Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Quest Mobile on Life Support

After nearly 237,000 miles, countless road trips all over the country, and 20 stadium adventures, my Quest Mobile may have taken it's final road trip. The dependable 1997 Ford Explorer that I bought in 2004 with 84,000 miles on it is really starting to give me some problems. What began as a fuel pump replacement, grew to include the replacement of engine sensors, and then the discovery of a broken timing chain tensioner. We had to remove all the accessories off the front of the engine and open the front cover to replace the timing chain tensioner. While we were at it, in an attempt to be proactive, I replaced the water pump, some hoses and the serpentine belt, expecting that they might be the next thing to go and knowing full well that it won't ever be any easier than right now to replace them. We've been working for two weeks tracking down problems and discovering new ones all in an attempt to resuscitate my fallen companion. With the tensioner replaced and the vehicle buttoned up again, now the issue is that the damned thing won't idle without stalling. So I'm working through the process of trying to eliminate potential causes of this latest issue. The biggest problem is that I'm having a tough time trying to find the time to work on the vehicle. Holding down my 9-5 and trying to make arrangements to get to and from work has been a major challenge. Thank God for family. Jim, you really helped me out here.

Stadium #26 - University of Phoenix Stadium

Stadium #25 - Soldier Field

Stadium #24 - LP Field

DET vs. CAR - Bank of America Stadium

Stadium #23 - Dolphin Stadium

WAS vs. DET - Ford Field