Wednesday
Our last day in the USA for this trip. Our plan to stay here in Minneapolis for a whole week has paid off, as we have able to clean and prepare the TT and Chevy, yet not get overtired.
The weather has been mixed, so we have alternated inside and outside jobs. I completely emptied the Chevy and cleaned all tits little nooks and crannies. Also did the same for the basement, actually throwing out some stuff we have not used in years, which is never an easy task.Sally has been busy making sure that we have plenty of ladies clothes from Walmart to take home.
For the last four or five years (?) the Chevy has made funny little intermittent, ticking noises which have been hard to pin down, but it has got slightly worse this trip. When I consulted a campground engineering expert committee (just a fellow campers really) they instantly assured me that it was the U-bolts on the drive shaft, not a real problem, so I organised to get it checked at a local workshop while we were here, so that I could get and necessary work done when we come back in September.
On Monday I called in to Rob's Auto's (just around the corner from the campground) to ask for a quote. He took down details on paper and said that he could fit me in the next day to diagnose the problem and then do work before the end of the week, I said I didn't want to do it until September. At which point he took his piece of paper and tore it up saying to bring it back in September, as there was no point in diagnosing a problem now if it wasn't going to be fixed. But this was sorted when I told him it would be in storage until September.
So Tuesday lunchtime I took the Chevy down to Rob's Auto's. He took it into his workshop. Put it on the ramp. Had trouble getting it to make the noise, for some reason had to put the Chevy on an angle to make the noise. Got someone to listen underneath to find the problem - couldn't find it. This of course got the rest of the crew interested. For twenty minutes there were four guys working under the Chevy, plus the guy running the engine, trying to pin down what the problem was. They even had the stethoscope out. They could all hear it, but not pin it down. As well as being amusing this also started to be worrying, as a problem difficult for them to diagnose would probably be expensive.
At last the main guy pinned it down! the right hand side exhaust manifold has a small crack in it. (the manifold is the bit right next to the engine block which directs the exhaust gases to the exhaust pipe). The crac has been made because of the extreme heat produced by the exhaust, probably due to pulling our trailer up and down mountains and through hot deserts. The 'tinging' sound was gases escaping at high pressure. A bit like a mechanical fart, only a higher pitch and faster, like when you used to speed up a tape recording. If you can imagine tape recoding and speeding up the sound of a fart.So problem diagnosed, he was very pleased that he had solved the problem. I was a little pleased that the problem was solved, more pleased that it wasn't something terminal, less pleased that it is going to come in at around $700 to be fixed in September.
So here I am today, Wednesday, at 6.30 a.m. sat at the computer writing the last 'on the road' blog for this trip, with my coffee by my side, girding away ready to unleash myself on the TT and CHevy to store it. Preparing for the long trip home. Sad to be leaving the States once again. For the next trip we know we will come back to Minneapolis, but have not decided when, where we will go, what we want to see, where we will finish up, when we will fly home again.
Only that the little tapestry, that is our lives, still has blank stretches of canvas ready to be patterned, coloured and textured by what is to come.
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