Genius Never Made a Sound Like This

The Lord of the Tools has bad news.

Today I re-applied my scheme for getting the last concrete slug out of the yard. I glued a rebar loop to it, and I attached the loop to my dad’s old Explorer with a chain. And I applied tension. The slug broke loose to where I won’t have a problem getting it out. I may have to find a clever way to apply leverage, but it’s doable.

Problem: when I was done, the Explorer wouldn’t go into reverse! When I shifted, it made a hideous whiny sound.

I didn’t overtax the transmission. I wasn’t jerking or spinning my tires. I just pulled carefully until the slug moved. The truck should have been able to take it.

I think the problem is in the mechanism which switches the truck from 4WD to 2WD. I put it in 4WD Low to pull the slug, and then I shifted back to 2WD, and it went nuts. I can still use reverse in 4WD Low, but not in 2WD.

I’ve read that other people have had this problem because the dashboard switch was out of adjustment.

I am seriously bummed out. The whole point of this exercise was to save money, time, and aggravation. What if it costs a pile to fix the Explorer?

Damn it.

If only I had a johnson bar to pry that slug out. Hmm…I know where I can buy one. Yes…yes…clearly, I need a new tool. Right away. That will solve my problems.