Water going, going.. B+ Repair.

"The Ogallala Aquifer, the vast underground reservoir that gives life to these fields, is disappearing.
In some places, the groundwater is already gone.
This is the breadbasket of America—the region that supplies at least one fifth of the total annual U.S. agricultural harvest.
If the aquifer goes dry, more than $20 billion worth of food and fiber will vanish from the world’s markets. And scientists say it will take natural processes 6,000 years to refill the reservoir. "

Key Concepts

• If spread across the U.S. the aquifer would cover all 50 states with 1.5 feet of water
• If drained, it would take more than 6,000 years to refill naturally
• More than 90 percent of the water pumped is used to irrigate crops
• $20 billion a year in food and fiber depend on the aquifer

More at:  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-ogallala-aquifer
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"The deposition of the aquifer material dates back 2 to 6 million years to late Miocene to early Pliocene age when the southern Rocky Mountains were still tectonically active. From the uplands to the west, rivers and streams cut channels in a generally west to east or southeast direction.
Erosion of the Rockies provided alluvial and aeolian sediment that filled the ancient channels and eventually covered the entire area of the present-day aquifer, forming the water-bearing Ogallala Formation. The depth of the formation varies with the shape of the pre-Ogallala surface, being deepest where it fills ancient valleys and channels. The Ogallala Formation consists mostly of coarse sedimentary rocks in its lower sections, which grade upward into finer-grained lithologies."
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer


"A sprinkler sprays a field near Hoxie, Kan.
"Water for Great Plains irrigation comes from the Ogallala Aquifer, a vast underground lake that is being drained at an alarming rate."
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So next time you leave the water running while doing dishes, brushing you teeth or shaving, etc.,  PLEASE remember that our grandkids are going to need that water. 
It is not a renewable source.
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Leo, Claudia's neighbor took her to have a biopsy done on her new liver.  Apparently, they do this every now and then, to see if she needs to be on different medications, and to see how it is doing.

Jay didn't want to leave Maddie, the Yorkie, there alone, so we brought her up here.  They have been having trouble getting her to eat, and I could tell that she had lost weight.   Her spay and teeth surgeries have not slowed this little Miss Priss down at all.    She scampers around like the pup she is.
I got a can of good dog food out of my pet food cabinet, and she ate two helpings, about an hour apart.   (If a pet hasn't eaten well, and they gulp down food, you just see it again.)  So much for Jay's theory that she doesn't like 'pate' type food!

Back to the 1982 B+. 
Jay and I cleaned all the terminals, including the ones on the emergency start solenoid and battery isolator.  Just trying to do non technical stuff till Jim, the mechanic got here.
When he arrived, he pulled it out of the RVport with his truck so that it would be easier to work on.   Jim took the passenger seat off it's pedestal (easiest way to get the engine cowling off this van), and probed the wire that goes down to the starter.  It was hot.

So our diagnosis was right….it's the starter.  So that is not bad for 15 years of ownership, an alternator 15 years ago, and a starter now.
Jim wasn't really up to taking the starter off, so Jay did it.

As usual, it took the little black wagon to hold all the tools we or rather I,  took out of the workshop.

 
Here is that beastie!
Looks old doesn't it! 
The worst part of the removal was that it has two heat shields.



Jim was going into town, so he came back with the new one.
Isn't that purdy?
With a Lifetime Warranty from O'Reilleys it was $45. 
I did ask Jim why I needed a lifetime warranty, at my age!!

I was 'gopher', so I got my exercise in today.