2014-07-30

rotated tires 129,500 miles

didn't have the time/place to do it in CO, but snuck it into costco before i headed onto the river.  date, calendar placement and mileage are approximate but accurate to within 5%.

no cost, comes with the original tire purchase and keeps my tires within warranty (as termed by costco).

2014-07-24

128,089 mile service

 driving my boat to the top of the MS river ... unfortunately, while we're in denver on the way out (and i'm in WY fly fishing) the car starts showing unusual behavior ... when you first start it in the morning, it acts like it doesn't want to stop.  the brake pedal goes all the way to the floor without the expected amount of coincident braking.

the boulder shop can't reproduce the problem, but my brother's in town so i pop the hood and he takes a look when we get back from the great wild.

in less than 60 seconds, he spots a missing PCV valve (and line).  odd that the shop didn't even bother to look under the hood for it.

as long as it's in the shop, i'll change my oil too, although it's due in another 1,000 miles ... it's easier to change here/now than in MN.  it also means that my car shuttler won't have to do it on the MN/LA run.

the oil change is already paid for as part of my package (last one!).  the PCV valve and line run me $62.


2014-07-03

126,069 mile service

lots of driving has brought me to another oil change.  this time at larry h. miller chrysler dodge jeep ram in denver -- which i'm pretty sure used to be known as PRO.  able to sneak it in just a few minutes before close.

a couple things of note:
  1. i had 35 miles of stop and go driving in 110 degree heat to get here ... my water gauge was creeping ever-so-slightly up ... i haven't had any trouble with my car overheating, but i wasn't going to start, so i did the stop-and-go part with the AC off ... i also noticed a small gauge climb when i was towing my kayak uphill in 109 degree heat ... i asked them to top off the coolant, which i'm pretty sure they did ... i hope that's "enough," and this isn't signs of things to come.
  2. the inspection showed the left rear strut seaping (sic) ... first time that's ever been mentioned ... not surprising since i notice seepage in the trunk lifts (and that's essentially exactly the same mechanism) ... i'm pretty sure struts are covered by my service contract (although when look at it, i only see the front struts mentioned by name).