As I sit here watching Ken Burns' "Country Music", I've just heard a tale
that calls for a country music song to be written about it!
Kim put me in touch with a lady near Baltimore with strange 77 GMC
motorhome engine trouble. After exchanging a few baffling emails with her,
she sent me her 'phone number and I called her. She told me in great
detail about taking the coach to a Jiffy-Lube for something simple and
being talked into letting them clean the engine, and carb, flush the
radiator, install new plugs & wires, fan belts, etc. They had one mechanic
who "knew old cars". He refilled it with "a lot" of antifreeze.
After completing the extensive work, they had her crank the engine and it
ran even better than before -- great. Until the engine began to knock.
Then blue "normal" (according to J-L staff) blue smoke out the exhaust.
After a while the engine quit and was restarted and eventually began to
dump yellow "foam" beneath the engine. Finally, white smoke came out and
the engine quit, never to run again.
By the time I'd heard all the details of all that, I interrupted her and
began explaining the arrangement of the radiator AND THE OIL FILL CAP.
Before I finished, she caught on to what happened, "That's where he was
putting the antifreeze!" Yep, they filled the crankcase with antifreeze
and ran the engine until it froze up.
She feels somewhat guilty because she saw them doing it, and from our
discussion, I don't think she has the backbone to stand J-L down (they told
her that someone had filled the cooling system with stop-leak and the
problem was that it flushed out, revealing the bad head gasket). So, I
referred her to the Black List and suggested that she hire Ken Frye to come
the 140 miles from his place to represent her in negotiations for the new
engine she's owed.
Don't Y'All think that tale justifies a country music song?
Ken H.
that calls for a country music song to be written about it!
Kim put me in touch with a lady near Baltimore with strange 77 GMC
motorhome engine trouble. After exchanging a few baffling emails with her,
she sent me her 'phone number and I called her. She told me in great
detail about taking the coach to a Jiffy-Lube for something simple and
being talked into letting them clean the engine, and carb, flush the
radiator, install new plugs & wires, fan belts, etc. They had one mechanic
who "knew old cars". He refilled it with "a lot" of antifreeze.
After completing the extensive work, they had her crank the engine and it
ran even better than before -- great. Until the engine began to knock.
Then blue "normal" (according to J-L staff) blue smoke out the exhaust.
After a while the engine quit and was restarted and eventually began to
dump yellow "foam" beneath the engine. Finally, white smoke came out and
the engine quit, never to run again.
By the time I'd heard all the details of all that, I interrupted her and
began explaining the arrangement of the radiator AND THE OIL FILL CAP.
Before I finished, she caught on to what happened, "That's where he was
putting the antifreeze!" Yep, they filled the crankcase with antifreeze
and ran the engine until it froze up.
She feels somewhat guilty because she saw them doing it, and from our
discussion, I don't think she has the backbone to stand J-L down (they told
her that someone had filled the cooling system with stop-leak and the
problem was that it flushed out, revealing the bad head gasket). So, I
referred her to the Black List and suggested that she hire Ken Frye to come
the 140 miles from his place to represent her in negotiations for the new
engine she's owed.
Don't Y'All think that tale justifies a country music song?
Ken H.
