It Just Keeps Getting Better... :P
I had planned to follow Trixstir in to the bowling alley today to have a look at that furnace. That idea wasn't going to happen today either, as even with both of us trying to get the Explorer to move, it just dug itself deeper into the ice. It seemed that it was close to coming free a couple of times, but I just couldn't quite get it out of the rut that it had dug itself into. So we decided to leave the Explorer at the farm, and that I'd just bring the van back, and pick Trixstir up afterwards. That idea didn't pan out either.
First of all, the heater in the van suddenly decided to quit working. The fan, that is. Trying to find the bleepin' fuse panel when it's -38c outside is not a fun task. I finally found the blasted thing, and of course there was nothing wrong with the fuse. That meant that the problem was with the blower-motor itself. Furious (and freezing) by this point, I just gave it a hard *whack* in the area I expected the motor to be, and that got it running again! AAAAAAAaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!! ;)
I don't know why the motor quit - it could have been blocked with a chunk of ice or something, or it could just be another peice of junk from GM, or whoever made the part for them. In any case, it's working again now, and hopefully it will keep working for a while. Not having a working heater/defroster fan is a bit of a problem in Canada!
When we finally got to the bowling alley, I was able to determine that yes indeed, the gas-valve on the machine-room furnace is well and truly buggered. Great. There goes another couple hundred bucks. The repairman is coming tomorrow. My only consolation is that their shop is just around the corner from the bowling alley, so I won't have to pay outrageous mileage and labour-fees for him to drive over. The job should be fast too - I can't see it taking more than 45 minutes to swap out that valve.
That bug I have is still around, but to a much lesser degree. My back is still sore, but I seem to have avoided a major sprain or whatever usually lays me out. So perssonally things are better, it's just everything else that sucks right now!