A New Car.....Almost

When I bought my old Grand Cherokee in 2002, it was meant to be a work vehicle. I put a lot of miles on it before I returned to work in the hospital. It was a discrete, unappealing roving nursing office and storage room through rough neighborhoods. More recently, it has worn a grate behind the rear seat to keep a car sick Ilsa in place as we go about our business. Last Fall, the air conditioning went kaput, and I was forced into a decision this Spring. On a vehicle that I seldom even washed, to the point the exterior was as sticky as a candy chomping toddler's hands, I had to consider putting some money into the vehicle or buying a new one. Louisiana is not a state in which a person goes without vehicular air conditioning in the Summer months.

I took the Jeep to a trusted mechanic and learned the air conditioning evaporator would have to be replaced. In a younger life I would have removed the dashboard and done the job myself. As an older fellow with a career, I had to set my priorities.......How much? The part had to be ordered from the dealership. $1500 give or take a bit. Damn........Could it be done in one day while I was at work? Yes.

I had the transmission fluid and filter replaced while I thought about it. I had ignored those for far to long as well. The shifting was sluggish. The tranny work added up to $189. I checked the prices of used cars at several car lots over the weekend. I had paid off the Jeep in a fit of rage after the lender tried to charge me an undeserved late fee. I liked having no car note. I decided to bite the bullet and have the AC fixed.

I searched the internet for evaporators, and saw that the mechanic was correct, a dealership part. I did, however, find replacement headlights on amazon.com of all places. That was good. My headlights were so obscured by funk growing inside them that they almost did not pass my annual Louisiana vehicle safety inspection tax last week. The price per headlight was $81.77, for a savings of $221.48.......Each. $442.96 total savings.......I placed an order for two new headlights, and cleaned the front of the Jeep for my prima dona mechanic.

On Monday, I dropped off my newly clean Jeep with my mechanic, and had the air conditioner fixed. Total cost for Louisiana comfort was $1382.96 It was ready at 4:17PM the same day. I drove it with the air on full blast. Frigid........Nice.

Today, when I got home from work, two new headlights awaited me. They easily popped in and out, although I retained the original wiring harness. They work great, making the night bright in a way I have not experienced in several years. I almost feel as though I have a new car.......Without the car note.

Learning Something New

One of my jobs over the Easter weekend was to change out the waterpump on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. It had been changed out once before with a high volume unit to enhance cooling. I am not sure how many miles ago that was, likely 30 thousand or so. The high volume unit wore it's bearings out and began to rattle, making my Jeep sound like it had a diesel engine. I drove it that way for several weeks until I could take it no more. I entered a NAPA and bought a water pump with a lifetime guarantee and tossed it onto the passenger side floorboard.

On Friday morning I began the installation. I refused to remove the radiator and it's shroud to gain extra clearance. I had to jam my arms between the sundry engine assemblies and that damned shroud for the better part of an hour and a half to work. The way Chrysler built the thing, the shroud could not be removed by itself. What a bunch of idiots! I almost resorted to getting a sawsall and making a minor modification. My daughter was assisting me, so I had to keep the cussing child friendly.

When I at last had the pump installed with #2B sealant and a paper gasket, I refilled the radiator, installed the serpentine belt, and then I learned something. The XJ Grande has a spring loaded belt tensioner. I was raised and learned on the old V-belts with a slide bar and lock bolt to hold tension. This spring loaded contraption was kind of neat, assuming one had an appropriate tool to move it to get the belt on.

I've been testing my work over the weekend, and the XJ goes back to work this morning.