I am learning to trust my instincts. I didn’t like the wob-wob-wob noise the car made. It turns out that the wheel bearings were going bad. Lacking time and tools to press new ones in, we simply swapped the good hub assemblies from the daily GTX to the Challenge car.
I finally hit the road Sunday morning, a week late…
Somewhere east of El Paso towards midnight on Monday, a large SUV came roaring up behind me and rode my bumper for awhile. A cop, thinks I, trying to get me to speed up so they can pull me over. Even if I were confident enough of the car to exceed the speed limit, I know better than to fall for that trick. They backed off and continued to follow me. Oh, right, thinks I, I don’t have plates on this car yet and they probably can’t figure out the permit.
Eventually, the highway funneled into a Border Patrol inspection station, the SUV still behind me. A patrol guard with a tall German shepherd came by, the dog sticking his nose into my window and grinning at me. I unconsciously leaned forward to touch my nose to his before remembering a) he’s not a cat and b) he’s working. He didn’t seem to mind. The guard and the dog began the walk counter-clockwise around the car.
Another patrol guard approached and I asked if they wanted to see my driver’s license. “And registration!” piped up a voice behind the guy now leaning towards my window. The guard shot a dirty look behind him, leaned against my door and looked me in the eye. “Ma’am, are you an American Citizen?” I held his gaze. “Why yes, sir, I am!” The guard with the dog stopped to read the permit and called out the all clear. The second guard waved me on without looking at my license. I drove on into the rolling darkness.
Yesterday morning, I could smell burning coolant and…something. I didn’t like it, and pulled into the next gas station. White smoke billowed out from under my hood. I went to find the leak and realized that wasn’t my only problem. There was oil everywhere. I checked the dipstick, maybe two drops on there. Not good. I was 350 miles from anywhere, and a good ten hours from anyone I knew. I shot an email to the GTX list with a description. Two calls in less than five minutes, both suggesting the valve cover needed tightening. Sure enough, over half the bolts had backed off 2-3 turns. I bolted it back down and filled it with oil. My friend Paul from Georgia told me to check it again in 50, 100, and 200 miles. Still leaking oil, but not so bad that I worried.
I never found the coolant leak. I drove on to Houston.
