Apis Mellifera
04-03-2011, 09:30 PM
My wife and I had a baby on Jan. 8th and while she was off on maternity leave, I put our '73 88 in storage and got a loaner Accord for her. She went back to work last week so I went to retrieve the Rover last Saturday. Having not been used for three months, the truck started and ran well. Fluids checked/filled and gas tank topped off, I loaded a Bugeye Sprite bonnet on the roof, and headed the 263 miles home.
During the week, my 2.5 year old son and I loaded up on sandbox fixings from Lowe's and carried them home. Yesterday, he and I went to a model train show and then for a drive around to give my wife a break. This afternoon, he was napping and I had a work party at church, so I went out solo.
I stopped by Lowe's afterwards, and loaded 30 40# bags of top soil in the back. The drive home from Lowe's takes me down a very long, very steep hill ending at a Tee intersection with a stop light. I noticed the brakes were a little ineffective at the bottom, but I assumed it was the extra weight. The rest of the drive is basically flat and when I got home I decided to check the brake fluid. It was a little dark, but otherwise OK. I noticed some crazing in the bottom of the plastic reservoir. I touched it and it was soft and when I removed my finger, the crazing became wet! Then brake fluid started to drip out. I'm confident that if I touched it again a little harder, I could push my finger through the side of the reservoir. My son asked if we could go for a ride. I told him we couldn't because the Land Rover is broken. He understands broken, but he doesn't understand how lucky we've been. New MC on order!
During the week, my 2.5 year old son and I loaded up on sandbox fixings from Lowe's and carried them home. Yesterday, he and I went to a model train show and then for a drive around to give my wife a break. This afternoon, he was napping and I had a work party at church, so I went out solo.
I stopped by Lowe's afterwards, and loaded 30 40# bags of top soil in the back. The drive home from Lowe's takes me down a very long, very steep hill ending at a Tee intersection with a stop light. I noticed the brakes were a little ineffective at the bottom, but I assumed it was the extra weight. The rest of the drive is basically flat and when I got home I decided to check the brake fluid. It was a little dark, but otherwise OK. I noticed some crazing in the bottom of the plastic reservoir. I touched it and it was soft and when I removed my finger, the crazing became wet! Then brake fluid started to drip out. I'm confident that if I touched it again a little harder, I could push my finger through the side of the reservoir. My son asked if we could go for a ride. I told him we couldn't because the Land Rover is broken. He understands broken, but he doesn't understand how lucky we've been. New MC on order!