The single worst truck I owned was a 1990 Grand Wagoneer Jeep with the "J" in Jeep spoken with the Spanish pronunciation. The only almost good thing about it was its 7/70K warranty which didn't cover much but came in handy at the end. It was an old carburetor model, Navy Blue with the fake wood grain siding. The same model was used in Old Navy TV Commercials around Christmas season. The carburetor was rebuilt 5 times during my ownership as the mechanic said that it had a part that gas dissolved. No kidding. It was 1997 and my father-in-law was dying in Louisville, GA, 120 miles from home. Louisa was already there and I was to bring the kids. The Jeep had 69,900 miles on it, just under the warranty limit. Early Saturday morning I took it to the dealer to go over and do all maintenance necessary and check for potential warranty issues while it was still in warranty. The oil pan was removed to replace a small filter inside the crankcase. When I was 30 miles out of town I noticed no oil pressure and checked the oil's dipstick. I had a full stick and called the dealer who told me it was probably okay and when they went over the engine they make have loosened a connection to the oil pressure sending unit. By the time I got to Louisville, I was over the 70K and the engine was making noises. I flatbedded the truck back to the dealer who told me I had burned up the crankshaft due to oil starvation and I was just over the 70K warranty so "too bad" for me. A buddy's son is a factory trained mechanic and he told me that when they resealed the oil pan the morning of the trip, it was done with a silicone cement and some of it clogged the oil pick up starving the engine of oil. He had seen this happen. The dealer gave me Chrysler/Jeep's Southeastern Rep phone number who attended the tear down when I raised hell. I told the rep what had happened. The crankshaft was shot. The rep said that the dealer was still sticking with its story that they did nothing wrong that morning while inside the engine with the oil pan off, but they would rebuild the engine with a new crankshaft and replace parts unaffected but recommended to be replaced. The cost to me would be $250. "Book'em, Dano". I paid the $250 and got $8,500 in trade in the following week on a 1997 but used Toyota T100 4X4 truck. I drove that truck until 2010 when with 177,000 miles I applied it to a new Subaru Outback for my daughter and received $4,000 credit on the Outback and a check for $250 when the engine in the T100 was destroyed as required by the Cash for Clunker Program. I had bought the Jeep from my hunting and fishing buddies in the used car business and they knew all about my problems with the Jeep. They took the Jeep in trade, like the men they are, without batting an eye for the T100. In 2003, they helped me buy a Toyota Sequoia 4X4 from a dealer at a $100 over invoice. The dealer was from another town who ferried it to my home for the check. I still drive the Sequoia with 226,000 miles but also have a 2016 4Runner which is my main ride. Toyota: "Oh, what a feeling." Incidentally, the 4Runner and the Land Cruiser are the last two Toyotas made in Japan for the US market. All the rest are made in the Western Hemisphere--Mexico, US and Canada. When I cross the Savannah River Bridge going over to Floyd's in SC, from the bridge one can see on the loading docks hundreds of Toyotas made in the US ready for loading on ships for transport to Africa where they are sold. They are all right hand drive according to what a Coast Guard inspector told me. Gil
