What did you do today for your bug out vehicle?

[Rednex]

The axle swap wasn't bad, just these damn caliper bracket bolts i think i need to torch them. It $1811.91 for the tires, alignment, and both hubs replaced.

I wish i had a frame lift again, buddy had a mechanic shop and i used his frame lifts whenever i needed them. My brother and me built motors and worked on car/trucks with him. He sponsored a car that ran at the local 1/4 mile drag strip. My brother and me ran there too.   

[NT2C]

The axle swap wasn't bad, just these damn caliper bracket bolts i think i need to torch them. It $1811.91 for the tires, alignment, and both hubs replaced.

I wish i had a frame lift again, buddy had a mechanic shop and i used his frame lifts whenever i needed them. My brother and me built motors and worked on car/trucks with him. He sponsored a car that ran at the local 1/4 mile drag strip. My brother and me ran there too.   

Very cool.  I spent a considerable amount of my time out at the track in Englishtown, NJ BITD.

[Beowolf]

Changed the oil, replaced the chatting Bosch wipers with Rain-X, and refilled the windshield wiper reservoir.

[MacWa77ace]

Changed the oil in the Corolla.

Ran a OBD scan. Hadn't done that in a while and had been meaning to do it after I had changed my PCV valve and hose a couple three weeks ago. I changed it cause I heard that if you were burning oil, it could be a stuck PCV. And I always have a 'EVAP Leak [small] code, so wanted to see if changing the hose did anything to that. When I got the old one off it 'rattled' when shaken, so it wasn't stuck and therefore wasn't broken. Also it seems like I still burned the same amount of oil so that didn't work. Only $30 in parts, chalk that up to preventative maintenance.

Anyhow, used a new scan tool, and when I first ran the emissions test,  everything passed except the EVAP system.

Marked down all 5 codes, 4 EVAP stuff, including that 'small leak' code I always have and a catalytic converter code, but this time it threw a P0741 which is a TCC code  , I knew there is something going on with the transmission, nothing major, just a few weird gear changes at certain speeds and acceleration. But it stopped doing that for a couple years, then just recently I felt it a couple times again. Rare. Probably dirty trans fluid.

[eugenenine]

Resoldered the power supply resistors in the instrument cluster as it decided to stop working again.

[majorhavoc]

Resoldered the power supply resistors in the instrument cluster as it decided to stop working again.

Impressive.

[NT2C]

So, the fuel line on my Dakota pickup wasn't rusted out (it wasn't even really rusted, just light surface rust in two spots).  So where was the leak?  In the plastic line from the steel line to the tank.  Two perfect rodent punctures.


After all that I've given them, walnut trees, a chestnut tree, walnuts imported from IDAHO in the back of that very truck, bird seed mixtures purchased a quarter ton at a time! And after all that...

My squirrel brethren have betrayed me!

This means war! 

[majorhavoc]

[flybynight]

All I heard was . Rats in your truck

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

So, the fuel line on my Dakota pickup wasn't rusted out (it wasn't even really rusted, just light surface rust in two spots).  So where was the leak?  In the plastic line from the steel line to the tank.  Two perfect rodent punctures.


After all that I've given them, walnut trees, a chestnut tree, walnuts imported from IDAHO in the back of that very truck, bird seed mixtures purchased a quarter ton at a time! And after all that...

My squirrel brethren have betrayed me!

This means war! 

If you need me to, I can bring you one of my pellet rifles when I come to visit later this year (provided I have the funds to make said trip). 

[Brekar]

Resoldered the power supply resistors in the instrument cluster as it decided to stop working again.

Put 5-60 lb sand tubes in the rear for traction in all of the snow we had recently. Ordering tires next month. When we had to replace the ABS module on my 2000 S10 my father told me he wanted to try something. He told me he had recently watched a YouTube video showing how to resolder the ABS module and since we had to fix it, he wanted to try it. Long story short after about an hour on my dads work bench he reinstalled it and its worked perfectly for the last 15-ish months that its been repaired, no more lights, ABS works like it should.

[NT2C]

So, the fuel line on my Dakota pickup wasn't rusted out (it wasn't even really rusted, just light surface rust in two spots).  So where was the leak?  In the plastic line from the steel line to the tank.  Two perfect rodent punctures.


After all that I've given them, walnut trees, a chestnut tree, walnuts imported from IDAHO in the back of that very truck, bird seed mixtures purchased a quarter ton at a time! And after all that...

My squirrel brethren have betrayed me!

This means war! 

If you need me to, I can bring you one of my pellet rifles when I come to visit later this year (provided I have the funds to make said trip). 

No need.  I have a bolt action .22 that accepts shorts and CB caps.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

So, the fuel line on my Dakota pickup wasn't rusted out (it wasn't even really rusted, just light surface rust in two spots).  So where was the leak?  In the plastic line from the steel line to the tank.  Two perfect rodent punctures.


After all that I've given them, walnut trees, a chestnut tree, walnuts imported from IDAHO in the back of that very truck, bird seed mixtures purchased a quarter ton at a time! And after all that...

My squirrel brethren have betrayed me!

This means war! 

If you need me to, I can bring you one of my pellet rifles when I come to visit later this year (provided I have the funds to make said trip). 

No need.  I have a bolt action .22 that accepts shorts and CB caps.

Oh, right. I forgot about that.

That'll work a lot better than my pellet rifle.

[eugenenine]

Resoldered the power supply resistors in the instrument cluster as it decided to stop working again.

Put 5-60 lb sand tubes in the rear for traction in all of the snow we had recently. Ordering tires next month. When we had to replace the ABS module on my 2000 S10 my father told me he wanted to try something. He told me he had recently watched a YouTube video showing how to resolder the ABS module and since we had to fix it, he wanted to try it. Long story short after about an hour on my dads work bench he reinstalled it and its worked perfectly for the last 15-ish months that its been repaired, no more lights, ABS works like it should.

Around the early-mid 2000's is where a lot of the automotive industry had to start meeting lead free solder requirements and early lead free solder had long-term issues that had to be overcome. So there are a lot of automotive electronics from that decade which can be fixed by a simple resolder

[Beowolf]

Did a five tire rotation.

[NT2C]

I did a 4 tire rotation last month when I got an oil change. Can't do a 5 on mine because the spare is a different width to fit in the trunk. Also looked for damage from my rock crawling last summer while it was on the lift. Had some scrapes on the rock rails where I bottomed out a few times but otherwise fine.

[MacWa77ace]

I have donuts in two of my cars, They only get the fours, but my explorer has a full sized spare. I never do a fiver on that cause its rim is plain steel and the rest are alloy. I just have them put the best of the old tires on the spare every second tire change.

I rotate at about half the estimated life. Front to back, back to front same sides. That's not wrong is it? It seems to work. My fronts on all car models wear out fastest. At about twice the rears, doesn't matter front or RWD. Seems to work cause at end of life the tires are about even.

When I had that broken tire belt last Christmas on my BMW's cooper I replaced both rears, but I said I wanted the new rears moved to the front and the older fronts moved to the back and the dude at the tire shop freaked out. Oh, you can't do that.

We'll I'll tell you, I'd rather have a loose rear end that I can control in a slide, than a front end that 'pushes' out in a corner and you have no control over that slide and end up in a ditch. What's the deal with promoting keeping worn tires on the front and new tires on the back?

[NT2C]

I have donuts in two of my cars, They only get the fours, but my explorer has a full sized spare. I never do a fiver on that cause its rim is plain steel and the rest are alloy. I just have them put the best of the old tires on the spare every second tire change.

I rotate at about half the estimated life. Front to back, back to front same sides. That's not wrong is it? It seems to work. My fronts on all car models wear out fastest. At about twice the rears, doesn't matter front or RWD. Seems to work cause at end of life the tires are about even.

When I had that broken tire belt last Christmas on my BMW's cooper I replaced both rears, but I said I wanted the new rears moved to the front and the older fronts moved to the back and the dude at the tire shop freaked out. Oh, you can't do that.

We'll I'll tell you, I'd rather have a loose rear end that I can control in a slide, than a front end that 'pushes' out in a corner and you have no control over that slide and end up in a ditch. What's the deal with promoting keeping worn tires on the front and new tires on the back?

Industry-standard is new on the rear because most drivers aren't skilled enough to handle a rear slide.  Frankly, my opinion is that if the remaining two are worn enough that loss of traction with them is a big concern then you should be replacing all 4 and not setting up the vehicle to be unstable on just one end, but that's me.

Personally, when it comes to rotation, I hate not being able to do a 5 tire rotation.  We can't do it on either vehicle because of rim differences.  On the Dakota that bugs me enough that I've considered getting a 5th stock wheel for the spare, but then the spare would have to be carried in the bed.  On the Jeep, not only is the spare rim a "steelie" but the standard tire is too wide to fit under the back floor in the "trunk" so they went with a different width but with the same circumference (so as not to risk axle twist) and that just makes me want to get another standard rim and carry the spare in a roof basket, but then the Jeep is too high to get in the garage.  I may still do that once we pick up a replacement for the Dakota when Chimp gets it.  The new vehicle will be for the wife and the Jeep then becomes my toy to play with and stay parked outside.

[NT2C]

Bought new tire valve stem caps. 


Yeah, I know, exciting.   

I noticed a few days ago that one of the green plastic ones on there now (tires are/were nitrogen-filled) was cracked and falling off so I made a mental note to buy new caps.  It took a while for that to exit my crappy short-term memory and hit quasi-longterm but it finally did.  I learned my lesson about aluminum caps long ago (they corrode and stick to the brass of the stem... permanently) and went for nickel-plated brass.  Bag of 25 was under $10 so I'll do all 5 on both vehicles and the trailer, and still have some spares.

Edit: Caps are important because they keep debris out of the valve that could damage it or prevent adding air. Yes, I do carry spare valves, cores, and the tools to install them but I'd rather not have to.

[NT2C]

Shopped for a new one.

This is going to be a car/truck/SUV/minivan shopping weekend for me and the Mrs.  With our 27-year-old pickup going to the Chimp and Clan next month, we need a second vehicle.  Since the wife controls the finances she gets the final choice.  She does not like buying used vehicles.  At the same time, she's aghast at what the price of new vehicles that meet our criteria are going for.  I finally convinced her to at least consider a used vehicle, if it's certified and comes with a warranty, otherwise we're looking in the 70k range.

This vehicle, if we buy new, is going to be hers and I get the Jeep.  Still, certain criteria that we have are:

• Her rollator must fit into it fairly easily
• It cannot be as low to the ground as a typical car (we both have bad knees)
• Must be 4x4 or AWD
• Does not have to tow our trailer any long distance but must have a tow package
• Must have Sirus/XM and (preferably) Android Auto
• Must have Google Maps or other good satnav system, not Uconnect
• Must not be manual transmission (I'd love a manual but the wife hates them)
• Must not be overly expensive to maintain (no Mercedes, no Land Rover or Range Rover, no Porsche, etc.)

Should be an interesting weekend. I'll let you guys know by Monday if divorce papers get filed.