Preparing for Adventure - Redux

Murphy's law struck yet again. The last major maintenance item to address was the still original clutch at 276k miles. It was amazing that it was still holding on, and I had told my mechanic that I may be back in three to four months to get it replaced before it failed. Three to four months turned out to be three to four weeks.

What started out as a terrible week for the taco, while I was at work someone knocked out one of my rear tail-lights. I rednecked a temporary solution and ordered a new set of tail-lights since both had damage, and the plastic was brittle.

I took the truck down to Albuquerque the following weekend to pick up a new mattress that was on sale at Costco. On the drive back to Santa Fe, the clutch got incredibly soft. Going up La Bajada Mesa, I tried to shift into third and she just wouldn't go. I quickly shifted back into fourth and tried my best to stay in that gear all the way home. About a mile from my house, the clutch failed and I barely made it home.

Still actively dealing with cedar fever from the blossoming juniper trees, I'm still pretty weak and feeling miserable most days. I waited until Monday and called my mechanic, then got Tacobella towed to the shop.

As suspected, the clutch pretty much disintegrated. The shop worked with me and put in an Exedy 16805 clutch kit per my request, and got her all buttoned back together.

She drives and shifts like a dream now. It's such a night and day difference, I'm going to have to re-learn how to shift in this truck. Once I get past the break-in period for the new clutch, she'll be ready to go do some off-roading 😎