Thursday, March 10, 2011

Can I get a break?

Please? The Jeep Cherokee can develop something that most owners refer to as the Death Wobble. My 96 did it right after I got and then it went away after I lifted it. It can occur for a variety of reasons. It generally presents itself when you're doing 55ish and hit a small bump or expansion joint in the road. Then the entire front end shakes violently. I remember the first time I felt it was on the highway. You could have used my anus as a cigar cutter. Basically what happens is the front wheels go from slight toe in to slight toe out very quickly over and over. The only way to really stop it is to stand on the brakes and slow it down. Heather experienced this pleasure cruise in my Jeep a few times so she knows what it feels like. Hers did it today when she was driving down the mountain. I know hers is because the trackbar and draglink both need to be replaced. It's not a real difficult job but it is a job nonetheless. She was supposed to eat dinner with some co-workers so I got her on her way after making sure that nothing catastrophic was wrong and then I looked at the bikes.

I never found that washer I lost the other day but I did make due with some regular flat washers. In the process of putting the seat post back on the bike, the binder bolt stripped out. Luckily, I had a nut that was the right thread pitch and another larger washer. It's not pretty but it is functional. The green bike is a mess. Then I remembered that I had a set of Larsen tubeless tires and figured I'd throw them on. After I got the tubed stuff off the wheels I realized I didn't know where my tubeless valves were so I abandoned that ship. I picked up one of the Larsen tires to look at it and it was really wet. Ruh Roh. I slowly opened up the closet door from wherest the tires had been stored. I knew what the outcome was before I even shined a flashlight in there. The water heater was leaking. It's been making some racket for a while and we've been running out of hot water for a while but I figured it was just sediment. Now it doesn't really matter. I don't even wanna know what that's gonna set us back. I do have a buddy that I think may be able to get me an insiders deal on one though.

I decided to call it quits and go in and relax. I didn't even bother to clean up the garage. When I got to the top of the steps there was a puddle of puke and there Bodhi sat thumping his tail so hard that puke was now all over the place as he flailed it around. Dogs are the best. I couldn't help but pet him a bit before I started cleaning things up.

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