Diesel Swap (?) 5

Time for a little non-update on my non-progress putting the used engine in my worn-out truck.

Winter weather wasn't shy about coming on this year. Any hopes for an Indian Summer to finish the hot dry weather were dashed by the arrival of monsoons. The few clear days we had were punctuated by frosty, frozen nights, none of which were very conducive to wrenching outdoors.

The Toyota Tundra that I was borrowing turned out to have non-functional rear brakes, which wasn't apparent until the rains began. After a series of front-wheel lockups, and nearly leaving a mountain logging road by taking the hard way down, I returned the truck to the owner, and thanked him very much, but no thanks, I'll take my chances on leaving this plane some other way.

His response was to loan me his wife's previous car, which had just been detailed and was for sale, a 2010 Lexus LX570. 383 Horsepower, all-wheel drive, leather everything, power accessories out the tailpipe, 18 MPG. It drives like a dream, but it's like piloting a house through crowded supermarket aisles.

I named it the S.S. Lextanic.

The first trip over to the Valley for a medical appointment, I almost got broadsided by jacked-up pickup which ran a red light. Only averted that disaster because I look both directions before pulling out after a light changes.

A few days later I was coming back from grocery shopping after sunset, and about a mile from home, something didn't look right in the headlights. Got on the brakes and managed to stop before plowing into one of the neighbor's black bulls, which was standing in the middle of the road!

I get the feeling this car is a magnet for accidents. Good thing it has air bags.

Another actual reason that my engine swap has slowed is that another neighbor has offered to sell me her husband's 2005 Ford Ranger 4x4. He has Alzheimer's, and can no longer drive, so she's talking about making me a very attractive deal on it. Problem is, a rat built a big nest on top of the engine and chewed some important wires and hoses off to get room for nest expansion.

Took a couple of sessions with tweezers and hot dog tongs to remove the mass of the nest, then some time to sort of what kind of damage was going to need to be repaired before I tried to start the engine. Before I could make a start on repairs, her husband's condition deteriorated quickly, and he began being violent, refused to take his medications, etc.

This truck could be a bridge between getting my truck back on the road with the replacement engine, or it might be of better use as a replacement for my truck. At 39,000 miles, it's nearly new. Seat cover were fitted directly after buying it, so the interior is like new. Exterior is straight, with a few paint scratches, likely from their dog jumping up on the doors.

Well, great, solutions present themselves. BUT. The old man is a real handful, and I've been asked to put my interest and any repairs on hold until he can be safely relocated to a residential memory care facility. I've suggested that I could have it towed the half mile down the road to my place where I could work on it without causing any additional stress for her, but she won't have it. I think she is used to being in control, and her husband is out of control, so this is a way to have some jurisdiction over the situation.

So, I wait, keeping an eye open for any other attractive vehicles, and hoping that Lextanic doesn't cross paths with a road iceberg.