Talk about wanting to choke an automotive engineer or seven:

The black duct work (didjanotice the gorilla tape repair? it’s been on there for four years) is the intake. We aren’t in the area of the leaking hose yet.

The hose in the bottom center of the pic has a pinhole leak under the visible clamp. The other clamp is tucked under the throttle body. I have to remove the throttle body just to touch the clamp with more than a finger.

Not looking like an easy repair yet.

Sure is black in the throttle body. I’ll worry about that later. The clamp on the right side is the same one from two pictures ago. The hidden clamp has been removed and the hose is ready to come off. I took it off, went to O’Reilly’s, and wonder of wonders they had the exact hose I needed in stock on the shelf. Bought some anti-freeze while I was there.

Sure wish I had looked closer at this picture before I ran to O’Reilly’s. It would have saved me a trip. The sharp-eyed among you have already noticed that the shaped hose was not the major leak source. Yes, I had this puppy buttoned back up before you could say Jack Frost – fired it up, and was floored when water was leaking out from the same spot. I tore it back apart, and got the offending short hose off – I had to cut it, and wrestle the clamps off. Another run to O’Reilly’s, a section of straight hose (and some gasket material, because my haste caused me to break off a piece of the gasket, and I had to make a new one … ) and I was ready to button it up again.

This one shows the new shaped hose in place – notice the lower hose, just lurking there, laughing quietly to itself as I stand back and take a picture of my handiwork, confident that I have solved the issue …

All buttoned up, ready to go. After I replaced the lower hose, I had lost any sense of wanting to take pictures, so I didn’t take a second picture after the final assembly. Someplace along the line, I shorted something out, and the Rhino wouldn’t start. Pastor Mike suggested I disconnect the battery, and let the computer reset. Initially, it still wouldn’t start. After a little time, it finally started. Like a dummy, I had not disconnected the battery before disconnecting the electrical connections you saw in the first picture.

Lesson learned.

Update – turns out the starter solenoid is fried. or frying. it occasionally starts, but just as occasionally it decides not to. i have to beat it with blunt objects to get it’s attention. not too bad when you are dressed for working on the car, but in your white dockers and light-colored polo shirt, it wreaks havoc on the clothing. oh, and it was raining today when i got off work and the solenoid didn’t want to work.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

1,000.

Finally, after nearly six years in the blogosphere, I have finally made it to the milestone.

Along the way, I’ve made a lot of friends. I’ve met a lot of other bloggers, some I’ve kept up with, others who have fallen by the way side, still others who have passed on while still active (Old Ranter, Basti), and a precious few that I have actually had the pleasure to meet (Douglas Gibbs, Gawfer, Greybeard). There is a host of them in Southern California that I look forward to possibly meeting up with in June, after the ASTRA convention (Robert, Gawfer some more, Doug some more, maybe Jenn, maybe even John and his sister, and Paul).

I even made a run for president. Don’t you wish I was there instead of the bozo we have now?

I became a New Daddy.

My blog has been used as evidence by the City of Phoenix in an attempt to trample on the First Amendment rights of a private citizen.

Many other bloggers out there have published many more entries than I, heck, some of them *cough*Texas Fred*cough* do that in a matter of months.

I don’t write about politics as much anymore, my weight has popped back up to the 220 range since I quite the paper route, and I have landed in a job that I believe will carry me though my golden years.

I still enjoy working with wood, and get to do just that on occasion.

But, perhaps best of all, I still get to share my world with you, my loyal reader(s).

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Well, WordPress must be watching me pretty closely. Here it is over a week later, and the nag at the top still says I have to upgrade to 3.0.5. I swear, as soon as I upgrade it’s going to tell me I need to upgrade to 3.0.6.

Monday evening, on the way home from the greatest job in the world, the motor in my trusty steed went south. I’m waiting for word from a mechanic friend on how far south it went, and if there is an inexpensive chance that the motor will be migrating back north any time soon. If it’s more than a couple grand, I may need to drive a junker for a while. That is, if I can find one … thank you, Cash For Clunkers.

Special shout-out to Roberta X for filling an unrealized void in my life for some serious sci-fi style. And, of course, a big thank you to Larry for bird-dogging this one.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Got this link from a trusted friend, and I am so blessed to be able to pass this on. Looking at this lady, you would think that humor was the last thing on her mind …

Mary Maxwell gives the invocation at Home Instead dinner.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Ahhhhh …. Wednesday.

I am so looking forward to spending time with family and friends this evening, “exercising” our first amendment right to “freely gather” on “private property” and “worship God” in our “chosen way”.

Side note to the City of Phoenix: This is a private party. You are not invited.

Side note to my regular readers: the quote marks really drive a certain city prosecutor nuts, trying to figure out what i meant by the words in quotes. he’s easily confused that way.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there are some blackberries calling out to be placed lovingly on top of some cereal and milk, to be consumed with enjoyment. Certain people in my family frown on the consumption of blackberries with cream and sugar, the way God intended them to be consumed, and these same certain members of my family cite concernes about my longevity and my waistline. I see their point, but still …

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!