- Feb 5, 2002
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My truck has been laid up for a month with some sort of a leak; we haven't had the money to get it fixed yet. We've been using Momma's truck for all our travelling, but I noticed last Sunday on my way back from Mass that the brakes were kind of spongy.
Momma took Noah to a medical appointment this afternoon, and I told her to keep an eye on the brakes. She called me about half a hour later, and said, "The brakes aren't spongy any more, they're completely GONE. I dropped Noah off and went straight to the mechanic's. Can you find enough transmission fluid to put into your truck to come get him and me, if need be?"
I said I would check. Turns out it didn't need transmission fluid (which is what I thought was leaking), it was oil. Not a drop in the engine---the dipstick came up completely clean. I looked around the garage. Antifreeze, window washer fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, chain saw bar oil, even a can of kerosene. Not a drop of oil. Called Momma back and said, "I can't drive this thing, because it has no oil in it, and we can't afford to replace the engine."
Long story short, I had to borrow the car from one of Noah's friends.....a tiny Chevy that was designed to fit an 80-pound Asian teenager instead of a six foot, 250-pound American cripple with a bad back and stiff shoulders. But I managed to pretzel myself into small enough of a wad to get into it. Went and picked up Momma. The brake line had rusted through and will have to be replaced; won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon sometime. We went over and picked up Noah. On the way back, we stopped at Wal-Mart so Momma could get some items, and I bought four gallons (not quarts, mind you---gallons) of 5W30 motor oil, to put into my truck when it's time to go pick up her truck.
But it won't be tomorrow. For the same reason I won't be making it to Ash Wednesday services. Here's the forecast:
That's on top of the 60% chance of snow we're supposed to get tonight. There is no way I'm going out in that mess. Especially since I don't have a reliable vehicle.
(sigh) Well, I almost made it a whole month without car repairs.
Momma took Noah to a medical appointment this afternoon, and I told her to keep an eye on the brakes. She called me about half a hour later, and said, "The brakes aren't spongy any more, they're completely GONE. I dropped Noah off and went straight to the mechanic's. Can you find enough transmission fluid to put into your truck to come get him and me, if need be?"
I said I would check. Turns out it didn't need transmission fluid (which is what I thought was leaking), it was oil. Not a drop in the engine---the dipstick came up completely clean. I looked around the garage. Antifreeze, window washer fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, chain saw bar oil, even a can of kerosene. Not a drop of oil. Called Momma back and said, "I can't drive this thing, because it has no oil in it, and we can't afford to replace the engine."
Long story short, I had to borrow the car from one of Noah's friends.....a tiny Chevy that was designed to fit an 80-pound Asian teenager instead of a six foot, 250-pound American cripple with a bad back and stiff shoulders. But I managed to pretzel myself into small enough of a wad to get into it. Went and picked up Momma. The brake line had rusted through and will have to be replaced; won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon sometime. We went over and picked up Noah. On the way back, we stopped at Wal-Mart so Momma could get some items, and I bought four gallons (not quarts, mind you---gallons) of 5W30 motor oil, to put into my truck when it's time to go pick up her truck.
But it won't be tomorrow. For the same reason I won't be making it to Ash Wednesday services. Here's the forecast:
NOAA said:
That's on top of the 60% chance of snow we're supposed to get tonight. There is no way I'm going out in that mess. Especially since I don't have a reliable vehicle.
(sigh) Well, I almost made it a whole month without car repairs.
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