Lombard Trip Report

Date 9/22/08

I had an appointment this past Sunday for Eric to work on my car. But I packed Thursday, and napped Friday afternoon, Wide awake Friday night I thought why not do a night drive, with only one driver and 490 miles why not leave early.?

First gas stop was past the IN state line at 300+ miles.

The Marriott did have an empty room one day early, they told me Christopher was NOT allowed in the lobby, but since it was 3 AM check in they would love to meet him. So Christopher mugged the two female night clerks and we were off to a good start.

I woke up 9-ish and rushed over to Eric's to find out that he had a Saturday cancellation. After intros I left Eric my 97 white with a leather interior and left with his 96 gray with a cloth interior. Christopher and I went back to the Marriott to catch up on our beauty rest. The motel maids wanted to clean the room, so that time I kept Christopher by my desk on leash and all went well.

That afternoon Eric told me I was expected 6:00 for dinner BBQ. Before dinner we found the local Petsmart 1.8 miles from the Marriot and nothing that they did not also sell in Pittsburgh. Christopher did however make a few new friends at Petsmart.

The 4 of us had a wonderful dinner together, Christopher, myself, Eric and his wife Chris. Chris gave Christopher a wonderful "stuffed pig" squeak toy which he still has and enjoys. Christopher also helped with a few "lost links" which he greatly enjoyed.

By staying completely out of Eric's way on Saturday, he was able to:

* Change spark plugs,

* Replace rear COP,

* Clean intake and EGR (ERG was throwing codes.) Intake was very filthy even with exclusive use of 5w-30 Mobil 1.

* Replace cabin air filter.

Sunday morning I got 2 big ham-feta cheese - mushroom omelets to-go and took them back to the hotel to share with Christopher. This time the maid was no longer afraid of Christopher. She was making the bed and Christopher got away, jumped on the bed in a flash and stole a sloppy kiss. I was concerned, but she fell to Christopher's charms and took it all rather well. Latter I learned that she told all the staff that she got her first "on the job kiss".

Larry was over at Eric's Sunday AM detailing his car, as was Daniel Holtman. It was wonderful to get together, we had a group photo and I left to get out of Eric's way.

Sunday to-do List:

* Eric Changed the oil and oil filter, sampled the change,

The Vadim UDP has always leaked, not much as to require supplemental oil, but enough to make a mess under the hood. The external surface of the UDP was too rough to seal. Eric hand polished the UDP to a mirror finish without changing the OD. Then replaced the seal. PERFECT!

Worth mentioning is that the UDP was installed by Anderson Ford in Clinton Il. The crank bolt was badly necked and stretched. Anderson Ford takes some pride for being a "performance dealership" You would think that a dealership that does so much self promotion about being performance experts would own and use a torque wrench?

This is the same dealership that fixed my ATX under warranty and put in the sup frame crooked and took a month to do a bad job fixing my ATX. Doug Lewis repaired their ATX repair. Point is that this is a dealership service department that screws up everything they touch. I would not let them work on a wheelbarrow.

* Eric also took the shim out of the AC compressor and cleaned the in-fender foam air filter. A Ford dealership in McKeesport wanted $3,000 to drop the sub frame and replace the compressor. Better a trip to Chicago than let another Ford dealership fubar my car again.

* Many thanks to Larry for supplying a new crank snout bolt.

Eric expected to finish up by 5 PM but he was done closer to 3 PM, I asked the Marriot if I could check out late and leave a day early, that is when I learned about the maid told everyone about her first on-the-job-kiss. Marriot extended stay was VERY nice, exactly 1 mile of 4 lane from Eric's house I highly recommend them.

I Left Eric's about 4 PM, with regrets, Eric wanted me to drive the blown SHO and as much as I really wanted to I knew I had a 10 hour drive ahead of me. Can't beat Eric & Chris' hospitality with a stick.

Chicago Sunday traffic is about the same as rush hour anywhere else. It was hot and slow moving. But with every toll booth traffic lessened and soon we were taking the polar route across N Ohio.

MPG was 20% better on the return trip. We got home a little after midnight. Christopher got to poop in his own back yard, which is good because even though we stopped every 150 miles for a walk in the weeds, Christopher had been holding it across 4 states. Nothing quite as satisfying as pooping in your own back yard.

One might think it is a problem owing a car that requires driving 500 miles to find a good mechanic, but Christopher and I had a wonderful time and got a lot of problems off of the to-do list.

Eric, I made the right choice leaving when I did, the last hour of driving was a SOB, I was beat. Christopher and I are still recovering from last nights drive today. It would not have been safe to stay any longer.

Next time?

Please give me another chance?

In addition to all the scheduled repairs, special thanks to Eric for fixing all the small things, like missing bolts and loose parts, left by much lesser men.

Thanks to all, especially Eric and Chris for such a wonderful trip.

Before I forget; 138,600 miles on the clock at the time of the oil change.

Buford

Updates and photos to follow -Buford

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