Well, things are going along here pretty well.
Almost all of the radio gear here in my little Comm Center has been safely packed up, and all the books are packed. GAWD....I hate moving boxes of books! They're like moving solid blocks of wood the same size, or maybe even heavier.
We're going to have six "pods" dropped off in a few weeks, and the "Pod People" will pack them, ship them, and store them for us until we buy a house. Then they'll deliver them, unpack them, and set up the furniture and other things for us.
The biggest trailer I can rent from my local-down-the-street U-Haul is a 6'x12'x5.5' dual-axle rig rated for 2,500 lbs of cargo. I'll probably let the "Pod People" take my two rolling toolboxes, and stuff the rest of the garage stuff in the trailer and Jeep.
I'm planning on overnighting in St. George, UT, and Grand Junction, CO, as St. George is about 8 hours from here, Grand Junction is about 8 hours further down the road, and Fort Collins about 8 hours from there. I really don't want to push it too hard dragging a trailer behind the Jeep, and I think an 8 hour stint behind the wheel will be tiring enough.
Oh, and the back brakes on the Jeep wore through the pads yesterday, so that's something else I have to fix.
I've never owned a vehicle where the rear brake pads wore out before the fronts. I checked the front pads a couple of weeks ago, and they still have about half the lining on them, so geez....the rears should be just dandy, shouldn't they?
Nope....and since there aren't any "wear indicators" on the OEM pads to squeal and squeek before the lining evaporates, they wore out and started munching on the rotors.
Oh, well......I'll get two new rotors for the rear, along with a set of rear pads, and FRONT pads, too. Might as well make sure all four wheels have new pads before I start towing a trailer through the mountains.
The wife's stress level has decreased somewhat, at least until the next "crisis", and then she'll ramp it up again.
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<i>The Fisher Saga</i> Continues - Act III -
Been working on this post since right after Thanksgiving. I'm making very good progress on the Fisher, and will most likely power it up...
You might consider RON in Fruita instead of GJ. Easy access off I-70, several motels and restaurants, and a small town vibe missing in GJ.
ReplyDeletePlease read up on altitude sickness. Not a problem if you are prepared and stay hydrated but can make for a "cranky" day. Also sunscreen. You may have a Cali tan but the UV due to less atmosphere can be intense.
Good luck!
Thanks, but the wife already made the reservations. *I'M* the one taking the dog, so I have to stay at a "pet friendly" hotel.
DeleteThe altitude hasn't seemed to bother me all the times I've been there, well....except for Pikes Peak, but the wife gets tired a lot easier.
Yeah, I know about the sun. I wear my boonie hat instead of just a ball cap.
Glad to hear things are moving along. I hope that finding a place goes just as quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Nebraska, we owned a Dodge van that about every 6 months we had to replace the clutch pad, or whatever that round thing is called that is a pain in the behind to change. Never had a van (or any vehicle) before or since that was as bad on clutch plates. (I remembered. ;-) )
You all be safe and have a good final move. God bless.
The clutch is between the engine and transmission, and you have to pull the transmission to replace it. It's not a "bad" job in some cars, but in others it's a major pain.
ReplyDeleteWe're hoping to find something within a month, which means it'll be two months to take ownership, what with all the bank and escrow stuff.
-OR- We wait until spring, when more houses will come on the market. Real estate seems to be a LOT more seasonal in Colorado than it is in Kommiefornia.
It's that way whenever you live near a military base, too. Housing availability rises and falls with the PCS cycle. We were happy to sell our house in NC as quickly as we did, since we missed a big PCS Last year. Anyway, good luck to you however it turns.
DeleteI'm glad everything worked out, and the last-ditch effort to cut the price didn't work. :) Re: the brakes, check to see if there's a proportioning valve on the hydraulic system. If so, may be set too far to the rear.
ReplyDeleteIt has a very sophisticated 4-channel anti-lock brake system.
DeleteI 'aint touchin' nuthin on it, other than to replace parts!
Be bloody well sure you shine a security light up the rear of those 'Pods' folks storing your stuff. We knew an older couple that moved from Michigan to California to be closer to their daughter and her family. The couple took the scenic route, so their stuff arrive well ahead of them. I believed they used U-Haul. Anyway, their son-in-law went to check on their stuff (don't remember what the container was) about a week after it arrived at the local U-Haul. Can't remember if lock was missing or just cut, but stuff had been gone through. Guns and computers gone.
ReplyDeleteHere's the worst part--there was no chain of accountability and no signatures. There was no way to tell where, when, or how the break-in occurred. The attitude was pretty much "Yeah, sorry, not our problem, here's the number for our insurance".
The firearms, ammo, and computers are going with me in the trailer I'm renting.
DeleteI've ordered some special "extreme security" locks that will be here next for the pods.
Anything of "great value" is going with me and the dog.
And as soon as I'm out of Kommiefornia, my 1911 is getting loaded up, and will be in the car with us.
Good plan--pretty much the way I did it when we bailed. After we got moved in here in Texas, I re-installed the issue flash suppressor on my M1A, and my youngest son pitched the "bullet button" mag release from his AR as far as he could.
DeleteThat reminds me....I have 5 brand-new 10-round P-Mags that need a good home!
DeleteI'll the bullet button on my AR until we're safe in Colorado....
Good brakes ARE a help... Just sayin! And agree with RHT.
ReplyDeleteI was planning on putting new pads in the front before I left. The new rear rotors and pads are an adding expense, but the brakes should be in fine shape when I leave.
DeleteI'm pulling the front rotors to have them resurfaced before the new pads go on, so I should be good-to-go when I pull out of here.
GAWD....I hate moving boxes of books! They're like moving solid blocks of wood the same size, or maybe even heavier.
ReplyDeleteI refer to a box of books as concentrated trees. Heavier than a plain tree.
HAH!
DeleteI'll keep that one in my stand-up routine about moving!
Books and old vinyl records, might as well be solid as heavy as they get.
ReplyDeleteThe rear brakes thing is kind of puzzling to me also. The first thing I thought of is what Rev. Paul suggested above, a proportioning valve out of whack.
I distinctly remember being told in the Ford Factory training I had to go through constantly years ago that almost all vehicles got 70% of their braking capacity from the front wheels.
The 30% to the rear was mostly to keep the rear of the car in line with the front as much more tended towards the rear wheels locking up under normal braking because all the weight is up front.
If you had just one wheel wearing the pads out prematurely then I would look towards either a sticky caliper or the parts it slides on but both wearing prematurely makes me wonder if something isn't out of whack in your electronic system.
You could always go to a "harder" brake material too. I would stay away from the ceramic pads though unless they came with it. They tend to polish the rotors to a mirror finish and then lose all grip on the rotors.
Just my thoughts, YMMV.
If it has a proportioning valve, it's part of the ABS, and most likely computer controlled.
DeleteThe OEM front pads are ceramic, and that's what's going back in. Haven't decided on the rears yet.
If the front pads are ceramic and the rear ones aren't that might explain it because as you know, ceramic is harder than the hubs of hell.
DeleteIt would make sense that both front and rear pads would be the same material but we are talking about automotive engineers so common sense is the first thing out the window.
I will be looking forward to what you come up with on this.
Yep, if they save a buck each on a million cars, that's a million bucks, and somebody gets a nice bonus!
DeleteCongratulations on your upcoming exodus - I hope that you have an uneventful trip. I have to say I am concerned about the brakes.
ReplyDeleteAssuming the same pads aren't used front and rear, it's possible the manufacturer got a batch of rear pads that wore out too quickly. There might be a service bulletin on that. Another option is that the front brakes are loafing. There are probably others as well.
On one of the cars we used to have, pre-ABS, we discovered the back brakes were doing all the work when the back end kicked out in a wet parking lot. The brakes had seemed just fine, but then, we weren't in the habit of needing maximum braking. After checking the calipers, pads, etc. and finding nothing wrong, I took it in to a trusted shop. As I recall, they ended up replacing both the proportioning valve and the master cylinder before getting the fronts back in action.
I have this mental picture of someone pulling out and making you slam on the brakes, at which point the ABS dutifully pulses the back brakes while the fronts just loaf along, and things start happening in slow motion...
I think you could get a feel for whether the front brakes are working ok by jacking up one side, applying the brakes gently, and verifying the front wheels require more torque to rotate than the rears. The other option is a skid pad and a scan tool that can monitor the ABS system while you try to lock up all four wheels.
Hopefully somewhat helpful,
Jim KV4SJ
The brakes work fine, except for the worn out rear pads.
DeleteI think Phil nailed it; the front pads are ceramic, and the rear ones aren't. That's the way it came from Jeep, and I never thought about it until I read his reply....
Glad to hear things are moving along. I hope that finding a place goes just as quickly.
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