Throwing Fuji
...I like long stories so bare with me...
I used to drive a ratty old S-10 Blazer. Just about anyone reading this blog is probably familiar with lil' Blue; it was my first car. On my way home, after visiting Michian Tech, driving through Michigans Upper Peninsula, my Blazer spun a rod bearing. It was -5 F at the time and it was supposed to drop to -25 F ( not including wind chill) overnight. It was already close to 3PM and I was still 6 hours from home. Lucky for me, the car ran another 50 miles before throwing the rod through the side of the block. I was lucky because I was in actuality 50 miles from anything resembling civilization.
I crossed the bridge into St. Ignace and the Blazer died. The nice people in St. Ignace let me get a hotel room even though I had no ID and no credit card. The heater had stopped working 40 miles out,so I was really cold. I spent a hour of the 5 hours waiting for my Dad defrosting in the shower. It was a terrible experience and not one I ever wished to repeat.
Since that time I've had more than my share of unexplicable car problems since then. Recently, I lost a head gasket on my Subaru. The 'ru had been running so, I thought I had fixed the problem. Yup, everything seemed to be in order and the car had been running great for 3 weeks. So, the plan was to head to the UP for Christmas.
The day before the trip I changed the oil, flushed to coolant and added Subaru's special additive that's supposed to prevent gasket problems in the future. Afterwords, the car seemed to run even better. Even still, it was cold on the 22nd, much colder than it had been in the preceding weeks when I had spent so many hours fixing the aforementioned problem.
As I was preparing the car, reflecting on the coming drive up to the Keewenaw, a song came on the radio. The first single off Live's "Throwing Copper", I knew it well. You see there's no radio in the UP and on that fatefull trip all those years ago I brought along only one CD. Live's "Throwing Copper". I have not listened to the CD since and thanks to radio playlisting it is rarely heard, save special segments on the 90's. I should have recognized this as an omen.
Before we were to get off on Highway 10 off US 131 we were cut-off by a logging truck (heading north oddly) and decided to continue on into Cadillac. The change in plans required stretching the Subaru's muscle a bit, resulting in a downshift and a corresponding leap on the tach. It never touched the redlin;it might as well have. A pinging, that I initially blamed on a heatshield started welling up from the engine. By the time we reached the next exit the engine was not interested in running.....it was all of 12 degrees outside, the snow picked up. Our dog in the backseat showed no interest, probably because she was tranquilized.
Thankfully in this day and age everyone has cell phones. I called my parents and they came to swap vehicles. We made it up to the UP for Christmas Eve. Only after some further adventures.
My Dad managed to find a trailer in Cadillac and towed the 'ru home where it returned to it's perch in the pole barn.
I've just ordered a Japanses Domestic Market Long Block to drop into the Subaru. So, I'll be working out in the pole barn for another week. Thanks be to old man winter, it's supposed to be 40 degrees tomorrow. Let's hope the weather keeps up over the next week.
Fuji by the way stands for Fuji Heavy Industries, they are better know in the U.S. as Subaru.
I used to drive a ratty old S-10 Blazer. Just about anyone reading this blog is probably familiar with lil' Blue; it was my first car. On my way home, after visiting Michian Tech, driving through Michigans Upper Peninsula, my Blazer spun a rod bearing. It was -5 F at the time and it was supposed to drop to -25 F ( not including wind chill) overnight. It was already close to 3PM and I was still 6 hours from home. Lucky for me, the car ran another 50 miles before throwing the rod through the side of the block. I was lucky because I was in actuality 50 miles from anything resembling civilization.
I crossed the bridge into St. Ignace and the Blazer died. The nice people in St. Ignace let me get a hotel room even though I had no ID and no credit card. The heater had stopped working 40 miles out,so I was really cold. I spent a hour of the 5 hours waiting for my Dad defrosting in the shower. It was a terrible experience and not one I ever wished to repeat.
Since that time I've had more than my share of unexplicable car problems since then. Recently, I lost a head gasket on my Subaru. The 'ru had been running so, I thought I had fixed the problem. Yup, everything seemed to be in order and the car had been running great for 3 weeks. So, the plan was to head to the UP for Christmas.
The day before the trip I changed the oil, flushed to coolant and added Subaru's special additive that's supposed to prevent gasket problems in the future. Afterwords, the car seemed to run even better. Even still, it was cold on the 22nd, much colder than it had been in the preceding weeks when I had spent so many hours fixing the aforementioned problem.
As I was preparing the car, reflecting on the coming drive up to the Keewenaw, a song came on the radio. The first single off Live's "Throwing Copper", I knew it well. You see there's no radio in the UP and on that fatefull trip all those years ago I brought along only one CD. Live's "Throwing Copper". I have not listened to the CD since and thanks to radio playlisting it is rarely heard, save special segments on the 90's. I should have recognized this as an omen.
Before we were to get off on Highway 10 off US 131 we were cut-off by a logging truck (heading north oddly) and decided to continue on into Cadillac. The change in plans required stretching the Subaru's muscle a bit, resulting in a downshift and a corresponding leap on the tach. It never touched the redlin;it might as well have. A pinging, that I initially blamed on a heatshield started welling up from the engine. By the time we reached the next exit the engine was not interested in running.....it was all of 12 degrees outside, the snow picked up. Our dog in the backseat showed no interest, probably because she was tranquilized.
Thankfully in this day and age everyone has cell phones. I called my parents and they came to swap vehicles. We made it up to the UP for Christmas Eve. Only after some further adventures.
My Dad managed to find a trailer in Cadillac and towed the 'ru home where it returned to it's perch in the pole barn.
I've just ordered a Japanses Domestic Market Long Block to drop into the Subaru. So, I'll be working out in the pole barn for another week. Thanks be to old man winter, it's supposed to be 40 degrees tomorrow. Let's hope the weather keeps up over the next week.
Fuji by the way stands for Fuji Heavy Industries, they are better know in the U.S. as Subaru.
posted by Oberon at 4:22 PM
1 Comments:
Hmm, that wasn't too far from where the grey van popped its motor almost exactly 8 years ago.
Do you need to send back the old motor? I'd be interested in participating in a post-mortum teardown. Engine autopsies are cool.
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