Mother Nature Attacks!

Just about two weeks ago, on a Saturday, I visited my best friend, Lu. He and his wife and son live in northwest Indiana, about an hour’s drive from me in the Chicago northwest suburbs. It had been a while since I drove the Xterra that far or at highway speeds, so I thought it was a good workout for my car. Also while in Indiana, the timing worked out such that I needed to put some gas in the tank, always a good thing where gas is typically fifteen to twenty cents less per gallon! Of course, that plus Lu, plus two of my sisters who also live in northwest Indiana, comprise the entire list of things I like about Indiana.

My visit with Lu was nice. He and his wife fed me dinner, plied me with wine, and we reminisced and talked politics and economy, and just plain had a great time, wondering why we don’t do that more often. Very late in the evening I headed home.

The next morning I headed out to do some shopping. I started the engine of the Xterra and I noticed a rhythmic thumping vibration throughout the whole vehicle. The engine was idling very roughly. Then I noticed that the “Service Engine Soon” light was illuminated. Aside from the “Service Engine Soon” light, I had experienced a rough idle in the Xterra before, but it usually cleared up in a matter of minutes. The light, however, had never come on before. Perhaps, I thought, driving it a little would clear it up. That only caused the “Service Engine Soon” light to FLASH. That couldn’t be good! Damn Indiana gas!

Of course, the timing was Farrago perfect; it was Sunday and no garage — let alone my preferred garage — would be open today. As my preferred garage — Reliable Auto Repair — is in the city of Chicago and would likely require several hours of work, I couldn’t take it in during the week. AND, as I would normally prefer to take it in on a Saturday, I was leaving in the morning on the NEXT Saturday for Atlanta. It would be two full weeks of feeling like I was riding behind a huge sewing machine before I could get it looked at.

Finally, the hell-week in Atlanta was finished, I worked the recovery day Thursday at the office, and Friday morning I was up bright and early to get the Xterra into the city and at the front of the line at Reliable Auto Repair.

In need of an oil-change as well, I anticipated a wait of at least two hours. I left the Xterra at the garage while I walked a few blocks to a Wishbone restaurant for breakfast. Not long after I was seated, my mobile phone rang. It was Bob, from Reliable. He told me that “some animal” had attempted to take up residence on top of my engine and, proceeding to make the place his own, tried some interior decorating with the shreds of some essential engine electrical wiring. One of my spark-plug wires was chewed completely in two!

(click on a photo to enlarginate)

The shame is that it looked quite cozy. Above and a little left of the
nest can be seen the tooth-severed spark plug wire.
(Photo by Bob at Reliable Auto Repair)


The other thing I notice, seeing these photos, is that Bob at Reliable
Auto Repair has one damn NICE camera phone!
(Photo by Bob at Reliable Auto Repair)

After breakfast I headed back to Reliable where I sat down, unsheathed my laptop and began writing this most recent flurry of posts. After handing over the keys when the shop opened at 7:00am — and after handing over $495 for the repair and tune-up, plus the scheduled oil change — I had my Xterra back to good health and on the road by 10:30.

On the road, that is, after I backed into a light pole trying to get out of Reliable’s lot. Fortunately I was backing very slowly, and the only contact was with my bumper. There’s a small dent there, noticeable really only if you’re looking for it.

Damn critters!



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