Mileage Since Last Mishap (MSLM)

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mis.hap
1 : an unfortunate accident
2 : bad luck : MISFORTUNE
synonym see MISFORTUNE

Mileage since last mishap refers to how long it's been (in miles) since something broke or otherwise caused my truck to be laid up for an extended period of time. Basically the mishap could be anything that comes on suddenly and isn't quickly fixable. A flat tire wouldn't be much of a mishap, but if the wheel was destroyed because of it then it could be a major mishap.

Mishaps happen to all cars--even a new car will eventually need repairs. When you tinker with an old car and change engines, transmissions, suspensions, etc you can expect frequent mishaps for a while. How long between mishaps and the severity of mishaps, when they do occur, is anybody's guess. It seems a good practical measure of the overall health of the vehicle.

Here are some examples of my major mishaps in the last 7 years since I installed the 351:

July, 1996: Motor mount broke causing fan to embed in radiator. This was the first mishap and it happened in the first 15 miles. Truck was laid up for about a week while I had the radiator recored.

July, 1998: Bearing falls out of the transmission tailshaft on the freeway causing many sparks and much ATF loss. Truck was laid up for 9 months until I got around to fixing it. MSLM was about 50.

December, 1999: Clog in gas tank starves carb, making truck undrivable. Truck was unreliable for 4 months until I got around to diagnosing and fixing the problem. MSLM was around 50.

September, 2000: Now driven daily. The battery died, putting the truck out of commission for 2 days while I got a new battery and voltage regulator (which turned out to be the real reason the battery died). MSLM was about 115.

September, 2002: Near-accident on the way to work. Long story to follow.

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