THE MACKINAC BRIDGE
THE WHEEL
But before the great wheel debacle we had a nice night at Hartwick Pines which is one of our favorite campgrounds.
As we were pulling out of the campground we noticed a noise from the back of the van. Sounded like it was the left rear wheel, the noise went away after a while so we kept going. We did not go far until we hit a traffic jam on the Mackinac bridge. Apparently the local farmers had a tractor parade that backed up traffic for miles.
We finally made it over the bridge and the noise was back. I thought it might be a loose brake caliper on the left rear wheel but I am not a mechanic. Leann looked for the closest Ford dealer and since it was Saturday their service station was closed. They said one of their sales people was good with vehicles and might be able to at least identify the issue. We stopped by and he also thought it was a left rear brake caliper and said it should be OK to drive.
Leann and I decided to get a campsite close by so we could go the dealer first thing Monday morning. We were not comfortable driving the van very far until we knew the problem. We showed up at the dealer before 8 on Monday morning. They were booked solid but knew we were in a tough situation. They squeezed us in and said they would take a look. Why they were checking out the van I was checking out an F150 Raptor in their showroom, I was in love.
After awhile the mechanic came and gave us an update. Apparently the right rear wheel had loose lug nuts. One of the lug bolts had sheared off and the rest of the nuts were so loose he could remove by hand. We were very close to losing a wheel while driving. Would have been great if that happened when we drove over the Mackinac bridge.
The rim was scrap so they put on our full size spare. Now we needed a rim. We called the next Ford dealer on our route and placed the order. The tech warned me that Ford wheels are expensive It would be there the next day and only cost $1,000.
We got to the dealer and picked up the rim. It was a small dealer so they did not have a a machine to mount the tire. Fortunately there was a Firestone dealer in town so we headed there. They took care of us quickly and sent us on our way.
Now for the punch line: We had the van serviced 3 days before the trip including a tire rotation. Leann called them the next day and told them what happened. They were horrified and paid for everything. They also said they would have a gift for us next time we were there. Maybe our gift will be an F150 Raptor.
WE GOT LUCKY, STEVE