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Sarge and Me
My first week with sarge
Part 3
A girl, her truck and their adventures
© Monaya MaGaurn 2021
Sarge had some downtime
Sarge was a shop truck for his first few months on the state’s side. He was driven maybe 200 miles to and from home. He, like all LandRovers, leaked a tiny bit but was in great shape overall. The drive north and first week, Sarge got a proper run about with about 500 miles on him.
Sarge loves northern Minnesota
A wonky rear end.
With Sarge up north, we started our small daily ventures. We would go out about 40 miles walking the dog every day, traveling down some 4×4 trail, parking here or there. Enjoying our small rides, we were having fun. Sarge was doing great, until a week later. The following Saturday, Eva, Sarge, and I were out for a dog walk. On the way back driving him casually down a dirt road, Sarge’s rear end felt pretty wonky.
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Curiosity killed the cat,
Satiating it brings it back.
I called Mike and we did some troubleshooting on the phone for a while. Ending the conversation in agreement with my idea to lock the differentials. Voila. It worked. Sarge was hurt but moving, so I drove him back home, at 45mph for 30 miles. We also got a lot of eye rolls and smiles, way to go Sarge!
On the way back, I took him to my local automotive shop, Dick’s Northside, where luckily I also met the owner Chris. We had talked Defenders for a few years and he knew I wanted one. So when I drove in with Sarge, he lit up, “This is what you have always wanted right?! Like the exact one right?” His excitement over Sarge made me happy.
Landrover,
making mechanics
out of owners since 1947 *
Then we looked at the drive train and it had a slight play. I brought him back the following day and we opened up the rear pumpkin (differential). Dropped all the oil, it was in beautiful condition. Following with hub removal we looked at the axle shafts. Upon checking him out, his axle shaft splines had worn down and it was walking away from the dif, I hate it when that happens. So I reached out to Mike to send me new hubs and shafts.
What was interesting about changing the axle shafts on a Defender, it does not require the wheels to be taken off. Just remove the hub bolts and pull the whole thing out.
Cakewalk. Once the parts were delivered it took about twenty minutes. Sarge got his first American oil change and tire rotation that day too. All and all from the breakdown, shipping, and repair, Sarge was back up to charge in about 9 days. He’s been a pretty solid adventure buddy and I look forward to so many more escapades with him.
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Sarge and Me
Sarge and Me is a project years in the making with Monaya’s first Defender experience in 2010. Later teaming up with Bishop and Rook in 2018. A celebration of legacy, independence, and eccentricity, Sarge and Me is going on the road. Follow along @mynameismonaya