This is one of those annoying maintenance reminders we should send out once
in a while.
My GF has a 96 Ford Probe, with the Mazda V-6, Woo Hoo fast little car. We
had some problems with the belts on the power steering etc in June. She had
them replaced then. Over Christmas an the 2 hour drive to and from her
families for the traditional dinner etc they started into squeeling, She was
buns up .... Err never mind. She had to work on Tues and Wed from 8 AM to 10
PM so she made an appt for Thursday to get them checked, or replaced. I
tried tightening them but it is nearly impossible to get at the adjuster for
one of the belts.
Any way on her way home on Wed night she called me about 10 and said her
gauges just went out and what should she do. I told her to turn everything
off and try to get home. While she was talking to me, the lights died and I
told her to get off the road. The car died as she was pulling off. She
barely made it off the roadway and into a parking area. Now she has a 60
mile ride to and from work along Route 202 in eastern PA and into NJ. There
are some areas that are very unpopulated and that late - mostly deserted.
Fortunately she was just outside Doylestown. I jumped into the trusty Midget
and took off to meet her. Naturally I grabbed the new Xmas tool kit and that
handy dandy serpentine, multigroove belt I keep for just such emergencies
(ya right). About 30 min later I found her sitting in the driveway of a
funeral parlor. Fortunately she has AAA and the tow truck was on the way.
Well it took the repair shop 2 full days to replace the belts. She couldn't
go to work (ahh bummer ;-) ). And we picked it up last night about 7 PM.
$230 later. Oh yea the battery died. I mean dead as in two dead cells so it
needed another battery as well as the belts.
So the reminder I alluded to is to check your package, including the belt
and keep it tight.
All's well that ends well.
Larry
Larry Macy
78 Midget
Keep your top down and your chin up.
Larry B. Macy, Ph.D.
macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu
System Manager/Administrator
Neuropsychiatry Section
Department of Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce St. - 10 Gates
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes; do not ask a question
and you're a fool for the rest of your life.
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