When did this segment devolve into everything not Tacticool? Originally, I came up with this idea to help me come up with daily topics. Lately, I have been thinking about putting it up on the shelf again because it seems like I have other things I want to say.

I have fumbled around with firearms and preparedness as topics in this area. I can try to shoehorn a lot of different topics like I will try to do today but I am not sure that I want to do it every week. I guess that is the luxury I have, I can do whatever I want.

For today I wanted to talk about vehicles. This week, our Navigator rolled over 200,000 miles. That means that both vehicles we own have are over the 200K mark.

My wife has been binge watching ‘Fear of the Walking Dead’ lately. I know that the show is just for fun but how many vehicles are still functioning and clear roads seem like a miracle. I would think that fuel and maintenance would be would quickly disappear.

I am in new territory myself as I intend to drive these vehicles as long as they are functioning reasonably. Both vehicles, both Ford have developed a tick or knock over time. I am sure that it is not good and I have had them looked at but without any resolution or even prognostication about diagnosis.

With my pickup, I think it has something to do with the valve train, but it may also be with the timing chain. I haven’t investigated it thoroughly but I have heard that it is impractical to repair due to the amount of labor to do so. I hate to tear into the valve covers, but it is probably something I should do before some real damage occurs.

On the Navigator, I think the tick is related to an exhaust leak at the manifold connection to the engine block. This is another common problem where the aluminum warps or cracks and you can hear the ticking of the valves. I do think it is not a need to fix as the studs are prone to breaking making much more work than I want to take on right now.

I pretty much hot swapped the alternator in the Navigator a few weeks ago. So that will be good for a while. But, all in all things have been pretty reliable given that the vehicle has so many miles. I wouldn’t have a hesitation to take off for a long road trip for the vehicles so hopefully the last for a couple more years.

End Your Programming Routine: You never know when you need to ‘bug out’. By definition, you get very little notice and you have to grab what you can in the time you have. Last year’s wildfires are a perfect example of why you would have to leave with a moment’s notice. Make sure to keep your vehicles in good working order in case you really need to use them.