Category: On Farm

Rust

On By Daniel DavidsonIn DIY, On FarmLeave a comment

I’m currently unemployed, and maybe I will write more about that transition at a later date.

In the meantime, I think it is good to write about the vehicle maintenance I’ve been able to do these last few days.

In the last couple months the 24 year old minivan became unbelievably clicky in the front end, one of the front brakes started grinding when under just a touch of pressure, and the power steering pump seemed to be going in and out. Plenty right there to keep me busy for a while, but it still seemed best to start with the 24 year old Ford Explorer.

You see, we plan to be putting a lot of miles on the Explorer in the next 6 months, and one of the front wheel bearings has been singing the song of its demise since the new year. So Sunday afternoon, armed with a new Duralast wheel bearing hub, I set right to work the passenger side. I figured better to go ahead and get both wheel bearings replaced, since it was about 60k miles ago that I replaced the driver side, and 50k miles ago that the passenger side was replaced by a shop in Brooklyn.

It was remarkably easier this time around because I had all the tools and experience from last time. It wasn’t long at all when I had the surface prepped and I was putting the new unit in place. It’s truly remarkable that a vehicle project took a good deal less time than I had anticipated. Well now I was on a roll and quite excited, so I hopped over to the driver side and started the same process. As I was backing out the uppermost of the bolts, I inadvertently snagged the axle boot clamp with the back of the ratchet head, and I didn’t notice until I saw the boot stretching.

Whoops.

I was a bit too excited and I moving too quickly.

A surprising amount of molybdenum grease came out of that boot

At that point I started watching videos on how to replace a boot clamp and realized I would need to drive 45 minutes to the closest store stocking that type of clamp, or order some online and start another project.

It was still sunny and a couple hours yet remained in Sunday afternoon, so I started work on the minivan. Jacked it up and noticed that both sway bar links were hanging in the breeze, and the passenger brakes were worn unevenly and down to the metal. Pulled the damaged pieces off, checked that they were still under warranty and made plans for Autozone in the morning.

Well two of my three vehicles were now on jackstands, and the kids had to go to school in the morning.

No biggie. The 24 year old Silverado is back to working order now that it has new leaf springs and a rebuilt rear differential. Still a pesky EVAP sensor code, and the electric grounds out now and then, but I cleaned a couple grounds and it seemed to do ok.

Monday morning went swimmingly, and Autozone followed through on their warranties, so I had snug swaybar links and fresh brake bads on the minivan by afternoon. Then I took the truck to Coldwater for some lumber, and it blacked out significantly when I went to leave. After some prayers and tapping on ground terminals, it got enough juice to just get turned over and running again, and I was able to make it home last night.

First thing this morning, I took the battery to Autozone, and they confirmed it is still strong. So I spent a handful of hours chasing grounds and cleaning their terminals, and was quite excited to finally get the truck running smooth and strong, and I took this video of it starting.

I think Matthew 6:19 was a fair warning for this – “Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moth and rust destroy…”

Eventually I was able to elevate the bed.

I think I found the culprit!

You see – the truck had a castrophic failure several months ago. Part of the problem was a complete rust through of the starboard leaf spring shackle. This drove the back of the leaf spring up into the bed and changed the load dynamics entirely. This in part tugged on the brake lines, and the brake lines in turn put pressure on the EVAP sensor.

About that time I discovered this pinch – the weather started to turn rainy, and an Amazon driver delivered the boot clamps.

So tomorrow morning – I can go back to the beginning – and work once again on the Explorer.

Before and After

On By Daniel DavidsonIn On Farm, personal2 Comments

I remember those wild summer days in Ohio.

The afternoon air dared not move. Chocked full of humidity and burdened by heat of the day, it was thick with the smell of pollen and cut grass. Squirrels moved around their trees with a special laziness, and the only songs to be heard came from a handful of determined red-winged blackbirds. Looking west you could see the cumulus clouds, the harbingers of heavy rain, reaching high into the atmosphere.

This was the calm before the storm.

Inside the house, with the air conditioner running, and physically separated from it, you could still feel the pregnant pause and bated breath carried by the whole of the outside world. Likely as not, the TV was tuned to Channel 3 news, and Tony Cavalier was standing in front of a projected map of our region. Overlaying the state lines and the names of cities were large swaths of green, yellow, and red. He would imitate the prevailing winds and push the boundaries of the storm in their projected directions, all the while listing the threat of flash floods and wind gusts.

Then it began to change.

The lacy-fingered leaves of the water maples started trembling and showed their silver underbellies. The oppressive heat quickly faded away in light of the cool breeze. This was last call. The few birds that had been singing now headed for roost, and the low and long thunder could be heard rolling over the hills.

Sometimes the weather warnings were dire enough that we went the cellar, other times we would be trying to finish work in the field and would run into one of our barns at the last minute. Wherever it was you took shelter, there was only one thing to do.

Wait.

Within the next 15 – 30 minutes, an incredible amount of energy was released from the heavens. In those times of outburst, I’ve seen panelling ripped off a roof, old limbs tore from their trunks, and sheets of rain so thick that they seemed to swallow up every barn and tree as they sped toward the house.

And then it was over. The raging and the magnificent release of energy was born in full. Stepping outside and breathing the fresh air was beautiful, it was much cooler than before and always smelled so clean right after a storm. You could see the many rivulets gurgling across the hills, and the flat places in the lawn had been turned to small swamps. This too only lasted a few minutes. Soon the excess water would find its way to now swollen creeks and pasture ponds. Water was dripping from the branches of old trees, and even though you could see where a few branches had been lost, the trees themselves were no longer trembling. They looked strong – and now clean to boot.

This was the calm after the storm.

Into the Night

On By Daniel DavidsonIn On Farm1 Comment

The sun, having once again run it’s magnificent course over the day, begrudgingly settles below the horizon. Casting a final few rays of gold and bathing the whole of the western skyline in red flames, it signals the conclusion of a fine autumn day.
We left our walls and our shelters, those frames of wood and iron that surround us with only what we know, that separate us from every wild and lurking thing in this world. We went out into the fields, forests, rivers, and mountains at dawn, but it is now dusk, and we return to our homefires. We latch the doors and make light of our own, but no matter how many bulbs are burning – the night is always close by and the darkness presses in through our windows.
As our eyelids get heavy, we find the comfort of our beds and rest our heads upon pillows. Sleep inexorably approaches. Consciousness slips away, and within the confines of our small fortresses, we drift upon dreams.
Out there, out where the burgeoning darkness consumes the face of the earth, many creatures are just beginning to stir themselves into action. The heat of the sun made them hide all the day long, but now it is night, now it is their turn to roam the streets, and they are hungry.

Estrella, the Australian Shepherd, at night