Deere John

If you had told me - even 1 year ago - that I would be walking through a field of John Deere tractors and actually contemplating which one I would drive away with, I would have thought you were crazy with a capital CRAZ.

But it happened.  It being Spring, and all, we went to mow the lawn.  And it being Spring, and all, the belt broke on the tractor.  Because - apparently - every time you go to use a piece of equipment it first has to be repaired/tuned up/ tweaked in some manner or another.  So we went over to the John Deere tractor supply store (which is *not* located next to a Starbucks) to get a new belt for the tractor.

While I was waiting for my DH to get the part, I strolled through the tractors out in the field.  So shiny and fancy.  They have attachments for practically anything you want - mowing, digging, trenching.

But the thing that got me was that they come in all sizes, from wee little tractors to big huge tractors.  Sort of like those Russian dolls, except you can't put one inside of the other.

This little wee one looked about my size.  I could really do some damage to the gardens in this guy!  Backhoe on the back and bucket on the front - the weeds wouldn't stand a chance.

But neither would the lawn, it would be ripped up in a heartbeat.  Oh well.

Perhaps we'll just stick with the lawn tractor and save the big guys for another project down the road.

In the meanwhile, I think I'll stop in at Starbucks tomorrow, just to get the thought of tractors out of my head!

Bad Truck, Bad

Our truck is broken.  She won't start.  She sits sulking in the driveway, blatantly refusing to go anywhere or do anything.

At first I thought she was depressed - what with all of the rain and all.  But it turns out that she went and broke her battery terminal connector.  Bad truck!

My DH explained to me that the battery terminal connector is this pathetic looking piece of lead that connects that battery - through the terminal (things that stick out on top of the battery) - to the engine parts...like the starter.  Apparently, just like computers, trucks need electricity to run.  No electricity, no run.

I asked the truck just what was she thinking by breaking her battery terminal connectors?  She had no satisfactory answer.  She just blinked her dome lights at me, made a few pathetic clicking sounds and then she stopped talking to me altogether.  Stubborn truck.

My DH said that she apparently shook lose one of her battery terminal connectors so her batteries weren't charging enough when I drove her.  When we went to take out the batteries and charge them, all 4 connectors were cracked.  They all need to be replaced and one of the batteries needs to be replaced as well.  Apparently this is normal.  I don't think so.

I think she did this on purpose.  My personal opinion is that she needs some quality "us time".  Just the two of us.  Maybe a little engine polish, a fresh bottle of washer fluid, and something new and sparkly - like new battery terminal connectors.

So tonight, we went out and got her new connectors. They're shiny lead.  And pretty copper connectors that we'll solder to her red wiring.  Copper and red will look nice, I think.

My DH has also promised her a new solenoid and possibly a new starter too if she still refuses to turn over.  I think that's what she's really angling for.  What girl wouldn't want a new starter?  (glossy black with silver highlights)  I'm not sure we should reward such behavior.

In the meanwhile, our pup is really happy about this whole development.  It seems that the longer the truck sits in the driveway, the more often our pup gets to walk to the store with us instead of being left behind while we go with the truck.

It's nice that someone is getting something good out of this - and I'm glad it's our pup!

Possibilities

This field was like my day - full of possibilities.  Anything could happen.

But with the pickup broken, no much happened.  My DH and I spent the day soldering new connectors on to the battery and other assorted cables on the truck, then replacing the batteries.  Finally we finished well after sunset only to discover that it wasn't just the batteries.  There's something else wrong with the truck.

Of course it had to happen now, right during the busiest week of all.  There are plants to pick up and put in to the gardens, the monthly grocery shopping has to get done and I'll be working late all week, so I won't be able to catch a ride home from one of my train buddies.  It is going to be a scheduling nightmare!

Here's a little tip I picked up when we were working on the truck.  If your truck has two batteries - and one of the is live and you can't get the cables off because they've kind of fused themselves to the terminals on the batteries, you should make real sure that you don't touch anything metal when you're holding the positive cable.  If you do, you will have the best homemade fireworks display right on top of your engine.

Just a tip.

I would say that this couldn't have happened at a worse time, but I think that's just tempting fate - don't you agree?

I'm just going to set this day aside and simply pretend that I didn't have a weekend this week.  I'll give it another try next weekend.

So - deep breath - thinking happy thoughts.

Besides, tomorrow is going to start out much like today - full of possibilities.

It's Not As Scary As It Looks

This is a Hemi diesel engine.  More specifically, this is the Hemi diesel engine on our truck.  No, I'm not going to be talking about cooking steak on the engine block.

It is old.  It is a diesel.  It requires maintenance every week.  We could either take it to our lovely mechanic - it's very own mani-pedi appointment - or I could learn what to do.  How hard could it be, right?

Well, aside from possibly getting an arm chopped off or electrocuting myself, but what doesn't have a little risk?, it's actually pretty easy - and they even put little pictures in the engine.

So - my Dear Honey has been going over (and over and over) the maintenance routine and here is my first time checking it all by myself.

Today we're going to do the first part - we check the transmission fluid level.  

This is the fluid that has to be in the truck so it has the power to drive.  The whole motion thing.  If your transmission is broken, you aren't going anywhere.  Ever.  It's really expensive to replace the transmission.  One of my friends is a transmission expert.  He has a very very very nice house.  I don't want to be the one restocking his coy pond this year.  I'll check the fluid.

This has to be done with the engine running and the transmission in neutral.  This one is the most dangerous because you have to stick you arm into the engine area when it is running - and there is a big belt roaring around and the whole truck is shaking (because it's a diesel and they do that) and there are 2 batteries filled with electrical charge.  So don't wear any loose scarf or dangly necklaces and pay attention to what is going on when you do this.  

Just be cautious.  And focus.  You can do this.

That's the dip stick for the transmission fluid.  It says "trans fluid" on it (even though it is shaking because the engine is running).  Just reach in and pull it straight out.  It's about 3-feet long.  Wipe it off with a clean paper towel, put it back in. And pull it out again.  This gives you a clean reading.

If you just pulled it out and looked at it without "resetting" it by the wipe/dip, you would get a bad reading because all the fluid in there sloshes around while you drive and some of it gets further up the stick then it would if the truck was just sitting in the driveway.  Even if the engine really shakes when it is just sitting in the driveway.

Look at the level of the fluid.  It has to be between those bumps on the dip stick.  It usually says:  Add--->|XXXXX|<---Full  The object being to get the fluid in the "XXXXX" spot, not below - or there's not enough of it to lubricate whatever part it should lubricate.  And not above, or there's too much pressure and one of the plastic gaskets that seal the metal parts together will blow out.  Since this is not a finely tuned high performance racing engine, we are not worried about being a little over.  Since this is an old vehicle - we are definitely worried about being under.

My fluid level here is low.  I added 2 cups of transmission fluid down the little opening where the dip stick goes in.  

My Dear Honey says I shouldn't say "2 cups" because this is not baking, it's automobile maintenance and everything in automobile maintenance is in quarts (as in "hey Joe, give me a quart of oil, she's looking a little low here.").  

So I'm going to translate that into automechanical-ese.  "I added a 1/2-quart of tranny fluid.  Put 'er right in the reservoir.  She should be good for a week or so, but I'd keep an eye on the mileage there."

See?  It's all in the lingo!

Full of (Hot) Air

You see this?  This is a tire.  And that little black thingy there?  That's the stem where the air goes in.  It should have that little cap on it that keeps dirt form getting into the stem and clogging it up.  I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold it back any longer.  I had to say something.  It may seem harsh, but it has to be said.  You *can* check the air in your tires.  All by yourself.  It is possible.  

You just have to unscrew the cap from the stem.  The green gardening gloves are optional.  I find them the perfect accessory for checking the air in the tires, because, well because the truck is green.  And I like to be all matchy-matchy when I'm being all mechanically inclined.

That's the cap off of the stem.  The stem is nice and clean and shiny.  Don't lose the cap or your Dear Honey just might have heart failure - or darn close to it.  Of course, if you do lose the cap, you can always get some more at the auto shop, your mechanic, the gas station, the hardware store - basically any one of those shops that your Dear Honey doesn't mind going to when you go shopping.

Just put the cap on top of the tire while you check the air.  That way you won't drop it.  You'll know where it is.

Take your air pressure checking gauge and insert it onto the stem.  When it is on all the way, you won't hear hissing air pouring out.  I have a nice digital one that talks to me.  I like it better than the stick ones, because I don't need to have my glasses on to get a reading.  Simple is good.  My pressure is low, but that's okay - it's not too bad.  I should be at 45 though.  That's what my mechanic told me when he put the tires on.  Winter pressure 45, summer pressure 50.  Higher in the summer because we carry the watering tank on the back.

Put the end of the air compressor hose onto the stem.  Hold it firmly - and again, there shouldn't be any hissing.

Squeeze the handle for the air compressor and air should start flowing into the tire.  I count slowly to 10 and then check it with the gauge again.  I keep doing that until the pressure is correct.

See?  45.0  Perfect.  

I am no mechanic, but I think that one should know how to check the air in one's tires.  And if, in a pinch, it is necessary to fill them with some air, one should feel confident that they could do so.  So if you are out shopping miles from home and you get out of the store and look at your car and it seems a little tilted because one tire is much much much lower than the other 4, you could go to a gas station and fill it with air and drive home.  At which point, your Dear Honey could figure out what happened and what needs to be done to fix it.  But you would be able to handle that emergency - with maybe only a phone call (or two).  

Not that that ever happened to me...okay, it did.  But it was many years ago.  I've come far since then.  My friend even let me check the air pressure in his tires once.  

That's him - #12, 4th from the front - the little orange one!  I got to "man" two tires during the hot pit lane stops (the one right next to the actual track) and check the air pressure during a race at Lime Rock Park.  Sometimes you just have to jump in when fun comes calling.  Terrifying and exciting to be so close to cars going nearly 150 miles per hour!  

His car was a bit more complicated than the truck - with the whole, get it wrong and he could die thing going on.  But it was mechanically the same.  Push in the gauge, read it, add or subtract air to get to the right number.

He's still alive, by the way.  The pressure was good.