Damn that 4x4

Been laid up a bit since early April due to arm surgery and had my (left) arm in a splint until a couple of weeks ago. So no driving a manual.Well tonight after I got home from work I decided I'm going to fire up the 4runner and take it for a spin since the arm feels good.Well, what a saga.

1. Needed to top up the oil - no biggie. Needs a change soon though.

2. WTF - flat battery. So press the booster button and hey presto, nothing. So down the driveway in reverse we go - roll starts with 2 metres to go before the road.

3. Something under the bonnet is squealing like a pig, dash lights are all on and something under the car rattling like a, er, um, thing that rattles a lot. Kind of like a busted transfer case output shaft cover.

4. Well, the squeal turned out to be a stuck alternator pulley. Opened the bonnet and was greeted with some rancid smoke. New belts the order of the day now. Underneath, the rattle was from a broken transfer case output shaft cover (bracket). What a guess I thought to myself.

5. So free up the pulley and the dash lights go off. Remove the cover and the broken part of the bracket. Gives me something to fix during lunch tomorrow.

Just needed to get all that off my chest. I need a beer. Seriously though, any dramas associated with not putting the cover back on? I notice there isn't one on any of the other uni joints.