When I purchased my truck I told my people I wanted to buy something ‘done’. I had an ’68 Mustang in high school that was far from perfect; this time I wanted to get something that I could just drive and enjoy. Well I’ve ended up with a project again…

Last night I had trouble getting the truck started. Putting the key in the ‘on’ position didn’t power anything on even though the starting position did. I spent the night at my friends house where my truck was parked at and investigated the problem today. Rotating the key moves a long metal bar back and forth. That bar actuates a multi-position linear switch at the base of the steering column. I thought it had gone out of adjustment, but it seems really fidgety; it worked better when I LOOSENED the mounting bolts. I’ll have to look into it further the switch may still be at fault. I did manage to get it to start…

It was then that I noticed the voltage was really low. I popped the hood and discovered that the engine was missing all of its accessory drive belts. The A/C and alternator belts were lying in the street intact, but the power steering belt could not be found. I assume the P/S belt broke, got caught under the other two belts, and forced them off. It must have happened right as I parked because I didn’t notice any steering problems last night. John helped me get the alternator belt back on and I man-handled the truck back to my house.

I’ve decided not to sell my Subaru because of this. The truck will be much less stressful if I’m not relying on it. So, tomorrow I’m headed back to the DMV to get the car reregistered and then it’s to the parts store to guess at what length belt I need (and probably buy an ignition switch too).