Project Jeep

We got a really nice surprise last night.  We knew that our oldest son was coming to San Antonio because he had some business near here but we expected him about Friday.  Last night we were watching TV after dinner and he walked in the door.  The dachsies were highly embarrassed because they didn't hear him slip in which is really a rare occurrence.  Normally nothing and no one slips by them. Steve and Dave have a few projects planned while Steve is here.  First on the list was the jeep.  This nice looking little jeep has been a family member for quite a while.  We got it quite a few years ago and used it as the toad when we had a Class A.  It worked great and was fun to drive when we got to where we were going.  A few years ago, we sold the Class A and went to a trailer.  Our son already had a jeep but it wasn't as nice and he always like this one.  While he was in Turkey, he was finally able to talk his Dad into selling it to him so he sold his jeep.  This one made the trip to Tyndall AFB in Florida, his next duty station.  It stayed in Florida during his stint in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He liked taking the kids in it and they loved it.  But, he really missed having a motorcycle.  So, this summer he and his Dad made another deal and the jeep came back to Texas and the Harley Davidson went to Florida.  Although the jeep worked perfectly, there has always been one nagging little flaw.  A light went on and off indicating some sort of emission vacuum system leak which could be anywhere.  Both father and son searched and tried to find the problem but it was very elusive.  Computer codes were checked.  Various fixes were tried.  Yesterday, they resorted to removing the rear wheel and tracking lines clear through the whole jeep.    

They made it from back to front tracking the lines.

Dad had his head stuck down under the hood when all of a sudden I heard a little whooping noise.  He spotted a detached line way down under that he had never seen until they tracked the line through from the back.  They reached in and pulled it up.  The connection was completely dried out.  A quick trip to the parts store failed to provide the needed replacement but Dad had already figured out how to make his own replacement part.

Here they are putting things back together.

Now we just have to wait and see.  They thought it was fixed after some other work with the computer and adjustments down in Florida this summer.  The light stayed off for a 1000 miles and then reappeared.  But for now, this really appears to be the solving of the riddle.  The lights off and it will be a waiting game.  In the meantime, the jeep is back at home in Texas.