My Jeep has over 200,000 miles on it. The air conditioning has been broken for two years. I’ve replaced CV joints, half shafts ($120), boots, brakes and rotors ($100 x 2), power steering pump ($90), spark plugs & wires ($75 x 2), water pump ($70), flushed the transmission, half shafts again, distributor cap, oil ($20…about a million times), replaced the battery twice ($90), oxygen sensor ($60), muffler ($40), catalytic converter ($130), tires ($400 x 2), U joint ($20). I once said that I was going to drive this Jeep until the wheels fell off. Well, that happened. The wheel bearings blew up ($260) and the front wheels fell off. New car? Nope. We put the wheels back on.
The 4×4 is actually a 2WD because the drive shaft going to the front differential is disconnected (and sitting in the garage of Tim Haas). Apparently, the bearings in the front differential were bad and rather than pay $1000 to have it fixed…we just disconnected the problem. A “turn up the radio” type solution.
On a band trip to the mountains, towing a trailer, the rear differential blew up. New car? Nope. $1300 later I had a “new, used” rear differential. Still no air conditioning. I’m not even mentioning that the rear gate doesn’t open. Something in the latch is broken which means that loading drums and guitars is more of a “creative process”.
Current timeline: now. The water pump is broken again, which means that small animals are probably lapping up the dripping antifreeze and are wondering why they don’t feel so good.
All this to say that I’ve finally figured out what the knocking in my engine is. Bad water pump? No. It’s a car payment. Well, Mr. Finance Man, I’m not answering. Is the Jeep going to take a turn for the better and get well? Probably not. It has what I like to call a “terminal disease” but I’ve consulted my friend Google, and found this video on how to replace a water pump. Pay attention to all the “in ders” and “dose bolts”. It’s classic car repair.
Also, if anyone can tell my why they call it a “water pump” when it pumps antifreeze, I’d love to know.
6 Comments
October 20, 2009
The moral of the story: buy foreign
October 20, 2009
Wrong moral. Endeavor to persevere. The foreign car buyers are too ashamed to enter their complaints online. I know.
October 21, 2009
This video is riveting.
October 21, 2009
i bought a foreign car. i have no complaints, except that i actually have to pay for it.
October 25, 2009
Enjoyed the video. Loved his asides- “he’s lucky the fan didn’t come off and go through the radiator, I seen that happen…” “Be careful when you’re pullin’ the fan out, you don’t want to stab a hole in the radiator…” Hope our repair is all you need for a year or more!
Love Dad
October 27, 2009
Re: water pump. I believe in the earliest automotive times, water was all they had to circulate through the motor. Hence the name water pump.
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