She's dead, Jim: Ole Blue is gonzo

[PropellerHead]

Well, boys, I got the news today from the mechanic kid I sold Ole Blue, my '04 4.8is:

The TQ converter went bad and exploded in glorious fashion. Sent parts throughout, including through the (leaking) rear main seal. Grenade'd both the transmission AND the motor all at once. Even the kid doesn't see an out for the chassis. And that's too bad.. nice air shox, rebuilt compressor, Turner solid core bits..

Goodbye old friend. The end of an era I was hopeful would sustain another generation of family road trips. Sad to see 'er go. And also: If I'm being honest- I feel badly. I mean.. I didn't ask for a lot of $, but I sure thought that all he needed was to fix seals and a leak at the rear main.. I sure didn't expect it would just shit the bed altogether.

I gave him some parts from the F25 N55 rework we're doing for his N55.. but still.. I dunno.. hard not to feel guilty when the bullet I dodged took out my buddy.