Ambitious title, eh? We'll lets have a go of it...

Though the Jag's time with me is not over, it is certainly finite. However, unlike any other time in the past, I'm not quite sure what I want to buy next. This is due, in part, to switching to a work-from-home job followed by there being a massive global pandemic. This means I went from driving a car daily to driving a car, on average, once a week. What is the net effect? I'm not getting tired of my cars as quickly as I otherwise would. Additionally, they're all showing some strain from continuous lack of use. The Volvo lost an O2 sensor, the Jag (probably) lost an injector, and the Landy is just being weird.

So... all that being said, my usual pace of a new project car per year seems to be out the window as I haven't felt motivated to move on. Additionally the crushing weight of essentially constantly being in low-grade crisis mode, where running a simple errand is a risk/reward calculation, has made me pretty unmotivated to work on... anything... but also cars.

Anyway, I say all that to say: Me wondering what next is actually healthy, even if I can't quite figure out what it should be. But I figure in order to determine that, we have to look at the past...

This post took forever to write and I didn't feel like proofreading it so... please excuse typos

Past and Present Project Cars

From first to last, I've owned a few... ("Daily Driver" cars are not included in this list. That includes the C30 and my two former Hondas.)

1970 International Harvester Scout 800A (2011-2013)

Reason for buying

I wanted a truck/SUV project car so my dog could puke in that instead of my nice car. I purchased the Scout for the simple reason that it was in-budget, good looking, and something I'd never heard of before.

Owning it

Was a pain. Parts were unobtanium, I had no idea what I was doing, and I lived in an apartment. When it did drive, it was slow, ponderous, unreliable, and wouldn't turn left. I think I'm right in saying I've only ever completed one trip in the Scout without breaking down. In short: Fuck that car.

Why did I sell it?

Aside from everything I just said? The previous owner thought he still owned it and would occasionally try to steal it and/or call the cops on himself. It is a long story and one best never told, but the dude was a dangerous, drugged-out psychopath. After he showed up to my mechanic and called the cops to say I'd stole it (again), I called someone who'd made a low-ball offer on it a few months back told them I'd sell. Two weeks later it was far, far away from here and out of my life for good.

1967 Volkswagen Dune Buggy (2014-2016)

Reason for buying

After the fiasco that was the Scout, I wasn't sure I would ever buy another project car. However, I eventually got the bug again and decided I wanted something cheap, fun, weird, impractical, and easy to work on. I entertained the idea of a UTV or city car, but settled on the a dune buggy because they are all of those things and street legal.

Owning it

Was a mixed bag. Everyone who rode in it or saw it loved it. It was a laugh and I was constantly being honked at, waved at, or thumbs upped (is that a word?). The downside? Aside from everything I just said? Well it was a pain in the dick to work on and drive. The fiberglass body made access to certain things difficult or impossible and the PO's wiring was... not good. Even after doing extensive work to the engine, suspension, and steering, the thing still wandered dangerously at any speed, was criminally slow on the highway, and couldn't stop for shit.

Why did I sell it?

The primary reason for selling was I hated owning and driving it. The secondary reason for selling was that we did our first Cheap Car Challenge Road Trip and I ended up shipping the Alfa home and SUPER didn't need two convertible/topless cars. So the buggy went.

1999 GMC Yukon (2014-2017)

Reason for buying

Same reasons as the Scout, except this time instead of going for something I'd never heard of, I went for a car I'd always had a soft spot for these as I learned to drive on one.

Owning it

The Yukon was the only car I've never named: Bessie the Dozy Cow. She actually started out as "The Dozy Cow" after James May shouting that at someone during some challenge or another. The "Bessie" part was added later for reasons I don't fully remember. Either way, she was great to own, great to drive, and great to work on. My only complaint is while I enjoy the look of a GMT400 Yukon, I am/was one of the few and there was a lot of subtle bias about showing up in, lets face it, a beater, even if it was a beater by choice. Classism aside, I also never got more than about 13 MPG in that beast and that hurt.

Why did I sell it?

Well... we went on our second (yes yes, I'll get to the Alfa from the first trip soon) cheap car challenge and I brought that car home too. Owning two large SUVs didn't make a lot of sense, so I opted to keep the Disco and sell the Yukon. Jury is still out on if that was the correct choice. I'd be lying if I said I don't still stare longingly at every even moderately clean GMT400 Yukon/Tahoe I see.

Is it bad I had to look at my car spreadsheet to figure out chronology here?

1987 Alfa Romeo Spider (2015)

Reason for buying

It was a manual convertible that was in-budget for our first cheap car challenge. Also Top Gear always said to be a true petrolhead you'd have to own an Alfa so... Here we are.

Owning it

Pretty much heaven, to be honest. It is scrappy and rough around the edges, but damn reliable and fun to drive. Also it got me in with the local Alfa club who are honestly the most helpful, friendly, and generous bunch I've ever had the pleasure of associating with. They're like the Saab club but with jobs and without all the substance abuse. (I JOKE! SAAB PEOPLE ARE LOVELY!)

Why have I kept it?

The primary reason is the 2015 cheap car challenge was a shockingly life changing event and the Alfa has a lot of residual good vibes from that. Paired with the reality the other two still own their 2015 cars, selling the Alfa would feel like selling off a part of myself and [insert generic prostitution joke here]. Additionally, the Alfa club people are awesome and I enjoy owning the car. Driving the Alfa you feel like you outclass everything on the road and frequently get nods from people driving cars worth 10x more. It is a good car.

1984 Saab 900 Turbo (2016)

A car very similar to the one I learned to drive on towing my first car. Poetic, in a way... I guess?

Reason for "buying"

Those familiar with the Saab (#Project Dumpster Fire) know it was my first car when I was 16. Not one like it, this exact car. So I didn't "buy" it so much as pay my old mechanic a king's ransom to get it back. The reason for abandonment was I got a new car, my parents kept the Saab, the Saab's starter went out, my dad took it to the mechanic and... never picked it back up. Twelve or thirteen years later (who remembers?) I was, apparently, into cars now and noted that a lot of "car people" chase after their first cars, often spending more than is strictly reasonable to buy facsimiles of them. Given my actual first car was still in reach, I figured now was as good of a time as any and took the plunge.

Owning it

Is hell. The Saab is rivaled perhaps only be the Scout as a car that wants to remain dead. It doesn't want to live. It wishes I'd left it in that field to rot and resents every moment I keep it from returning to the earth. But, that said, I knew getting it going was going to be a challenge and boy has it been. On the flip side it has been a phenomenal learning tool and simultaneously increased and decreased my confidence by a great deal.

Why have I kept it?

After spending a huge quantity of time and money getting it back, I don't see it leaving my garage unless it is involved in a catastrophic accident. I was going to say "or if it is stolen" but I'd say whoever steals it would bring it back quickly. On the bright side, Saabs are kind of cool now.

2001 Land Rover Discovery II (2017)

Reason for buying

It was a 4WD vehicle in my price range for our second cheap car challenge. Funny enough I'd looked for a Land Rover to buy and there were none. I happened upon this one while looking at a "4WD" Rodeo that wasn't. The dealer also had this on the lot, so I bought it.

Owning it

Has been pretty great, to be honest. I love the way it looks, drives, handles, and offroads. It is surprisingly easy to work on, which is good because oh dang does it need it. Often. I've taken it on many an adventure and it has always gotten me there and back with little worry. I know my luck will run out some time, but so far so good.

Why have I kept it?

For all of the reasons above plus I literally cannot think of another vehicle I'd rather offroad in. It is an amazing mix of luxury, badge, and capability that is hard to beat. The only other vehicle I've really looked at as a potential upgrade is a G-Wagen and I certainly do not have G-Wagen money.

1986 Honda Civic Wagon 4WD (2018-2019)

Reason for buying

After doing a somewhat grueling three day offroad trip to New Mexico (for which I opted instead to drive the Volvo) I saw the need for a small off/softroader that was good on the highway. While I love the Landy, its highway performance* is meh and 16 MPG with premium gas is... a lot of money. So the idea of getting something small, capable, easy on gas, and good on the highway was born. The Wagonvan wasn't any of those things, but it was really cool.

*People take offense to this characterization so I'd like to clarify my problem with the Landy is a lack of passing power at 70+ MPH. It holds the road fine, but if I need to accelerate quickly for any reason, the power just isn't there at those speeds. I demand a lot of my vehicles and the Landy doesn't get a pass just because it is great in most other areas.

Owning it

Was frustrating and amazing. Parts availability was a mixed bag and I spent a lot of time chasing down problems created by the previous owner, but the car was remarkably well put together. Disassembly of everything I had to lay hands on was straightforward, easy, and access was good. I miss that about it. Unfortunately the Wagovan was let down by an anemic 1.5L 4-cylinder carbureted engine. Even with a Weber swap it really struggled to get out of its own way and was frequently a liability on the highway. Also for an 80s Honda the gas mileage was meh, being about the same as the Alfa and not nearly as fun to drive.

Why did I sell it?

The engine. That woefully slow engine just robbed me of any fun in driving it. That and I lost my job and one fewer car in the stable seemed like a prudent cost savings. This is the only vehicle I actually regret selling.

1998 Volvo V70 XC (2019-2019)

Reason for buying

For our third cheap car challenge, I needed something that could take on Canada and Alaska while carrying all of my shit. After looking at a Audi with wooden brakes and bum AC and a Jag that wouldn't start, I went to look at a Volvo wagon at an estate sale. Right color, right spec, right price, and working AC meant two hours later it was mine.

Owning it

I loved it. Spacious, comfortable, good to drive, I had no complaints about the Volvo.... right up until the PCV valve failed and a cloud of smoke and oil followed my from northern Washington to the tip of Alaska. Ahh well. I still loved it, but was happy to see it go.

Why did I sell it?

The trip was over and mailing a car back from Alaska was a ruinously expensive proposition. Additionally, while I loved the car, the T5 mated to an automatic transmission was a tired combo that didn't have quite the pep I'd wanted. The lovely couple that bought it were ecstatic to pay $500 more than I bought it for, failed PCV and all, and I hope it treats them well.

Are we almost done yet? My fingers are sore...

2004 Jaguar S-Type R (2019)

Reason for buying

It was a 400HP supercharged V8 Jag in British Racing Green for less than $5000. Did I even have a choice? The S-Type R came to my attention when I was buying the Volvo V70 XC (I tried to test drive one and it wouldn't start), so when I got a new job I decided to treat myself to this cheap bit of fun.

Owning it

Has been... damaging. I've done a lot and learned a lot, but this car always has a weird noise, a weird smell, a fuse that blows for no reason, etc. It... has humbled me. I figured owning an Alfa, Land Rover, Saab, and Volvo had prepared me for everything and I was very, very mistaken. That said, the Jag is a joy to look at and drive, so I can forgive a lot of its little problems... for now.

Why did you keep/sell it?

I'm not... sort of. I want to "finish" it. I want to fix its remaining problems and then get it the hell out of my garage. Its problems are numerous and it is consuming cycles I need to spend on my other cars.

Ok so what did we learn?

I'm not sure. I thought typing out all of my past and present cars would lead me to some conclusion, but it hasn't. Seems like I bought most of them because they were weird, nostalgic, on "the list", or the right car at the right time.

Here is a bonus list of every car I've owned so far:

What is next?

Well... I don't know. That is why we're here... right?

I do have some thoughts so lets get stuck in...

Wagovan 2.0

The project that is living rent free in my head the most at the moment is the idea of buying another Wagovan and doing an engine swap. When I owned the first one I sort of had a feeling that'd make the car something I'd love, but was unwilling and unable to execute the swap. A year and a half later and I feel a lot more inclined to go for it. The problem is 3rd gen Civics are thin on the ground and 4WD wagons are exceptionally rare. I've considered looking up the new owners (if they still even own it) and letting them know I'd be interested in buying it back when they're done, but I can't quite bring myself to open that can-o-worms. Also I'm unsure about bringing a car back into my life after that long. :pointedly ignores the Saab:

(Yes I just checked and yes I still have the phone number of the guy I sold it to. Google Voice has a long memory...)

Kei Car

Owning a kei car has been on the list for a long time. I could certainly be convinced to fly out to Duncan Imports with a pocket full of cash, make a bad financial decision, and then try to figure out how to drive home in a non-highway capable car. The downside of this is these fuckers are expensive. Like... I'm all about awesome little JDM goodness, but $25k for awesome JDM goodness is a hard pass. That said, the Duncan site is showing 83 vehicles under $10k, which includes some Paos, kei trucks, a Suzuki Nomad, and some cute vans, though an upsetting number of the newer vehicles are autotragic. Still... Possibilities there....

I could also import something myself, but that seems like a lot of stress and waiting, neither of which I'm really in to.

Truck

I want a truck at some point, but don't really need one. The problem with trucks is they hold their value and I am a cheap bastard. If I were to buy one, ideally I'd want a manual, 4WD, extended cab of some ilk. An F150 or GMT400 based truck would be great, but we're talking real unicorn territory there.

But, as stated, I don't need a truck. The thought was I'd buy one when I bought land, but I never bought land and have given up that quest entirely.

Heh.

Camper Build

Unlikely as this is my pitch for the next cheap car challenge, but I really do want to build out a hashtagvanlife at some point. That said, such a project is either going to languish on the market forever waiting for the right buyer, or get sold for a significant loss.

Opportunistic Flip

By far the mostly likely, least satisfying option, it seems likely my next project will just be something that falls in my lap. Estate sale, friend selling for a friend, fellow Oppo thinning the herd, or random CL find... seems likely that I'll end up with a mechanics special, fix it, and sell it on (or keep it, whatever). The only real issue with this is builds with budgets stress me out. When you have to justify use of the parts cannon, it makes firing the parts cannon that much less fun.

Conclusions?

Not sure I have any. Working on cars is, by far, the hobby I've kept the longest. I didn't expect it to stick around as long as it has and I sincerely hope it continues to. With the pandemic (hopefully) on the downswing, though with the aftershocks rippling through literally every industry, I hope I can get stuck into it again soon and enjoy a new project soon.

Soon.

Wet morning with a lot of freezing fog. We set off on some trails to mixed success. We got stopped by slick mud, an overfull river ford, and a couple locked gates. Also picked up a TON of new pinstripes, but that is part of it, so I'm told.

Tomorrow we head back to our respective homes and call the trip complete.

Hopefully I'll get to the write up this week after I get media from the other two.

I knew this was coming and I'm actually surprised I'm the first (that I've noticed) but HEY GUESS WHAT?

One year ago today I drove home from my last out of town work assignment in a very long time. My team was stationed in Branson, MO, to do... whatever it is that I do. While the work event itself was pretty OK, boring but fun for team building and I was super new at the time, there was this nagging threat of some virus that had, allegedly, just made landfall in the US.

I, like most people, assumed this would be like the swine flu and SARS before that: hyped as the end of the world but eventually will just peter out. (lol)

Over the course of the two weeks I was in Branson, the warnings became more dire that this was going to be "an thing." On the last day we were there we had a huge meeting with everyone involved in the work thing. The last thing we did was shake hands with all the senior leadership. This was my first time thinking "Should we be doing this? Is this ok?"

I took this picture right before I took off back for home.

When I got back, my partner filled me in that things were indeed serious and we should consider not leaving the house for a few weeks. (lol) He, however, had to go for orientation for a new job, flying to the west coast on Sunday, only to return early the following Tuesday after his new company closed all their offices and made everyone mandatory work from home.

The day after he got back, Wednesday, March 11th, we went out to eat at our favorite restaurant.

We have not eaten inside a restaurant or been to a bar since.

What a difference a day year makes.

I didn't expect to make a part 2 for today, but hey progress is progress and it is my fault for making up a by-day naming scheme.

https://opposite-lock.com/topic/9503/alfa-top-end-rebuild-day-2-breaking-chains-updated/

I got in contact with the president of our local Alfa club, who is not only nice guy but also knows these engines inside and out and has most, if not all, of the tools needed to work on them. We arranged a meeting time and I trekked over to his garage and picked up the tool needed to pop the head off the block, a hoist bracket, and some liner retainers.

Back home I had a decision to make: beer or Alfa?

Why not both!?

I quickly bolted on the head popper thingy (technical term) which threads into a spark plug hole and braces against the head studs, forcing the head upwards. Sounds crazy, and it is a bit, but it works. After doing the #1 and #4 plugs, I felt like I'd managed to get the head to lift enough to attempt to remove it.

Initially I was going to try and lift the head, but that quickly proved to be a non-starter as the studs just did not want to let go. I mounted up the hoist bracket, make by a member of the club for this purpose and uses the 1 and 4 spark plug holes to lift the head, and made ready to lift.... except I don't have a cherry picker or any type of hoist. But I do have exposed rafters!

What could possibly go wrong?

Well I'm sorry to tell you I didn't manage to compromise the structural integrity of the workshop and did, eventually, get the head free. It was not easy nor straightforward despite many, many love taps with the deadblow, but eventually it was free. I then once again called upon my lovely assistant to help me manhandle the head over to the bench.

Alright. That done I can now OH MY GOD HOW WAS THIS ENGINE EVEN RUNNING?!

That head gasket is gross. It literally fell apart as I was removing it, leaving huge chunks of itself stuck to the block. It is hard to see in the photo, but it is actually stoved in and cracked around the head bolts. ENHANCE

I... wow. I probably need to do some work getting the chunks out of the coolant...

ANYWAY, that done, I installed the cylinder liner retainers. Apparently these unassuming little things will keep the pistons from pushing out the liners should the engine move with the head off.

And with that, I am actually for real real done for the day. Tomorrow I hope to remove the cams and rest of the intake from the head in preparation for it to go to the machine shop hopefully Tuesday.

After a long battle replacing the power steering suction hose in temperatures well below freezing with a major winter storm on the horizon, for the first time since owning it the Land Rover failed me. The problem was not the suction hose (though it wasn't far from being bad too) it was, indeed the pump.

As the temperatures plummeted into the negatives (freedom units) and Oklahoma began to become covered in snow and ice, the Discovery sat in my driveway as a testament to my hubris. Finally my love affair with unreliable cars had created a problem that could not be readily solved with time, money, or both. The extreme weather meant even if I wanted to pay to have the pump replaced, no shop was open and presumably tow services were occupied helping people out of ditches and accidents. With the part unavailable locally I was forced to order it, but the major shippers were, at best, hit of miss in this weather. Understandable, but frustrating. Ultimately I ordered a pump off Amazon, even though the price ($110) was a little too cheap for it to be a quality part (most are $150 + core, OE is ~ $240) of the carriers, I figured Amazon or USPS were the most likely to be able to get me the part.

Now I should say as far as thing to worry about go, this wasn't huge. We still had my partner's Jeep to get around, all of my other cars either being unreliable or in storage, and with the city being hammered with crazy winter weather it isn't like we had anywhere to go anyway. Also complaining about a broken Land Rover when millions are without power, water, gas, heat, and food is... well, I am aware of the optics. That doesn't mean I can't be bummed about it, it was just another thing to add to the pile of dread.

Luckily by Friday Tulsa had endured worst of the weather. Our rolling blackouts here were limited and our house never lost utilities, despite threats. Furthermore, the part arrived only one day late, which was both comfortably within tolerance and impressive, considering. With the forecast showing a balmy high of 45F (7C), I made plans to start work the next day.

And so I did.

I was fortunate in that after discovering the sucktion hose was not the problem, I never reassembled the engine bay. As a result, most of the work to get access to the pump was already done. All that remained was to re-remove the fan, serpentine belt, idler (jockey) pulley, and power steering pulley, then remove the AC compressor and the odd bracket that houses the pump.

Of course, this didn't go smoothly.

I started by removing the fan, belt, and then the AC compressor. The latter sounds scary but isn't actually. It is held in by four bolts on on the top and you don't need to break the pressure lines to get it out of the way, so no needing to discharge/charge the system. (Compressor can be seen sitting on the throttle body in the picture below.)

Next I removed the idler pulley, and then got to work on the power steering pulley.

Attentive readers might have noticed that I donked up here. Without the belt in place, there is nothing to encourage the pulley to stay put while I remove the three bolts holding it on. I have made this mistake literally every time I've had this thing off. Ordinarily I'd go and grab a strap wrench and make it work, but mine dry rotted and I haven't bought a replacement yet. Unwilling to go to the hardware store for such a trivial item, and still lacking an actually functioning vehicle, after confirming my electric impact wouldn't fit but my air impact cleared by almost a whole centimeter, I fired up the air compressor and drug 75 feet of air hose through the melting snow. A few zips with that and the pulley was off, revealing the treacherous power steering pump.

Well... sort of. The power steering pump is buried in what Rover calls the "auxiliary housing," a big hunk of aluminum to which the AC compressor, power steering pump, and, if equipped, active roll bar (ACE) pump attach. Either way, after removing the bolts that hold that to the engine block, then I got to see the treasonous power steering pump.

And you know what? That bugger is tiny! I'm really shocked how small it is. Realistically about the size of a medium grapefruit maybe?

Anyway, a few love taps with a dead blow and the pump was free of the housing.

As with these things, installation is the reverse of removal, and everything went back together pretty quickly. I did get the chance to repair something I broke the last time I had this all apart though. The auxiliary housing is speared by this locating rod for reasons I don't fully understand and when reassembling the Disco last time I over-torqued the nut and sheared the shaft. Being a very odd part, replacements were weeks away, so with a deadline looming and not fully understanding the purpose of the part, at the time I reassembled without. But, I did order the part, so this time I had a chance to make amends and install the new one. I also threw a new bleed screw in the steering box, because why not?

Anyway, once I got the pullies and belt back on, I filled the reservoir with fresh power steering fluid, leaving the cap off to aid in burping, and turned the key.

... and was treated to a shockingly quiet power steering pump!

Followed by a very loud one.

I shut off the car and resisted attempting to set fire to it. Instead I went and checked the fluid level. It had dropped a little, and there were little bubbles in the fluid as a result, but it was far from frothy as it was before. After giving the system a second to settle, I tried again.

And it stayed quiet.

I followed the usual purging procedure (move the wheels left to right a bunch with the cap off) and the pump stayed happy. Without any major evidence to the contrary, after taking measurements for the possible forthcoming eFan conversion, I reassembled the rest of the engine.

Only time will tell if this fix will hold, but I am cautiously optimistic.

Trust and Consequences

To my mind the elephant in the room here is: what would you do if this had happened on the trail. I'll admit, complete failure of my power steering system is not an eventuality I even thought would happen. Presumably after frothing all of its fluid out of the reservoir the pump would eventually run dry enough that the system would be stable... until the pump seized, eventually breaking the serpentine belt, at which point the water pump and alternator would cease their critical functions.

It would not be ideal.

However, this failure was not without warning. I think I'm right in saying the power steering pump has been groaning on startup for at least a year, but looking into it has always been on the "I'll get to it eventually" list. Until this failure I never considered power steering to be an essential function of the vehicle, but hot damn apparently it can really mess things up with the right failure, depending on how it is set up.

I am fortunate that while I didn't have the Land Rover to drive in the snow and ice, the pump was kind enough to die in the driveway rather than the multitude of horrible places it could have.

Overall I don't see this as affecting our (the Landy and I) trust relationship. It tried to tell me something was about to go bang and I didn't heed the warning. In the future, I'll be more proactive in hunting down unusual noises. Ultimately, this thing will fail me on the trail one day, and I've accepted that. My only hope is it will fail in such a way I can at least, one way or the other, get back to the road.

Either way, I still love it and don't hold this "fun" against it.

Burn baby burn.

@haveacarortwoorthree Jalopnik? Never heard of it. Is it some sort of Oppo spinoff?

It was very strange. Unclear what happened before I started remembering, but I was at a junk yard looking for... something. But I was also checking out BMW seats for a fellow Oppo (unclear who). I found a junked silver M car that had a small tear in the driver's bolster, but otherwise looked practically new. I sat in it and it was extremely comfortable. I lamented we'd just bought chairs for the office as I should have pulled these and turned them into armchairs.

Somehow we acquired the keys and miraculously the car's electrics still worked. It was at this point thing got rather dream-nonsensical. When I turned the key like... all the interior and body panels moved about and made the car bigger, putting it in "driving mode." Sort of like a massive exaggeration of how some "fancy" cars have stuff that moves when you start it. Anyway, dream me thought it was AWESOME and was really impressed. We then started the car (!?) and it sounded like it had a blown exhaust and was missing on 1, maybe 2 cylinders. Otherwise? Pretty sweet.

There was some arguing about if we should pull the drivetrain, but eventually I made it back to my house. I then started an Oppo article about how I'd found a new appreciation for BMWs.

Then I woke up.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

It is much more terrifying the 2nd time because I didn't know it'd happened the 1st time until way later.

First post that got shared was the 2nd installment of the 1st cheap car challenge. I was wondering why that one had so many more views than the others (14k) and I guess now I know. Badges and shares both send DMs, which I didn't realize, so I didn't catch the "shared to the main page" DM until much later.

Today the Project Dumpster Fire post got shared to the front page for the US and I think is scheduled to be on the UK one too? Unclear but I think I remember seeing a message about that.

Thing is, this amount of exposure scares me. I like my stuff getting read, but also acknowledge my writing and wrenching skills. Which is to say I am happy with my skills at both, but by no means a professional at either. Also I have this (perfectly rational) fear that one day this is all going to blow up in my face...

Anyway... hooray they like me, they really like me.

Most of my extended family knows I am into cars and tools, so occasionally I get tools as gifts. Sometimes they're useful, oftentimes they're not. Some time ago (5+ years?) I was gifted one of those universal sockets. You know the ones, with all the little pins and are supposed to be great at... stuff? Basically they're the type thing that gets trotted out as a "great gift for dad!" that seems like it is almost certain to make any problem worse.

Anyway, it has been sitting in my tool box all this time, waiting for its moment to shine, and that moment was, apparently, yesterday.

I installed the Disco's new power steering pump with the plugs intact, not wanting to risk contamination. When I went to remove the plastic plug from the high pressure output, it said no. I figured the thing would be hand tight, but no amount of leverage was going to shift it.

Ok... how about a screwdriver? Not enough room.

Sometimes these have hex on the outside for this very reason? Nope.

Umm... on maybe stick a ruler in there? Nope too thick.

Uhh... well I've got that dumb universal thing. I guess I could try that? Worked amazing.

So good job weird universal socket thing, apparently you have a use after all.

Luckily I was also the person who broke it.

I ran an errand today. Because Oklahoma, the temperature has gone from "unbearably cold" to "exceptionally pleasant" in less than a week's time. As a result, the Land Rover's automatic climate control kicked on the AC.

Except it didn't.

All I got was tepid air out of the vents.

Well... not surprising. To do the power steering pump I had to remove the AC compressor. I guess jostling it while it was that cold out finally made one of the 20 y/o lines and/or compressor give up the ghost and lost its charge over the next couple of days.

As I pulled in to get gas (not playing the range game after running out last year!) and trying to decide if I was going to try doing the repair myself or paying to have it done, I remembered there was one other component of the AC system I touched: the clutch connector.

While filling up I popped the hood and... despair! I had remembered to plug it in.

Well maybe it wasn't making good contact? I pressed on it and it moved about 3/8". Yeah... guess I didn't do a great job there.

Finish gassing up, during which the guy driving a tow truck at the next pump asked if these were reliable and I just laughed, I was treated to ice cold AC.

Hooray!

@pos_camaro With apologies

@shop-teacher Wasn't he cutting down and starting some non-Jeep stuff?
Guessing rising prices of XJs and ZJs are starting to cause him a panic. He might have to start paying four figures for some of these (Ok but honestly the "good deals are getting harder to find" press to buy is real.)

@mastermario TERRIBLY AWESOME!

Honestly I could see it going either way, but no idea why this wouldn't be a 6-wheeled thing vs a 5, other than someone cheaping out on steering components.

@jmkarstetter @davesaddiction And I'm in Tulsa proper. Yeah lmk and I'll try and make it too

@ita97 Congrats! That seems like a great price!
I'd love to see a write up of the process. Stuff like why you chose this over BAT and how the whole process worked.

@musashi66 @rctothefuture I like that your debating Tacoma vs other stuff in a thread started by a guy who drives a 20 year old Land Rover
But yeah, if I were throwing in my chips on reliability it'd be a Toyota product. I don't really like them but I do respect them.
Also I just realized that means his household is now 75% Toyota. He has the Tacoma and a FRS and his fiancé has a Jeep XJ and a iM hatch.

@davesaddiction said in My friend traded his yellow 2-Door Wrangler for a....:

We should meet up at Tulsa Rigs & Coffee sometime (haven't been yet - and my truck is clearly no "rig").

Maybe the next parking lot over? "Rigs and Coffee" sounds like it would involve a lot of bro dozers and people who think you can't leave the pavement on anything smaller than 37" super swampers.

@davesaddiction said in My friend traded his yellow 2-Door Wrangler for a....:

Did he go auto again?

I didn't ask, but almost certainly yes, especially since I think he just bought one off the lot and I assume the dealer wouldn't dream of stocking anything other than a base model in stick, if that.

I don't blame him, but I do judge a little haha

@hammerheadfistpunch said in My friend traded his yellow 2-Door Wrangler for a....:

If you ask me, full-time AWD with actual transfer case lever and center lock is the ideal 4wd system because:

Say no more to the Disco owner w/ CDL linkage

@i86hotdogs said in WE'RE BACK BABY:

Ham Salad sandwich

Still haven't tried making one of these. I assume it would be gross, but given it was a thing I didn't know we chopped up, combined with mayo, and paradoxically called a "salad" I'm in...