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Return of the Minivan
May. 9th, 2023 06:25 amSomewhat to my surprise, Big O called yesterday morning and told me that they'd finished the work on the Astro and that I could come in and pick it up at my convenience. After work, Lisa fired up the Big Orange Pickup and we headed for Sparks, with a short stop to refuel the truck for the first time in ten months. (Lisa does run the truck periodically, but only for short runs. The last long trip was when she drove it to Tonopah to serve as Exhibit A for "The Road to Tonopah", parking it in a prominent spot diagonally opposite the Tonopah Convention Center for Westercon 74.
$1,557 later, I got the Astro back. Lisa and I did a small bit of grocery shopping at the nearby Raley's and then we convoyed back home. We were able to stay in communication over our amateur radios, although the one in the minivan has a fault in it so that it can only transmit a few car lengths. At least it's unlikely anyone could complain that I'm causing any radio interference unless they parked right next to me.
With the roughly $400 in fluid changes (oil, transmission, coolant services) at Jiffy Lube, that's $2000 in repairs and maintenance. However, the vehicle does drive noticeably more smoothly than it did. I hadn't realized how bad the handling had become because the degradation happens gradually. Also, an issue I was noticing with acceleration from a stop has gone away, and now I think that was probably due to the automatic transmission fluid being a little bit low.
Better handling and less worry about a breakdown on the road with a 5,600 km (3,500 mi) road trip (probably longer as we're not likely to take the shortest or fastest route) planned for this summer is a good thing.
$1,557 later, I got the Astro back. Lisa and I did a small bit of grocery shopping at the nearby Raley's and then we convoyed back home. We were able to stay in communication over our amateur radios, although the one in the minivan has a fault in it so that it can only transmit a few car lengths. At least it's unlikely anyone could complain that I'm causing any radio interference unless they parked right next to me.
With the roughly $400 in fluid changes (oil, transmission, coolant services) at Jiffy Lube, that's $2000 in repairs and maintenance. However, the vehicle does drive noticeably more smoothly than it did. I hadn't realized how bad the handling had become because the degradation happens gradually. Also, an issue I was noticing with acceleration from a stop has gone away, and now I think that was probably due to the automatic transmission fluid being a little bit low.
Better handling and less worry about a breakdown on the road with a 5,600 km (3,500 mi) road trip (probably longer as we're not likely to take the shortest or fastest route) planned for this summer is a good thing.
