Vehicles -2....... Me - 2

[AngliaGT]

A few days ago,the '94 Dakota was getting hard to start,
so I had the 10+ year old battery checked,& it was going South.
Buy a new battery $$,now I'm thinking that it'll be reliable
foe awhile.
Yesterday,same thing - the starter was hit & miss.I had
it checked - the solenoid had a problem.Took the starter off,&
down to the electrical shop,had it fixed in about 15 minutes-
+$45.Works great now.
Took our Granddaughter to lunch today,& went to get out
of the truck at the resturaunt.... and the seat belt wouldn't
release.Went to the wrecking yard,but couldn't any that'd work.I called the dealer,and was told that a new one was over
$300!And the didn't have any in the same color.
I'm able to get in & out of the truck by extending the belt,& holding it with a clothespin,although it's a pain to do
this every time,but at least I can drive it.
An then there's the '60 Chevy panel truck.I took the
starter down to the shop in it.On the way back,the clutch slave cylinder quit working.About 1/2 the time I couldn't get it into gear once I was moving,& of course I hit every Red light on the way home.
I guess it could be worse.

- Doug

 

[Guest]

Check ebay for belts. Open up the old one and see if you can fix it. It mihgt just have a nickel stuck in it or something.

Unfortunatly this is what happens when you drive older car. The solution is simple. Repeat after me, " Hi, my name is Doug and I have an old car problem."

 

[Banjo]

I try to fix everything, but safety belts are better of replaced. Unless you have 100% confidence in the repair you can make. Sometimes it is something silly and easily fixed (Like a penny fell down in there) but don't modify anything in there.
That 60 panel truck has a hydraulic clutch?! I would never have guessed that. I fully expected that it had a linkage type setup.

 

[JPSmit]

So class, let's do the math

Battery $100
Solenoid $45

New Seat belt $25
Seat Belt

Total: $170

One new truck payment: +/- $450 minus $170 = $280 in the bank

Or

'96 Ford F150 - $4000 minus $170 = $3830 in the bank

Or

'95 Dakota - $2500 minus $179 = $2330 in the bank

Having two running vehicles and money in the bank - Priceless!

I love driving a car that is paid for and repairs are almost always cheaper than replacing.

 

[AngliaGT]

It's the base (the part that the belt "clicks" onto).
Yes,it has a hydraulic clutch.
And I would never buy a new truck,heading up to Oregon
tomorrow to look at a couple of Fords.
The Dakota has a lot of things that need to be fixed,so
if i buy another truck,I'll try & sell it "as is".It'll cost me
more to fix everything,then to sell it the way it is.
Hey,at least two things got fixed!

- Doug