Not Dead, Jut Broken

It's so infuriating.

I drove the truck down to Iona today to the mechanic, so he could find out why the brakes keep locking. Yeah, I had to drive it. I'm too cheap to call a tow truck. And it's not exactly next door, this mechanic, either. 27 miles from door to door. But you know how it goes: You find a mechanic you trust, you keep on going back. We've tried several local shops. Have NOT been impressed.

The brakes did indeed lock up on the way down. First time was by Thornton. Michelle, who was following me, and I sat in the Pilot for 20 minutes or so until the brakes cooled. Then we were able to get through road construction and Rigby before the brakes locked up just before the Bonneville County line. Sat there at a church for 20 minutes, then drove only two miles until they locked again. Sat there a while, then drove a little bit further before they locked again. So we left the truck there, went into Iona, now just a few miles off, to get gas, then we stopped at the mechanic and basically said, well, we got it that far. Can you take it from here?

To their credit -- and this is why we love this shop -- they went and got it, no questions asked. And no charge, either. We've done good business with them, they know I've got a big mouth and send other people their way, so they treat us nice. (This is LARSEN REPAIR in Iona, Idaho. Most excellent mechanics in eastern Idaho.) They drove it back to their shop. And then drove it around and around and around a few other times that day, and the darned brakes wouldn't lock up at all. Finally, shortly before 3, they started to grab just a little as he was pulling into the shop. So it looks like we get a new master cylinder, which they can't get until probably Wednesday. That's fine, as long as it gets fixed.

It's just infuriating, however. The darned thing locked up on me three times on the way there, and then it took them all afternoon to make it maybe even start to even try thinking about locking up. Urgh. I half wonder, however, if there was a big fat guy like me behind the wheel if the thing wouldn't have locked up on them sooner. But the other guy who drove it around isn't exactly as sweet petite either, so that throws that theory out of the window.