in the driveway. This is due to the fact I will have replaced nearly every part
known to fail. Really, nearly everyone. So my New Year’s resolution to, “get out on the trail” imparted to me by Mark will be put off another month as I struggle to pay for this latest repair.

I ordered a repair manual from an Ebay seller last night. It’s on CD. I worry about the legality of it, but in the end it’s cheaper than the printed version at about $100(US) less. I also bought a new Bayco Work light from O’Reilly’s so I should be able to see in my dark garage. Price was $20 plus tax. My good old fashioned “trouble light” as my dad used to call it, eats light bulbs, especially when it is cold outside. It is more “trouble” than “light” most of the time. JagGuy has one and I liked it when I used it at his shop last month.

The CV Joint will arrive Friday and I guess I’ll tear it down Friday night in the garage. I ordered it from Motorcars, LTD. Ken was very pleasant to deal with. I believe the price at $189(US) was the best I could find on the internet. There was one place cheaper but they only sold wholesale
to “Actual Repair Shops”. I didn’t feel like faking my way through that for thirty dollars, it just wasn’t worth the time. Thank you Motorcars for your support of our club and the great prices.