New condenser

Last fall when my condenser seized up Doug the mechanic just removed the damn thing and I didn't squawk. It was making a shearing metal sound and sure enough, there was a fan under my hood scraping shavings off of engine parts.
But now that summer approaches the car heats up fast, so we had to talk about putting an air conditioner in. And in fact the entire ventilation system was suspect from my point of view-- the car has been smelling like exhaust was coming in. I'd been getting a metallic taste in my mouth from riding in it. And with the little guy, I'd hate to take any chances with lead.
So I told Doug that in addition to the condenser job I'd like him to look at the whole ventilation system. He said that probably my air intake area was sucking in oil fumes from the engine so he cleaned the engine and sprayed an aerosol cleaner into my vents. He talked about replacing the valve cover gasket but decided against it. The car now smells perfumed... not too badly, but more than I like!
Guess I should get a picture of the clean engine!

Happy Birthday, Rudolf Diesel!

March 18 is the anniversary of the birthday of Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine.

Criminal

The fact is that making biodiesel in Maryland is criminal.  My dad the lawyer says the law is not just in MD but is an IRS statute. Has to do with the way fuel is taxed. It also applies to natural gas mixtures that can fuel vehicles.

Biodiesel coop form

http://www.baltimorebiodiesel.org/

Condenser repair

I am so lucky to work near a mechanic who specializes in old Mercedes cars, both diesel and gas.
Doug the mechanic is an ex-corporate warrior- - did he say he'd worked for the B and O Railroad?-- who regularly rolls up his sleeves in his venerable auto repair space on South Central Ave in Baltimore. The shop is about 10 blocks from the water front, on a wide but neglected thoroughfare that shoots from the ghetto to the financial highrises of Harbor East.  He says he hears me gun my engine past his shop in the mornings, and that the Mercedes 240 D is "about a perfect car."

Today's trip to the shop was necessitated by a strange smell that happened after I'd been driving for about 15 min-- my car was smoking, but none of the gauges showed anything wrong. Turned out my air conditioning condenser had "seized" and metal shards were shearing off on one of the belts. Doug removed a belt that was causing the condenser to spin needlessly. Needlessly, in that it is November and I don't need air conditioning.

I ended up paying $140.00 and some change for the belt removal and an oil change.
He pointed out that my fuel filters were looking a little brown and I mentioned my intention to get on the Co op biodiesel 50% mix for the winter.

Mounting expenses

Under my insurance, the dent in the side of the Subaru was going to cost me a $500 deductible. Not bad considering that they were replacing a door, but certainly a significant amount of money. The PT Cruiser rental was cheap. The insurance paid for a basic model of car, and I paid a couple of dollars a day more to get the Cruiser.

Then, somehow, in the mix of cars parked under the trees beside the Brown Round House where the cousin's reunion was taking place, the Cruiser sustained a dent. A nice round indentation on its plastic bumper. I didn't know plastic could do that!
Although I would argue with the insurance company about it, that dent would eventually cost me a $250 deductible.

When I picked up the Subaru, it was shiny and polished, no doubt in an attempt to make the car match its new part. I felt a small pride of ownership, but also felt the pain of being back using a stick shift.

After the deer incident, the check engine light had come on. Surprisingly, for a car with 135,000 miles on it, it was the first time this had happened. I asked the door repair people to look at it, and they said that the code indicated trouble in my catalytic converter.

I took the car to my trested mechanics at Brentwood Foreign Auto for an estimate. They said it would be $2100 because the car has a "California" catalytic converter.

PT Cruiser the Rental car

The dent in the side of the Subaru necessitated a call to my insurance company, who instructed me to take the car to a local dealership/car repair enclave in a nearby, but dodgier part of town.
There it was determined that the driver's side door needed replacement, and that it would take at least a week. I was to have a rental car.
An exciting prospect, but with hidden downsides.
Coming up was the weekend of a family reunion-- the Cousin's reunion. Originally started as a gathering of first cousins-- the offspring of my grandfather's generation-- it has in recent years come to include my generation and our children. My grandfather was one of twelve, so it is a large group.
I rented the PT Cruiser based on looks alone, with little thought to the considerations of gas mileage or durability.
And drove it from Baltimore to the cousins' reunion in southern West Virginia.
From Baltimore to it is highways most of the way to Greenbrier County. US 70 W to 81 S and down, down, down the spine of Virginia. Then lighting out to the West on a slightly smaller state highway, then a state route, then a county road and ultimately a dirt road.