This weekend I was down in Sarasota, Florida teaching a continuing education class and stayed at this fine establishment. When I rolled up to register for my room Saturday afternoon,
this normally bulletproof mechanical starter relay refused to engage, or disengage, and refused to get my old Comanche up and at ’em to transport this olelongrooffan to dinner. Delivered Chinese was good.
thejeepjunkie was immediately contacted and we spend nearly an hour with my crawling all over and under the engine compartment of that Jeep to no success. Any of my fellow Hoons who have attempted an over the phone diagnosis of a repair know the state of frustration of which we were possessed.
However, Sunday morning, my brother and a buddy ventured out onto the always crowded I-4 through Orlando and rescued my sorry ass!
Remember, if you get out and about in your old truck, no matter how much fun, make sure to have a chase vehicle within a few hours drive!
PS, a 15 minute replacement of that Sunday evening sourced by thejeepjunkie part has my ole Indian, once again, running like a top.
That Didn't Work? Try This.
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gotta love good friends….alldata….and cold beer….all make the most miserable situation better….
amazing what 'hands on' can do….only took six and a half hours…400 miles…and two cold ones took fix….
gotta love a jeep…especially an old one…. -
I had a nearly identical 4Runner to the one pictured (mine was an SR5). All-in-all, it was a great vehicle with a couple of design quirks/flaws and more underbody rust than any modern five year old vehicle has any business having. It really didn't fit my needs so I traded it on a Mustang GT.
However, I'm deeply disappointed in myself for never towing home a vehicle with it. That was pretty much the ultimatum I gave myself: Rent a trailer and go find some basket case old car or motorcycle, or ditch the Toyota and get a modern musclecar. My inherent laziness and lack of a decent garage ensured I did the latter.
On a different note, when's Jeep going to come out with another truck already? The Commanche and Scrambler were great concepts. And with the Dodge, er, uh, Ram Dakota well past its prime, how hard would it be to cobble together another Wrangler pickup? -
Couldn't you have just jumped directly to the starter with jumper cables?
Had to do something like that a few times with the old F-150. -
starter relay….not a soleniod…good idea though, and flat land ..no hills.. so couldn't roll down a hill and pop the clutch…
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<img src="http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/screwdriver-1.jpg" width="200" />
Plus "BZZZZT!" = Zoom. -
So, after all that, what sort of accommodations did the Cadillac Motel provide? Would it be "restored '66 Eldorado" or more like "rusty '83 Cimarron"? I was in Sarasota in January and noticed the Cadillac and several other vintage motels along that stretch of Tamiami Trail, and I have to say that the external appearance didn't lead me to want to switch from the middling-but-predictable chain hotel that I had booked around the corner near the airport.
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