As the years passed she was a bit neglected. My dad was very much a procrastinator and vehicle maintenance was one thing that he procrastinated at all costs, apparently to the point that it never got done. In 2006 my parents realized the need for a pickup truck as we had wood heat at the time and a station wagon was not the best for hauling firewood. We ended up with a crew cab Toyota Tacoma, which we all loved.
We loved it so much though that poor Suby was put on the back burner, until she was no longer running. Years went by until my brother was at the age that he could drive, so with the help of some friends he set out to spend a summer getting her running. It turned out that in all those years of sitting all she needed to run again was new spark plugs. He ended up driving her for a couple years before entering the military and gifting her to me. At this point she was having issues holding a charge in her battery, so she wasn't exactly running. She sat for about 2 & 1/2 years before my brother replaced the battery for me after I graduated high school and I discovered how to get the back hatch to close, removing the drain on the battery. At this point she got a bath, the first one in many years.
She then sat for another 6 months until I could afford the insurance to legally drive her. I finally got her on the road again on the first day of winter term this year, 2019. She's an unending supply of work, frustration, and pride. I've replaced the air filter, which to my knowledge had never been replaced since it was new in 1993. Replaced the accessory belt twice, but to be entirely accurate the first time my Pastor replaced it for me because I had no idea what I was doing, the second time I replaced it. Both times where a major pain, driving without power steering is no fun. I've replaced both front wipers and the rear wiper, comically enough the rear wiper is high end and the front wipers are cheap, but that's a story for another time. I've replaced the cv joint boots, something that should have taken me a few hours but in all reality took me a week. Also a story for another time. I've been pushed by my coach in the parking lot at school because my engine randomly cut out while I was in the middle of parking and I still have no idea why, but I really appreciated my coaches help. A group payed to have my cv axles replaced by professionals, as the cv boots that I put on a few months ago apparently broke up with my cv joints and were free floating on my axles at that point. Which was not only extremely irritating as my car was loud enough that you could probably hear it halfway across the country (The mysterious thumping noise that I'm sure you've all been hearing was my car. Sorry about that.) but it was also dangerous as my cv joints could have snapped at any time, leaving me stranded on the highway or, worse yet, rolled over in the ditch.
And, most recently, I've gotten an oil change
and set an appointment for an alignment to get rid of Suby's tendency to steer sharply to the right.
Yeah, she's just a car, but she was my dad's car and, strange as it may sound, I feel like he's still with me when I drive her. She's been cause for much frustration, but she's my pride and joy.
Thank you for sticking around for Suby the Hoobaru's introduction, I look forward to entertaining everyone with the rest of her story as it continues.
