Waking up at 5:30, we warmed up the
car. Suddenly, Quantum noticed smoke billowng up from the engine.
An hour or so later it was determined
it was the water pump. We called around and found that one guy could
order a new pump for us. We could have it Tuesday! ACK! Today was
Saturday. Fortunately another place had the pump in stock - a bit
more expensive, but we couldn't afford to wait till Tuesday. Quantum
called the local "taxi" (who generally just delivered
take-out food) and set off. By noon, Quantum still couldn't get the
water pump (and all the associated parts) off. He called the taxi
back and went back to town for an 11mm wrenc
Just before the taxi arrived, Quantum
realized that the part that had siezed up earlier wasn't the water
pump, but the AC compressor. Even though we didn't need AC, the whole
thing was in line with the same belt that drove the fan and water
pump, so it had to be replaced.
Then we had the joy of figuring out
how to take the fan and fan housing off. For an allegedly quality
manual, the Chilton has crappy instructions and their pics are
abominable. And of course NEITHER of the belts that the CarQuest
folks had sold us back in Walsenburg were the right ones. Fortunately
the truly damaged belt was replaced by the one Quantum had bought at
the local store.
Behind the truck stop I met a couple
of horses and a burro that was sooo sweet. She wanted to nuzzle me
and let me pet her for ages, and followed me when I walked alongside
her fence. Her muzzle was velvet soft. I want a burro someday!
We were finally on the road by
5pm.Hopefully (and $300 later) the truck runs now.
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