OMFG what an afternoon.
I realised half way through working on the chicken paddock (well at lunchtime anyway) that if I didn't get the truck checked out soon it would probably get a lot worse, and that I really need the truck to haul mulch that doesn't grow back here.
So, I got the phone book out and called the mechanic and asked when would be a good time. They said, yeah, we'll check it out this afternoon. So when I told Lorinda I was gonna go she's like "well, do you think you should charge up the mercedes in case you have to leave the truck with them?" and of course she was right. But when we got it to start it made this incredibly evil noise, and after some head scratching we realised that the fan on the new alternator was bigger than the old one, and the metal on the fins was getting ground down on the alternator bracket! So with much cursing we wrestled it off and I took it into town with me.
The mechanic said he couldn't really tell unless he pulled the belt off and checked all the components, but that I could probably keep driving it for a while. He had a gross boil on his face. So we made an appointment for tuesday when they'll do the valve cover gaskets and the rest of the list and hopefully figure out which part needs care. The alternator shop guy was a bit sheepish when he realised that he'd given us the wrong piece. He took the old fan off and put it on the new alternator.
By now it was too late to get any mulch from the dump, so I got another bail of cardboard from Sears, and did some grocery shopping.
Back home we managed to catch the chickens in the long tractor and we threw them into the dome. I had to take the rooster out though, because he was being an arsehole.
Then we dragged the long tractor into the chook yard, and cut the broken end off. It was too long anyway!
It may take a little bit to get all the chooks in there, but at least we are getting these chooks a bit more into line.