I said that there was never anything easy with a Jag,

photo source: memebase-cheezburger.com
Quit yer bellyaching!

I was right.

I just received the new 2021 registration sticker and was anxious to attach it, so I could start driving the car again.

I pulled the plate frame so I could properly position the sticker, then I decided that I would use the car to run some errands. It was fine at first. About a half mile from home the tranny started to feel kind of funny, like it didn't want to engage properly. I drove some more and a transmission warning light came on. Maybe I better head back. I turned it around and headed back home. The trans felt worse and worse, and why did I smell transmission fluid? I pulled over as the car would hardly move. I'd never had trans problems before.

I opened the hood and the top of the engine was covered with fluid. I figured that one of the return hoses was leaking. I checked the dip stick and it was dry. It was a serious leak, oil was forcefully squirting out of the damaged ribber line.  If the car was a patient he would have bled out!

I wasn't too far from home, I figured that if I could add enough fluid I could drive it home. I called my Wife who was able to come pick me up. She drove me to the auto parts store where I picked up four quarts of fluid, then stopped by the house to pick up my transmission funnel. When I returned to the car I poured in three qts. I closed the hood, fired it up, and put it into gear. It engaged and I took off towards home. The transmission warning light went out and the transmission seemed to shift normally. I was a couple of blocks out when the warning light came back on. I kept going until I had the car safely in my driveway.

I was glad to have the car in my driveway but it dripped a lot of fluid leaving a huge mess. I started throwing kitty litter under the car.

I added another quart then backed up the car to try to clean up the mess. I put some cardboard under to catch the drips. It's going to take a lot of cleaning.

Back in the day, my old 60's American cars had just used a length of low pressure oil line to bridge the hard metal line from the transmission to the fittings on the radiator. It was cheap and easy to replace. My Jag has a cooler line that looks a lot like a brake hose, a rubber hose joined with a crimped metal fitting to the metal pipe. The rubber potion is about two feet long, then transitions in the same manner to hard lines that run under the engine.  

I started to search the forum for suggestions. A few guys had just cut the line and spliced a rubber hose onto the metal hard line, and that's what I planned to do. From what I understand, these lines are no longer available. 

I spent a long time in a funk, I thought that just finding the part was going to be hard. I've been having an equally difficult time sourcing the heater hoses for my '07 Mustang, I was surprised that even the dealer did not carry those hoses in stock. I was just moping around too disgusted to even take any closer looks at the Jag. 

What am I going to do when my other older vehicles need hose replacements? The hoses are also quite expensive. Admittedly, these newer hoses last a long time, ten years is not unusual. What would I do? 

I'd improvise! I can use straight sections joining bent metal sections. I can bend up some metal tubes myself and use sections of hose at the ends.  I could fabricate a water manifold to route coolant hoses. I could fab up a prototype in wood than take it to a welder to actually make the item. 

I did an intensive internet search looking for metal hose connectors. There are various angles, curves, and multiple hose connections.  Summit products offers several radiator hose kits that incorporate sections of straight and curving rubber hose along with a couple of metal connectors. 

I found all this research to be empowering, it gave me the impetus to get off my butt and get to work. No more moping, no more whining, no more crying, no more self pity, just get to work! Adapt, improvise and overcome! 

Using a tubing cutter seemed like an elegant solution.
But it didn't work, the metal collar would start to spin.

My plan is to cut the crimped fitting with a tubing cutter, then I can retain the barbed portion of the hard line and attach the rubber splice. It should work out fine, I'm going to replace both of the existing rubber hose portions. I was amazed at how much fluid was lost in so short a time frame. It wasn't just a steady weep or drip, it was an arterial spurt. The car had to be stopped within a mile or so. It would have been a devastating failure if it had occurred on the road. 

I had suffered a similar failure with my '71 Riviera, I had been given the wrong type of hose when I replaced it. I had used fuel line, which had quickly deteriorated and started to leak. I had cut the end off and topped up fluid which had allowed me to drive the car home.  It was leaking pretty bad and it was the smell of the fluid that alerted me, but it wasn't like the torrent shooting out of the Jag. 

The tubing cutter didn't work out, it started the cut, then the collar on the hose started spinning. So I just cut off the end of the hose and secured it in a vise. I used a hacksaw to cut through the collar. I easily removed the remnant of the hose. The upper end of the hoses was the easy part.

These hose cutters cut the old hose 
and trimmed the new lengths.

It's easy to work on things if you can remove them from the car.

To gain some space to work, I removed the air box and MAS.  It looks like I'll be cleaning it prior to re-installation. 

The MAS sits right next to the coolant tank.

A two foot long set of pliers can sure come in handy!

The cooler lines are not separate hoses from the pipes that run under the engine to the transmission. I had thought that there might be threaded fittings that I could undo, and work with the hose ends in the vice. So I had to remove the remnants of the hose from the metal pipes in situ.  I did one at a time. First I cut the rubber hose off. I tried to cut all the hose from the coupling and then tried to pull it off with a long pair of pliers. I figured that if I could pull the rubber out, I could pry the collar off. It didn't work. I couldn't get my hacksaw in the space. If I had a cutting tool, maybe I could run down to the hardware store...

Then I remembered, my Wife has a Dremel tool, with different bits. 

I borrowed the tool fitted with a cut off wheel and made short work of the metal collars. 

Now the metal fittings were exposed and clean. Now off to the auto parts store to buy some low pressure oil hose. 

I had read some entries on a thread about transmission cooler line replacement. They all did what I did, but a couple stated that they used fuel line. Fuel line looks the same but it cannot handle even the low pressure of this application, and the rubber will degrade from the oil and the hose will fail. I had that happen years ago when I used the wrong hose.

I bought a six foot length of transmission cooler/ low pressure power steering hose, I like to have plenty of surplus to allow for routing. I learned that when I rewired my Uncle's '49 Cadillac. When I made up the harnesses for my '70 Mustang I left them plenty long to find the best routing and then trimmed them to fit. It makes a much more satisfying job. Sure you can extend wire by soldering in extensions but it just looks and feels tacky. Better to leave it long and end up with leftover scrap sections. 

Plenty of extra hose.

After I had connected up the hoses I placed a section of split water hose over an area where one of the transmission lines might rub against a hose clamp. I wanted this fix to last for a long while. Then I reassembled the MAS and air box. 

I added five qts. of ATF, then fired up the motor and backed the car into the street. I let it idle for 15 minutes while I cleaned up the driveway with kitty litter. From watching tow operators I learned the trick of grinding a second application of litter into the pavement after the initial application soaked up the fluid. It leaves the concrete looking lighter and cleaner.

This was a solid oil slick before I hit it with the litter.

A twenty mile test drive revealed no leakage, and fortunately the transmission seems to function as normal. I was very satisfied with my results. 

Best of all I traded action for inertia, and just fixed the thing. No more excuses. It certainly wasn't going to fix itself! I really like this car and I hope to move forward with the suspension work soon.

This is why your Wife doesn't want you working on your car
in the driveway.

 The Long Drive. the challenge of the true driver.

photo source: Eight Oaks Inc.
There was a time in the 70's when it seemed like everybody wanted to be a long haul trucker. 

"Ten Four Good Buddy, I've got my ears on!" 

Most of us are not long haul truckers, we don't make our living spending the entire day in the driver's seat.

Short haul truckers, even bus drivers also put a lot of miles down everyday.

There are many people that have long commutes, fifty to seventy five miles each way, in heavy commute traffic.

I'm not referencing those types of drivers, I'm referring to the tourist, the vacation driving motorist. 

Even with the popularity and low prices of some air routes, driving still remains one of the best ways to take a vacation, or at least transport a family to their destination. 

Air fares can be cheap, they reduce or eliminate the need  for overnight layovers at motels. They usually reduce the travel time to one day, or less. That saves precious vacation days for the actual event itself. Time off from work is probably the hardest thing to obtain at a certain point in one's life.

There are some destinations that can only be practically reached by air travel. You can't drive to Hawaii or Europe, though you could take a boat, at the cost of even more time and money.

For blue collar and lower middle class people of my generation, trans oceanic voyages, or extended air trips were not the norm. To be truthful, any extended trips were out of the ordinary for my family, most of the time.

Most people of my generation have quite vivid, if not actually pleasant, memories of family vacations accompanied by long periods cooped up in a car.

I've done my best to maintain that tradition. 

As a young man I took extensive motorcycling journeys all around North America. I've documented some of those trips in this blog. These remain some of the highlights of my lifetime. 

Once I was married and had a family, motorcycling was not going to be an option for me. So I drove.

To be truthful, I love driving, always have, and still do. Luckily most of my family's trips have been done in later model cars with the luxury of air conditioning. They aren't the only ones that have gotten spoiled. 

Though one time I drove up to Klamath Falls Oregon for the Riviera Owner's Association convention in my '66 Riviera. The one without working a/c. The one with "flow through ventilation." 

My family won't ever forget that trip! 

How long should single day's drive be? Is there a point of diminishing returns? There are only twenty four hours in a day. Extended hours are not always a good idea.

I suppose that my high points were the two California 1,000 motorcycle rallies that I took part in. One thousand miles in a day is a pretty high standard. With mileage like that, it's the process of attaining it, more than the trip itself that is important.

Travel by car was the most economical if not best, way to transport a family of four or more members to the vacation destination. Besides, car travel allows for sightseeing opportunities. 

I frequently drive down to Southern California, depending on the specific location, it is a 350-400 mile one way trip. 

Trips to Lake Tahoe or Clear Lake are between 200-250 miles, one way. 

I don't consider those to be long hauls.

In my youth, my motorcycle touring primarily consisted of a long day in the saddle, noting points of interest as we passed them by, without ever stopping to check them out. "Marathoning," my buddy Rick and I used to call it. Our intent was to cover as much territory as possible in a day, usually around 500 miles. It was always best to start early.

Travelling with my young family, my intent was to reach our destination for the night, with as little drama as possible. Kids get awful crabby when they're tired. Their endurance isn't that long.

This blog entry was initiated because I've just returned from our annual trip to the Oregon coast. It's seven hundred miles from our home. Usually my Wife and I plan a layover in Medford Oregon. It's about six hours to Medford and another four hours from Medford to the coast. There several antique and craft stores that my Wife and I (?) like to visit in the Medford and Eugene areas. It helps break up the trip, and we'll often stop in other locations that catch our eye. Most of the drive is straight freeway, but even I-5 north of Redding becomes a curving mountain highway. The final leg to the coast is over some two lane curving roadways. 

I find it to be an enjoyable, if somewhat long drive.

Due to Covid restrictions, our favorite motel in Medford wouldn't have their breakfast buffet available, just like last Summer. I did miss those waffles, last year they only offered a yogurt, breakfast bar,  and an apple! Quite a come down! We did the layover last year, but missed out on the antiques stores. 

This year my Son and his fiance asked if they could ride up with us, and they would rent a car for their return trip, since they couldn't stay the entire time. The idea was advanced, why not just drive up in one day? My son drove up and back in a single sitting, last year. Years ago I had driven back from Portland after the "Datsun Driving Canby fun," event, ( I was a vendor) in a single sitting. I was at least ten years younger back then. 

"Let's give it a shot. " I agreed. It's at least ten hours of straight driving, add in some time for gas and bathroom stops and it's pretty close to a twelve hour trip. I did have my Son along to share some of the driving. And in all truth I trust his driving completely. We used to drive down to the L.A. area for swap meets, returning late at night. You know you trust someone when you can sleep while they drive. 

On a recent trip to Riverside there were five of us in the car, and I let my Son drive from Newhall to Anaheim. My Wife and I traded places into the third row seat. That was quite a shock for me. 

First of all, I'm used to doing all the driving on my trips. My Wife does all the navigating. I haven't been a passenger in any seat for many, many, years. Then to be seated in the third row seat! My claustrophobia kicked in a bit, but at least the Flex has plenty of big windows, though legroom was scant back there. It's bit disconcerting to feel the car making turns, kind of a weird, pivoting feel. I had to talk myself down on a couple of occasions. 

Was I relaxed when we arrived in Anaheim? Well, at least I had the opportunity to rest my eyes for a bit. They do get a bit tired after a long day's drive. 

This time I would be in the back seat of the Flex, a very spacious and comfortable place to sit. Plenty of leg room, with a center arm rest and big windows. After we gassed up and ate dinner, in Springfield, (inside a restaurant! finally!) we switched seats. It was only going to be a couple of hours. 

It was then that I realized that there were other issues besides the seating arrangement in play. 

I do like being in control, I like looking out through the windshield. I did feel a bit diminished sitting in the back seat. Though I managed to sleep for an hour on that leg of the trip. 

Originally, my Wife had booked a layover in Redding for the trip back, which we would be making alone.  But Redding is only four hours from home. Would it be worth making a stop so close to home? It's not like there was anything that we wanted to do in Redding. I had a couple of days to make up my mind before my Wife had to cancel the booking. 

I decided that I would do the drive straight through. I planned for a twelve hour day on the road, as long as we didn't leave too late we could reach familiar freeways before it got too dark. I don't like driving on country highways in the dark. When I was younger I could easily see beyond the illumination of the head lamps, now it's not so easy. It takes a lot more concentration. 

The early part of the drive took us into unfamiliar territory as we decided to drive south, past Newport.  A  nice drive which became a cliff hugging, two lane highway for a stretch before we reached the town of Florence. From Florence we turned east on a very nice two lane road that paralleled a river. This road took up directly into Springfield, where my Wife wanted to stop in a favorite antique store to check out some furniture. From there it was back onto Interstate 5 which is our usual route. We were rained on most of the morning and it only stopped as we reached the California border.

The Flex handled the mountain driving just fine. It has plenty of power, great brakes, and if I am smooth with the inputs I can speed through the curves a comfortable margin over the speed limits. It's not a sports sedan and curves are best taken "thoughtfully." The smooth ride comes from a soft suspension which is how most big cars used to be sprung in the old days. You've just got to treat it with respect, and everything will be fine.

Our last gas stop was fifty miles north of Sacramento in the town of Arbuckle. Besides gas, cleaning the windshield was a priority as well as a cup of Extra Mile cappachino. That stuff is good but sweet, I only drink it on road trips. It started getting dark from there on 505, which runs through the middle of nowhere, skirting Sacramento. It got pretty dark, but the Flex has pretty good lights. Once we reached w/b I-80 it was all good, and well lit familiar freeway. My eyes held out okay. though they were pretty tired by the end of the day. 

We pulled into the driveway at 10:45 pm. over twelve hours after we had left Depot Bay that morning at 9:30 am, 700 miles up the road. During our drive, we had been discussing the value of the layover. Driving in a long, single day places more stress on me, as I feel that I've got to keep going constantly, because you never know if a potential delay or problem is waiting for you up ahead. It might have been nice to have made some impromptu stops at things that caught our eye along the way. I didn't want to spare the time. We did run into some road construction delays while in the mountains. There was no real reason that we had to make the trip in a single sitting. The pressure came from not wanting to drive long periods in the dark. As retired people we don't have to ration our vacation days, and the additional cost of a hotel stay isn't a real financial issue. As I have written before, the definition of luxury is having more than you need. I found that scheduling a layover gave us a luxurious travel experience, much more relaxing and fun.

It was nice to know that I could still pull a day long drive, though I realized it's not something that I really need, or want to do. The days of "marathoning" are long past!

All that being said, last night I arrived home from a another trip from the Riverside area. We decided to drive back on my favorite route, US101, I always find this drive enjoyable, and this time was not an exception. We stopped in Pismo Beach for dinner at Brad's. We arrived home at 12:30 am, but I felt really good and it was a return trip of over 450 miles. I guess I still got it , and I'm going to enjoy the drives as long as I can.

 Dear Diary; Today I took my XJ6 in for a smog test.

photo source: powercontrol.co.uk
It's good to keep a record.

It passed! 

No one was more surprised than I was. The CEL ( Check Engine Light ) had been on for some time, and I had scanned it for codes. I looked around and discovered a vacuum hose to the MAS had become disconnected. Perhaps when I was changing out the radiator? It couldn't be that easy, could it? I reconnected it, then I had driven the car around for awhile. I found that the CEL went out on it's own. I scanned it again and didn't find any codes. Could the car now be successfully smogged, or would it trip a code on the way to the test station? 

I didn't know. I had been planning on selling the car cheap, no smog test provided. The buyer was going to get a deal on a beautiful car, if they bought it they could spend their time, energy and funds to mess with it. 

When the CEL went out, I thought that I would take a chance on smog testing it. At first, I thought that it would just make it easier to sell the car. The next owner would have the two years of use. 

photosource:casefurniture.com
My waiting room is not this fancy.

I drove the twelve miles to the station with my fingers crossed and knocked on the wooden dash several times for good luck while on the way down. Whatever was going to happen, was going to happen. I gave the tech the keys and just sat out in the parking lot in my Covid Waiting room. That's what I call the folding chair that I take along with me. I don't want to sit cooped up in a building and when I bring my own chair with me, I've always got a good place to wait! 

When the tech informed that it had passed smog, I was quite happy. Ecstatic would be too strong a word, but not by much. I thought that I had run out of time to mess with the car, and I hadn't want to drive it around and work on it while it was unregistered. I just had too many other things to do.

Now I had a second chance, and I decided that I ain't gonna sell this thing now!

I've written that I'm kind sick with looking at cars, and I just bought that Flex.

While I have already driven it on several long trips, just under three thousand miles total, in fact. While It's a great road tripper, I can't ever imagine myself just taking it out for a spin, just because I enjoy driving it.

Not like my Mustang. With the Flex, the journey is what counts, not the driving experience. In many ways it's like my old Town and Country. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

On the other hand with the XJ6, I actually love driving that car. Just the act of driving it is satisfying. I hadn't wanted to give that up, but I just had too many other things going on.

Now I have the option of holding onto it, at least for a couple more years.

I took it home and gave it a good washing and general cleaning. I took it out to drain all the water out and to dry it off. Just as I was on my way home, the CEL came on again. 

With Jaguars, it's never that simple! 

                                            --------------------------------------------------------------------

I had some free time so I finished organizing any old work orders and receipts that I had for my vehicles. I never really thought that it was too important to keep all the oil change work orders, they didn't reveal anything about the mechanical state of the car. Besides the current reminder label was pasted on the windshield.  

Smog test readouts reveal a lot more about the condition of the motor. If you compare the emissions readings over the years, you would probably notice an increase in these readings, due to mechanical wear. The cylinders and valves wear, and the breakdown of their sealing properties will increase the amount of blow by at the cylinder walls and the the erosion of the valve seats will also result in a reduction of compression pressure. These will result in increased readings of CO2 and hydrocarbons. The acceptable margins for testing can be quite lenient, and even high mileage motors like my Mustang's 4.6 and the Explorer's 5.0 V8s (both with over 200,000 miles) can still pass with a lot of leeway. But this is a measurement that the owner can keep and eye on. It will also give an indication of the condition of the emission equipment like the catalytic converter, air pump, and oxygen sensors. These can be be a good indicator of potential impending trouble.

After I got the paperwork separated, organized, and in chronological order, I then transferred it to my newly adopted, service, maintenance, and repair logs. This will allow me to quickly access the dates of repairs and parts replacements. Now it will be easy for me to know when things had been done. Just how many miles are on those brakes, battery, hoses, fuel pump, or spark plugs. I can note unusual conditions that I should be keeping an eye on. There was no way that I could keep this info straight in my mind, I've just got too many cars for that. I anticipate that this will be a tremendous aid in keeping on top of my fleet's condition. 

I think that I have been putting too much energy in looking for replacement vehicles. It's been kind of a distraction from what I need to be doing, though we often welcome distractions. My other projects with the house are somewhat longer term projects, progress will be slow but steady. As long as I keep working at them. I think that I'll just try to display a little more discipline and keep my nose to the grindstone. It turns slowly but it keeps moving.

image source: dreamstime.com

                          

Okay Diary, That's enough for now.

What do you think about electric cars?

The Ford Mustang Mach E.
not really a Mustang.

Things are going to change whether we like it or not.

Can a traditional car enthusiast develop an emotional attachment to an electric car?

Porsche did a pretty compelling job with the Taycan.

When it comes to outright performance, electric cars can be developed to deliver outstanding performance.

There is no question about that.

Maybe part of the problem for enthusiasts, is that we feel that part of our freedom is being taken away from us. 

The freedom of the open road is one of the freedoms that we cherish as Americans.

Why would we think of things in that way? 

With an IC car we can just get in and drive and drive and drive, stopping only for quick gas and bathroom breaks. You can go clear across the continent in short order.

Electrics will take more time and planning, there are a lot more gas stations than charging stations out there. Each stop to charge will take more time than a quick gas stop. 

For most normal people cars are just a necessary means of transportation, either they drive themselves, or they are driven by a ride sharing service. Or they take public transportation. 

Besides that, they are ready to trade in their vehicles after a few years use. Unlike enthusiasts, who want to keep certain of their cars for years, maybe even forever.

New cars will always appear and older models will fade from the scene. They don't make new '57 Chevies, '59 Cadillacs, or '65 Mustangs anymore. They are gone but not forgotten. If you happen to have one you can still drive it, anywhere you want.

A lot of it comes down to the question of range. The cheaper EVs such as the Nissan Leaf have pretty short ranges between recharges. Expensive EVs like Teslas have much longer ranges. 

Enthusiastic use can really cut down the range substantially, the same happens with ICE's but it's not so drastic. I recall Matt Farah's review of the Porsche Taycan. 

My own experience with a Kawasaki Mach Three motorcycle was similar, the usual 20 mpg could plummet to single digits when the throttle was cranked open for a significant period.

However in actual real world use that kind of performance is seldom sustained or required. 

Gas cars have there limitations too. Most of us don't live in a gas station, so we don't refuel our cars at home. If the stations are closed for whatever reason,  or we don't have any money, we can't drive anywhere either.

I think that a lot of resistance from old time car guys is that we are worried that our current hobby cars might be banned from everyday use. The prospect that our old muscle car, '50's Classic, or vintage sports car might be prohibited from use on the highway is very troubling. It's the old slippery slope argument. 

Effectively it's already happened. High gas prices and matching high fuel consumption have relegated our older vehicles to occasional use. Emissions testing has made it harder to own and use "recent model" ( 25-30 year old) vehicles as they are sometimes difficult to maintain and pass the tests. oftentimes with only minor maladies that do not unduly affect their actual emissions output. 

I don't foresee a time when all ICE vehicles will be banned, at least not for the foreseeable future. 

For one thing, their are vast fleets of vehicles owned by delivery and service providers. Sure there are big companies that will make a quick switchover and crow about it. But consider the average small business owner /operator, your gardener, contractor,  or handyman. They will be challenged to make a rapid switch.

It seems that EVs are getting better every day. While Tesla has been the standard bearer for a long time, other manufacturers are stepping up their game. Ford for one. I don't like the Tesla image, it's too much like the BMW image, at least in my eyes. Smug is not a good look for me. I could see myself owning a Mach E if it comes down to it. But Ford's new truck has gotten my attention.

I am  intrigued by the new electric F150. How good is it?

Ford has a detailed website that answers all your questions. I have to give Ford credit for building an electric vehicle that many Americans will actually want, and really be able to use. The price is not too bad either. It starts at 40,000 dollars and a mid range XLT model will probably run you into the mid 50's. It appears that all models are crew cabs. The dual motor design delivers 4x4 utility. The "Frunk" allows cargo to be stowed without the need for a tonneau cover on the bed. All of these features reduce the cost for additional options and equipment.  The base 230 mile range is acceptable for most uses, the extended 300 mile range can make the vehicle usable for road trips, it depends on how much time will be spent on charging. If you run out of charge it can be towed like any other vehicle, to a charging station. Besides, it seems as though the best idea is to keep it constantly topped up. 

photo source: Ford Lightening site.
It sure looks like a real F150.

Would I be satisfied with an electric vehicle?

I don't see myself as an early adopter, but does it really make much difference? 

If I can take fairly long trips with it, then I could adjust. I might be forced to make more stops, something that I'm beginning to appreciate. The older that I get, the less that I enjoy just "powering through." It might take a little more planning, but nothing that I couldn't handle.

I suppose as long as I still feel that I'll have the freedom to travel, in the manner that I've become accustomed to, it would be okay. I suppose that it's the only thing that matters to me, the method of propulsion is really not that important.

Not to be morbid, but I've only got "so many Summers" left, what matters to me is making the most of them. I was telling my Son that I was beginning to like the idea of a new car, trip prep consists of just washing the car. That's pretty simple and non stressful. For me, it's kind of a weird idea that I should just find a away to take it easy to enjoy life. I've even let my Son help out with the driving on our latest couple of trips. That took a little bit of readjustment. I guess that's just part of getting older, you've got to give up on the idea of being "hands on" with everything.