Just got back to Mich today after three days driving to NJ and back.
Went to pick up an MB engine that had been disassembled, rebuilt and reassembled as part of a govt subsidized training program. When I got there and they loaded it into my big van, the chain slipped and it bingled up the valve cover!!
The guys closing the program are unsympathetic, and won't bargain on the damages, because they say the oil spilled as a result constitutes a toxic clean up site. I am calling it even.
BTW anybody got a spare valve cover off an OM 636 car, marine, generator or a reefer engine? I can bump out the other one but would prefer not having to.
On the way out of NJ, my water pump died after 190,000 miles. Can't blame it. Found a guy who was willing to R&R my pump, flush the system and put in new stuff for a reasonable price.
Then me and my engine set out for Michigan, stopping at a truck stop in Youngstow OH for a rest. Sleeping there in a sleeping bag with the windows open was so refreshing that I still feel invigorated at the end of the day!
Probably the second best night's sleep I've gotten in my life. The best was in the pine forests in central Idaho, on the eway to Tacoma.
In the meantime, the good news is that the final terms for my new job were established, and they offered me slightly more than I had originally expected. That was a surprise, but they said they did it because I won't need as much training as some people on the PC with some of their programs.
So next week Monday, it's off to my new job. Have been looking forward to something with more security. Part of it will involve crash, er, impact testing, the other part involves comparing tests from foreign vehicles. Some travel, possibly to Germany for one month every two years.
So I will be taking orders for Ritter Sport chocolate, since I'll be 18 miles from the Steinhagen chocolate factory, and four miles from the Moeringen HQ of Mercedes.
If I go this year, I want to go back to the Museum in Unterturkheim. This time, I'll have a digital camera and will take 11,000 photos.
Thursday and Friday are set aside for house cleaning and moving the engine+stand out of the van and into the garage.
Got a temp job for the weekend, a previous commitment.
So no rest for the wicked, but hey! the wi-fi's free....
