Truck woes

Regular readers may recall my truck's electrical system woes, which have been a problem off and on for three years now.  Furthermore, three and a half years ago, I had to replace the gearbox after the original unit was drained of transmission fluid when a hose came loose.  I bought a Jasper reconditioned unit, with a three-year warranty . . . and sure enough, just after the warranty expired, it's broken down.  (The mechanic at the local service station rolled his eyes when I told him that, and said he's seen it more than once with such units.  He advised that if I want to fit any major reconditioned component like a gearbox, buy it from the manufacturer and from no-one else, because only the manufacturer will stand behind it as they should.)

I suspect I'm going to have to give up on the truck.  I can't pour another three thousand dollars plus into yet another gearbox, and the ongoing electrical problems are eating up smaller amounts on a regular basis.  There's no point throwing good money after bad.  It's a pity, because the truck (a 2005 Ford F-150) has only just over 70,000 miles on the clock (I bought it at about the same time as my disabling workplace injury, so I simply haven't driven it very much).  The engine and all other components have never missed a beat, and have been very reliable.  However . . . enough is enough.

I won't sell the truck as a going concern.  I regard it as a lemon now, and there's no way I'm prepared to sell a lemon to anyone - not even if they know about the problems.  (It's been my experience that sooner or later, someone will sell that lemon to someone else without being fully up-front about its problems.  I've had that happen to me once before, and I'll be damned if I allow anyone to do it to someone else using my truck!)  I won't even trade it in.  I'll sell the engine to someone who needs a good one, and perhaps some of the other parts (wheels and tires, body bits and pieces, camper shell, etc.) to local folks who can use them on their vehicles.  I'll junk the rest.

I guess I'll have to look for a cheap local runabout to tide me over until I can afford something better.  I can't monopolize Miss D.'s car - she needs that herself.  Maybe I can trade the engine for something suitable.  Otherwise, if any of my readers are interested in buying an excellent-condition 2005 Ford V-6 4.2-liter truck engine, needing only to be transplanted into their vehicle, let me know.

Peter