New Tire For The Jeep

Above, the new tire. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday, I bought a tire for the Jeep to replace the one that went flat a few days ago. When I took the tire off the Jeep, I saw a three inch crack or cut. So the tire was not repairable.

Thanks to Larry Lucier, we brought it and the rim to the tire dealer in Gallup to have the new one mounted. When the tire technician took the old tire off, he noted that it was a Cooper Discoverer tire no longer being made. He looked at its manufacturing date code and found that the tire was made in 1989. The dealer's supervisor laughed that the tire was older than his workers.

The new tire is the current Cooper version.

It is likely that the three remaining tires on the Jeep are of the same age and I will have get them replaced. I'm putting the new one on the Jeep today.

Jeep Problem Found

Above, before the tow truck arrived. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As mentioned in the previous post, I had the Jeep towed in this morning. 

The mechanic called me and they already found the problem: stuck needle in the carburetor. He said that parts that old (likely since 1952) rust forms inside.

Above, on the tow truck flatbed. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

\I checked with my usual sources and found a new one. It is being shipped today free. 

I am keeping the old Carter carburetor so that I can eventually have it rebuilt. I would have it rebuilt now, but there's a six-week turnaround time.

Got The Jeep To Start

Above, the Jeep in the garage. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For the past week, the ol' Jeep wouldn't start.

It would crank but wouldn't start. I checked the fuel line to the carburetor and fuel was getting to it just fine. The fuel pump and fuel filters were a problem before.

The battery would drain from the attempts to start it, but even after fully charging it, the Jeep still wouldn't start. 

The earliest my mechanic could see it is on June 10. In the meantime, the Jeep sat in the front driveway.

Today, I decided to tinker with it some more. Again, I checked the fuel line and it was sending fuel to the carburetor just fine.

Then, I tightened the battery cables and jiggled the wires from the distributor to the spark plugs to make sure they had good contact.

Then, I turned the ignition key and the Jeep fired up right away without any laboring. I had a feeling that the problem was something simple. Turned out it was.

Well, it looks like I saved myself some money. This was quite an accomplishment, considering my limited mechanical abilities. 

Whew!

A Drive Into Cibola National Forest

Above, at the old corral at the gate to Cibola National Forest/Six Mile Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Despite today being a windy day, that didn't stop me from getting the Jeep out for a little drive into Cibola National Forest/Six Mile Canyon near Jamestown.

Considering that we only have about two months left to drive into Cibola National Forest before it is closed for the winter on December 15, I figured on getting much driving in before that time. I got a good workout today, which would please my cardiologist.

I decided to drive a side road that starts just inside the gate into the national forest. There were a number of people on this road (some were hauling loads of firewood, illegal, I presume since it is a national forest). 

One note, on the way out on Six Mile Canyon road, a tractor was hard at work grading the road at a I-40 culvert. When winter comes and the rains of spring, this will likely get washed out, making the road almost impassable.

But, during my drive, I did take some pictures (naturally).