Well, so-so. It's winter, and a damp SOB at that - so I'm a bit slow moving most of the day. Been back to the doc several rounds again, crushed my thumb in the door of the Dodge from the last job out in the cold (didn't even know it was in the door latch, until I heard it "click"). Finally decided to address the cold issue and my hands/feet - turns out it's Raynaud's. Got big toe and two others on left foot that are literally black most of the time, haven't showed him those but I'm pretty sure they're coming off soon - by surgery or on their own. Got another med added - a heart medicine to help open the vessels and hopefully prevent any further damage to my hands and feet. Think it's pretty much too late and still have some severe attacks - fingers will randomly turn dead white and go completely numb for hours on end. It can be triggered by something simple like a cold drink, or temps in the low 60's. Last job I worked was 10-12hrs/day/6 days/wk in temps as low as 10*F - hence the thumb incident. Since the accident, and the problems with my spine and knees - I'm stuck being a traffic flagger most of the time - or, as we call it "The Target". Standing in one place isn't really a good idea in cold weather - glad I'm off for the rest of the winter. Getting too beat up to do this stuff anymore, that's why I let the Cruiser go to someone else.
New owner is coming back tomorrow to pick up the last and largest pieces of the spare parts. So far, enjoying the 4Runner - leather heated seats and a soft ride are appreciated. The thing feels as planted as the old Cruiser, if not better. Honestly, overall - it's more planted, stable and just feels more "confident" than my '14 Dodge 1500 Big Horn. Loving that full time transfer case and the Thorsen diff - very smart design. Need to get a few things done to it - mostly change ALL the fluids to synthetic, clean the engine out (lots of short trips from the last owners) and address a few small rust spots. Undercarriage looks great except of course the spare tire winch - need to cut it out and replace it.
Gotta figure out which section of MUD covers that generation of the 4Runner, time to start learning all over again. I'll be in here, of course as well - looks like I'm off my feet for a while until some things heal up a bit before next season's insanity on the roads.
Btw, I need to send some stuff out to you, almost forgot about it...
Sarge
