My immortal 1998 Ford F150, club cab, blue over silver, with BRAND NEW COOPER DISCOVERER RTX tires ($600), bent a valve rod today at 225,438 miles. It's bent because cylinder #5 is full of radiator fluid and the compression from starting it to go get some fill groceries bent the rod and it sounds like a Conestoga Bell from 100 yards away. The repair to such involves so much labor, (even for my automotive technical skills), that for the next week I have to go look for a newer used vehicle. Thankfully I still have the wife's car to get around but she needs one too!
I have had this Blue Beast since 2000 when I bought it with ~32,000 miles just as it came off lease. It has taken a HUGE beating while I was working in the masonry trades. The rocker panels and lower door skins are all rotted out but I drove the sucker from Timbuktu and back and except for some normal maintenance, it has been a legendary vehicle in my lifetime. I'm going to try and sell the tires and swap em with junkers and have a junkyard come tow it, sooner or later.
RIP My Blue Beast!
You were a real honey!
Hope my new Ford F 350 lasts that long
Lots of good used ones out there
BT
Hello Ed: Condolences on the loss of the Blue Beast. I know you loved the old critter and I remember seeing it in some of your posts. I'm nursing an old 92 Dodge Dakota that belongs in the junk yard (almost every part on her has come from the salvage lots), but I just can't let her go; so I know how you feel about your old friend.
I know what is involved in a repair like this, so your cost analysis is correct. Best to cut your losses and get a new beast to tame.
Sorry to hear about the loss of the Blue Beast , it is amazing how attached we can be to a vehicle. I hope you manage to find something equally as great to replace it.
Pat
(01-22-2018 10:07 AM)Ben Town Wrote: [ -> ]Hope my new Ford F 350 lasts that long
Lots of good used ones out there
BT
Thanks Ben and all the others that replied. Vehicles that are dependable and always there can somewhat be like children. You have to nurture them and make them whole and one within your scope and desire, even if they are of their own and on their own path. But vehicles, as much as we can be dear to them, they are still machines and can only go so far. It's a hard lesson learned, even at my age.
I opted out of the truck venue and went for the next sized down. All in all it's quite a move up for me. I've been out of the car game for a long while and took a small plunge into a very reliable alternative. It fits my needs well. Deb took a pic of me when I arrived home with the new Mica Beast.
The salvage yard gave me $210 for the Blue Beast.
It is what it is.
Ed/ODF
i'm the same way , looking to downsize , my 92 ford is getting tired but still running ok so far but the rust is taking it's tool and i'm tired of fixing rust.. good choice in vehicles i'd say..i'm thinking around the same lines when the time comes for me to buy again
(01-27-2018 08:42 AM)looking 62 Wrote: [ -> ]i'm the same way , looking to downsize , my 92 ford is getting tired but still running ok so far but the rust is taking it's tool and i'm tired of fixing rust.. good choice in vehicles i'd say..i'm thinking around the same lines when the time comes for me to buy again
Things sure have changed. This RAV 4 comes with a 532 page instruction book. I opted for the base model because the next one up comes with a 700 + page instruction manual!
I wonder if the local community college has a course on the thing?
It looks like Ed has posted yet another great find! I hope it serves you as well as the Blue Beast did.
532 pages for an owners manual
, I guess I had better stick with beat up cars from the turn of the century and Model A Fords (their owners manual was a little less than 100 pages if I remember it right).
Congrats on the sharp new ride.
Pat
Congrats on your new ride Ed. You'll look sharp cruising around town in that beauty. Will Deb let you outfit it for detecting like Cladjunky did for his SUV? Things have really changed over time. My first car had little more than a beefed up pamphlet for an owner's manual while my last had a book like yours. And in the opposite direction my first computer had two massive books for instruction and my last this December had nothing other than a couple of simple pics for hookup! Looks like you'll be doing some reading over the next few days---have fun!