THE DAY THAT I THOUGHT MY TRUCK MAY BE DYING

I understand that when some people look at my truck, they may think it's already dead.

While it may not be pretty, it still gets the job done... or at least most of the time. Recently it started leaking anti-freeze, and I thought that I might be losing it. Thanks to a few steemians though, the beast lives!

HELP!

On a recent trip back from Missouri, the heat cut out on our truck. It was a colder night and suddenly the vents stopped blowing hot air and everything started to get colder. Soon I had Hive account@bluerthangreen on the phone and he said the most likely cause was low coolant. Sure enough, I was low on coolant, so I filled it back up and the heater began to work once again. But, since there was still a leak, it didn't really solve my issue.

Thankfully, the Hive account@mobile-joat was on his way over to our neck of the woods within the next day or so anyway, so we were able to have someone look at it almost immediately. While he hasn't suggested that I replace the truck yet, it seems that may be his goal, because piece by piece we are replacing it!

This time it was the radiator and the water pump. This issue had been around for a while, and the recent increase in leaking only made it worse. The first thing that I learned from this ordeal was that low coolant can lead to a loss of heat inside the vehicle. The second thing was that low coolant may lead to an overheated water pump. This also is not good.

You can see here that the new water pump at least looks better than the old one. I've seen these parts under the hood before, but I didn't really know the names of a lot of them, so at least I am now learning more too.

Here is the old radiator. It didn't take a mechanic to know that it was leaking, but it did take one to replace it! Thanks Hive account@mobile-joat!

Just look at that shiny new radiator! Not only will I not have to deal with it leaking, I've got the peace of mind that new parts brings. Plus, Hive account@mobile-joat came to me and I didn't have to take it anywhere to get it looked at. As I usually like to these days, I tried to absorb as much of the process that I could by watching everything that he did each step of the way. Who knows when I might have to fend for myself one day?

This was the third thing that I learned. Notice how Hive account@mobile-joat has the jug of coolant tipped sideways. By holding the jug this way you reduce the chances of spilling it everywhere. He took one look at me attempting to do it and immediately showed me the correct way. While I still might not be able to replace my own parts, at least I can properly pour a jug of coolant now!

Just in case any of you missed it and wanted to know a little more about Hive account@mobile-joat, here is an interview that I did with him last month. He's a great friend and a very capable man, so we enjoy hanging out when we can, even if I've got to pay him to work on my truck just to get him to come over!