There's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that I am no longer in Chip's garage. I rolled out of there yesterday afternoon with the belt squealing and whining like a stuck pig. Knew it couldn't be good. Still, good enough to make an escape.
I immediately refilled my propane tank so the issue of not freezing to death in the next few days would be covered. Then I chose to spend the night with a friend reminiscing on the previous ten day repair adventure and horror show until passing out on the couch at two a.m. A short time after departing her apartment this morning the squealing serpentine belt shredded and came off of Nellybelle. Looking for a safe haven, I rolled into a nearby 7-11 parking lot. David arrived at two pm and we went and got a new belt. I tried to buy a long fifteen mm wrench but ended up with an entire set of shorter metrics from Harbor Freight for something like twelve bucks. I now have tools? OMFG. A couple weeks ago I bought pots and pans!! Stop it. Make it go away..
But I digress. Back to the belt, which turned out to be the wrong one. Argh. David had to get back to work delivering pizzas but he's gonna swap out the belt and get back by later to try and get the new one on. It may squeal and shred to bits as well, or it may act in glorious mechanical harmony with my universe, rendering my life at least momentarily free of the foreboding shadow of impending doom which has forced me to stay as alert as a lost pup at a Vietnamese barbecue. Locals swear it's only thru the magic of the "high mountain meadows medicines" that I've managed to retain my sanity and, more importantly, my fabulosity. There are videos. There are always videos. If only those video uploads could keep up with my active bandwidth.
Enjoy.