And I've driven 13,000 miles since then.
WHAT THE HELL, MAN?
Well--let's face it: I'd only put 6K miles on it by the time I'd started working from home, and after I started working from home I hardly went anywhere, so it wasn't really a priority. And then after all the BS in September of 2019, where I lost my job, redid the spare room, and suddenly had another job GO GO GO GO GET ON THE PLANE FOR TRAINING WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE????? it feels as if I haven't had a minute.
Honestly, I did, but really, I kind of didn't. I don't know if I can explain it, other than to say sometimes it's hard to make time for things which are not immediately necessary.
Anyway the oil came out black but with reasonable viscosity, which is either good or bad, depending. Then I started trying to get the oil filter off and it ABSOLUTELY. WOULD. NOT. BUDGE.
I know: 18 months is a long time to leave an oil filter in place. I know.
...but it wouldn't move even when I used the strap wrench. I paused long enough to rue the fact that I still do not have the right size oil filter wrench for the Jeep, then tried to find a way to get it off, and could not. I finally had to spear it with a brass drift and lever it off that way--three times to get it loose enough to remove using other methods--but it did unscrew, and the gasket came off with the filter. The new one--pre-filled and lubed the way I always do it--spun on easily and got tightened down, by hand, about a third of a turn past snug. As always.
But.
In the process of trying to use the strap wrench, I broke the oil pressure sender. That had needed to be replaced anyway, I knew, so--I thought--F it, I can buy one tomorrow or order it from the Internet or whatever. Let's fill 'er up and check for leaks--
--a nice steady little trickle from the broken oil pressure sender--
I said many bad words and shut the engine off. For fuck's sake, why does the circuit board in the oil pressure sender need to have an oil bath? Cooling? What good is hot engine oil going to do for the stupid thing? This is so amazingly stupid--
But, nothing for it. Either get a new sender tonight, or go to Ace and get a plug to fit the fitting until I can get one. Right? Right! So, took the sender out, came in here. $42 from O'Reilly's and I didn't even bother to shop around. It even looks exactly like the part it's going to replace (except, of course, not broken.) Ordered it, and as soon as Mrs. Fungus gets home I'm lighting out for O'Reilly's to pick it up.
Sure would be nice if I had a MOTORCYCLE or something I could ride. It's even a nice day. About as warm as it was when I first got the thing; I could make it to O'Reilly's and back IF IT RAN RIGHT AND WASN'T IN PIECES. Argh etc.
Anyway, looking at the little circuit board in the thing, the place where the wires that go to the plug were, one of them has the characteristic look of "cold solder joint". The wire just pulled out of the solder. I'd bet that's the source of my "pegged high" oil pressure readings.
*sigh*
This will teach me, anyway, not to let a year and a half go by between oil changes. The Jeep isn't a high-strung over-engineered thing that needs precise maintenance intervals or anything--it's a tractor motor with wheels--but I should for damned sure be changing the oil at least every six months, for fuck's sake.
Well. While I'm waiting for Mrs. Fungus to get home, I suppose I could go out there and replace the bad turn signal relay. Off I go.