Monday, August 26, 2013

Clifford’s got the Colic…

Clifford is now waiting for a mechanic at the Sioux Falls, SD Kenworth/Volvo dealer. My steel steed has a bit of colic and is not doing so well.  

He went to the Volvo shop in Champaign, IL to have a few things checked out and an estimate for doing the work and to get the A/C fixed. When I paid and got the keys, he was really sick. Would not shift. Gave me error lights about the brakes and other things and really balked at the bit.

I shut him off, took the keys back to the service desk and left it there for 3 days (over a weekend+) and when I came to get him back, they said he needed a new transmission computer…. gulp!!! A heart lung transplant would have seemed a less drastic prognosis.

Anyway, I haggled down the $700+ bill and left. He was working just fine after that.  We left Champaign for points west.

Blew the tire near Newton, IA and got those replaced per previous blog and then on to Des Moines and finally to Onawa, IA for  a 3 day rest. The 2 hour drive from Onawa to Sioux Falls, SD was easy and pleasant and things were fine until we pulled into the FlyingJ to refuel and hit a horrendous DIP entering their driveway.

Shook him to his teeth.. and us, too.  Ever since then, he has struggled against the bit and balked at everything.

Poor Clifford.  I can sort of manually shift from gear to gear with the buttons but it is not a reliable way to go far. 

Fortunately, we were about 3 miles from the Sioux Falls, SD KOA and that is 4 blocks from the Volvo Service center.. God works in mysterious ways, doesn’t he?

I guess for some reason we are supposed to spend some time here.  Interestingly, I have had all my bills handled for the past 20 years by Paytrust, a Sioux Falls, SD company. What are the odds?

ttfn

Budd

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