I guess I am happy or at least relieved today.
The link below is a selfie with my new engine. The mechanic fired it up
and let me listen to it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m5tr7nj0loxa1pc/LocklearSequoia1.jpg?dl=0
He said that I could come get it on Thursday, which will be a month from
when it broke down.
The only part he reused was my serpentine fan-belt. Meaning I have a new
radiator, hoses, radiator-cap, engine, water-pump, spark-plugs and
thermostat. I assume he put in good coolant and oil.
He said the old engine blew a head-gasket out of the right-rear cylinder
from driving it way too hot.
I do not believe I would have ever knowingly driven an engine hot. I had
Jiffy Lube do their routine stuff before the road-trip, and I had paid a
mechanic $ 20 to look over the engine prior to leaving town.
And prior to leaving Schulenberg with CowPoke for Decatur on June 17th, I
popped the hood and briefly looked at the engine. It seemed to drive fine
to Decatur. It seemed to drive fine the first 20 miles on the way home,
back towards Houston. It seems obvious that I drove it too far once I had
realized there was a problem, but by then all my efforts to fix it in Fort
Worth and later in Mansfield were expensive and futile. I can only guess
now, that I spent $ 1,500 in May and June on the Sequoia.
The current additional estimate is $ 13,000 which I think he threw in a
brake job while he was waiting on parts to arrive. That all means I am
going to be in debt, living above my means, for many years to come. I am
about to own a $ 23,500 Sequoia that still needs TLC, and with a
transmission with 190,000 miles, that is probably worth $ 8,000.
I do not think it can get any dumber than that.
Anything related to me going on road-trips from Houston is probably going
to be even more difficult than it was before.
I should be trying to settle down and learn more about computers and Linux,
in an effort to slow-down the process of going stir-crazy insane.
However, that effort is going about as well as my Sequoia saga.
David Locklear
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