But the other leak was from a split seam in the radiator itself. Big deal.
I could have had the radiator welded (I've driven thousands of miles in the past with a radiator held together by JB Weld) but since I plan on keeping the truck for a few more years I just went ahead and sprung for a new one.
Since the truck was already going to be in the shop for a while, I told them to go ahead and do a thorough bumper-to-bumper inspection, like they would if I brought them a used car I was thinking of buying. Turns out that was a good idea. Overall, things were in good shape, with two exceptions.
One, the serpentine belt had a small crack. Since I do a lot of high speed driving (3 hour trips at 80 mph twice a week) through remote country, I was thrilled to find the problem now, as opposed to having it break while I was in BFE, where I found myself last week when I had the blowout.
Speaking of the blowout, the other problem the inspection uncovered was a damaged right rear suspension strut. It apparently was banged up when the tire blew and a chunk of rubber slammed into the strut.
While it was there I had the mechanic go ahead and clean and adjust the brakes, and flush the tranny and power steering systems. I'm nearing the 200,000 mile mark, which is a major maintenance point, so i figured I'd get a head start.
Bottom line - estimated cost of repair is around $1400. That's a big hunk of change, but spread out over a year it's a lot less than car payments, even taking into account the difference in gas mileage between a '95 model and a newer one. Besides, I just put a new radio in it when the original cassette deck finally quit working.
Now I need to figure out what to do with all those 20 and 30 year old mix tapes...
4 comments:
CTT,
If you figure out what to do with those cassette tapes let me know.
I got a couple dozen 8-tracks I need to deal with.
I used to have a bunch of old 8-tracks, but I made the mistake of leaving them in the garage during a Texas summer. The little rubber drive wheels literally melted.
Ebay... ;-) And the PM is worth it now, rather than the tow truck at 0300... Just sayin...
As you know, I paid twice as much to have a Dachshund's small intestine repaired, so I feel your pain.
And, like you, I am holding on to an old car, planning on something newer in 2-17 years. Every time I get something fixed, my mechanic tellingly says, "See you soon!"
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