Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Chicago II
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:55 am
THAT was interesting . . .
When it rains, it pours. So it was raining AGAIN when I pulled into yondermtn's driveway and spied his Westy waiting for an Itinerant Air-Cooled day. He showed me the German Supply Fuel Hose Fitment Kit and I had visions of the day with Locoqueso all over again, trying to figure out which sizes might fit where regardless of the optimistic instructions, but fortunately yondermtn had done all the hard work
and had this to say (locoqueso take note), "yeah I got the hoses on the injectors but they seemed kinda short."
But wait, there's more . . .
As we are just about to start diving into the replacement of the hoses leading to and from the tank itself underneath the car, yondermtn says (locoqueso take note), "this pinch clamp is sort of too tight to get the little screwdriver in," and I go underneath to help teach that clamp a lesson. But the phone, the hated cell phone that I normally leave OFF, rings and it is my brother, "the car died." I leave yondermtn to the now-loose hose with instructions to not be directly underneath when he yanks it off lickety-split and crams the new one on even faster. I listen to my brother's somewhat rambling garbled cell phone connection challenged diatribe about how there are trucks hurtling by and the engine just died and the lights are leering menacingly, and the instrument cluster glass is . . . dirty.
I attempt to ask basic troubleshooting questions. "The air-conditioning is not blowing cold." I ask how did it die, suddenly or intermittantly? "This seat is not comfortable, the interior is too hot." He tells me that he is going to try to nurse down the road, and I go find yondermtn with his head in the sink and a big well-known armpit wet spot, the famous VW Bus fuel line replacement armpit gasoline spritzer spot. "My ear is burning," reports yondermtn from the sink. "Were you UNDERNEATH THE TANK when you were supposed to be NOT UNDERNEATH THE TANK?" asks Itinerant Nurse Nightengale. "No," replies our new kitchen sink resident, "the gasoline dribbled down my arm and dripped into my ear." The phone rings. "Car died again." Yondersink says, "my ear hurts." I recommend a shower to our intrepid Mechanic inTraining and go field the phone call outside. Car is another 50 miles down the road and has died again. "The throttle stuck and I went all the way up to 80 mph." After telling my brother that the Resume button in a Lexus cruise control system will apply full throttle so you should not hit it at 30 mph if the set speed was 80, hello, and after a discussion of what risk/road/car failure to take, yondermtn sallies forth for another round.
But wait, there's more . . .
As we remove the valve covers, I somehow get my middle finger tip pinched between the bail and the screwdriver I am using as a pry. My finger tip opens like a filetted chicken on a cutting board, I am appalled at how the cut opens up wide and you can see meat way down inside. It is bleeding all over the damn place as I provide hints to yondermtn on correct feeler blade drag. My blue shop towel is turning purple, I am mopping blood spots off the pavement, the phone is ringing again . . . and thankfully, I have the first aid kit from my last Lexus right here between the front seats, so manage to bandaid the finger (it needs stitches, buddy boy) as tightly as possible to keep the wound closed. "My ear hurts." "The car died again." I launch yondermtn into the next few valves, discuss engine dying symptoms with my brother "the a/c is not blowing cold at all, it's a nice car, it is smooth when it is running, we are bonding." "The engine, how is it RUNNING?" "Well, it starts right up, then it stumbles and dies, I think it might be the battery." "Why?" "Well, it was dead when I came to pick up the car." "It was dead?" " Yeah, they had to jump-start it." Yondermtn's wife cheerfully tells us to have fun "see ya later" as she goes off on an errand. I dryly remark from under the bus, "if we live through the afternoon, yes."
Eventually, we have the bus back together and running nicely, yonder ear is somewhat settled down we have my brother all the way down to North Carolina, my finger is flaming pissed-off with the GumOut that has leached into the bandaid, and the Itinerant Air-Cooled Day draws down to a close. "Hey boy, the car died again. I am at a truck stop here in Georgia. Do you think it is the . . . "
I just heard from my brother this morning, "a deer hit the car and then the truck behind me hit me. . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"aw haw haw haw, just kidding, it ran fine."
I am back on schedule and will be in Lodi Wisconsin tomorrow as scheduled. Thanks, Z for posting yesterday. Chitwn, we HAVE to get some pool in, dammit, you and turk.
When it rains, it pours. So it was raining AGAIN when I pulled into yondermtn's driveway and spied his Westy waiting for an Itinerant Air-Cooled day. He showed me the German Supply Fuel Hose Fitment Kit and I had visions of the day with Locoqueso all over again, trying to figure out which sizes might fit where regardless of the optimistic instructions, but fortunately yondermtn had done all the hard work
and had this to say (locoqueso take note), "yeah I got the hoses on the injectors but they seemed kinda short."But wait, there's more . . .
As we are just about to start diving into the replacement of the hoses leading to and from the tank itself underneath the car, yondermtn says (locoqueso take note), "this pinch clamp is sort of too tight to get the little screwdriver in," and I go underneath to help teach that clamp a lesson. But the phone, the hated cell phone that I normally leave OFF, rings and it is my brother, "the car died." I leave yondermtn to the now-loose hose with instructions to not be directly underneath when he yanks it off lickety-split and crams the new one on even faster. I listen to my brother's somewhat rambling garbled cell phone connection challenged diatribe about how there are trucks hurtling by and the engine just died and the lights are leering menacingly, and the instrument cluster glass is . . . dirty.
I attempt to ask basic troubleshooting questions. "The air-conditioning is not blowing cold." I ask how did it die, suddenly or intermittantly? "This seat is not comfortable, the interior is too hot." He tells me that he is going to try to nurse down the road, and I go find yondermtn with his head in the sink and a big well-known armpit wet spot, the famous VW Bus fuel line replacement armpit gasoline spritzer spot. "My ear is burning," reports yondermtn from the sink. "Were you UNDERNEATH THE TANK when you were supposed to be NOT UNDERNEATH THE TANK?" asks Itinerant Nurse Nightengale. "No," replies our new kitchen sink resident, "the gasoline dribbled down my arm and dripped into my ear." The phone rings. "Car died again." Yondersink says, "my ear hurts." I recommend a shower to our intrepid Mechanic inTraining and go field the phone call outside. Car is another 50 miles down the road and has died again. "The throttle stuck and I went all the way up to 80 mph." After telling my brother that the Resume button in a Lexus cruise control system will apply full throttle so you should not hit it at 30 mph if the set speed was 80, hello, and after a discussion of what risk/road/car failure to take, yondermtn sallies forth for another round.
But wait, there's more . . .
As we remove the valve covers, I somehow get my middle finger tip pinched between the bail and the screwdriver I am using as a pry. My finger tip opens like a filetted chicken on a cutting board, I am appalled at how the cut opens up wide and you can see meat way down inside. It is bleeding all over the damn place as I provide hints to yondermtn on correct feeler blade drag. My blue shop towel is turning purple, I am mopping blood spots off the pavement, the phone is ringing again . . . and thankfully, I have the first aid kit from my last Lexus right here between the front seats, so manage to bandaid the finger (it needs stitches, buddy boy) as tightly as possible to keep the wound closed. "My ear hurts." "The car died again." I launch yondermtn into the next few valves, discuss engine dying symptoms with my brother "the a/c is not blowing cold at all, it's a nice car, it is smooth when it is running, we are bonding." "The engine, how is it RUNNING?" "Well, it starts right up, then it stumbles and dies, I think it might be the battery." "Why?" "Well, it was dead when I came to pick up the car." "It was dead?" " Yeah, they had to jump-start it." Yondermtn's wife cheerfully tells us to have fun "see ya later" as she goes off on an errand. I dryly remark from under the bus, "if we live through the afternoon, yes."
Eventually, we have the bus back together and running nicely, yonder ear is somewhat settled down we have my brother all the way down to North Carolina, my finger is flaming pissed-off with the GumOut that has leached into the bandaid, and the Itinerant Air-Cooled Day draws down to a close. "Hey boy, the car died again. I am at a truck stop here in Georgia. Do you think it is the . . . "
I just heard from my brother this morning, "a deer hit the car and then the truck behind me hit me. . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"aw haw haw haw, just kidding, it ran fine."
I am back on schedule and will be in Lodi Wisconsin tomorrow as scheduled. Thanks, Z for posting yesterday. Chitwn, we HAVE to get some pool in, dammit, you and turk.