Since that time, the tires on my passenger side have felt a bit wobbly. You don't see anything when you're moving, but you feel it in the steering wheel as you drive.

I was under the impression that basically it had to do with tire balance so I took my truck in tonight to not just have the tires rebalanced, but get a much-needed oil change.

I made a stop somewhere else before the oil change and, as I was returning to my truck, the setting sun hit just right underneath the carriage and I saw something hanging there so I checked it out as much as I could being in a parking lot.

Some metal strap had come loose. I couldn't tell if the bolt had shaken free or if it had truly broken but it was clearly meant to keep some kind of housing attached to the bottom of my truck. I assumed it was just a bottom cover for the components that make my rear wheels spin (since my truck is rear-wheel drive).

I had the guys at the shop check it out just to determine if the strap was actually broken or if it had just shaken loose and also let me know how pertinent it was to get it taken care of.

After several minutes, they called me back to let me know that it was broken (it had rusted through and snapped in half) and it was VERY pertinent to get it taken care of.

Why? The strap was one of two that hold the gas tank on my trunk. And the second strap was thoroughly rusted as well. One end of my gas tank was sitting much lower than it should as a result of the broken strap. It was just a matter of luck that it hadn't come loose and set my engine on fire. Oh, and when my truck would sit at its lowest, say after hitting a bump, my gas tank was at that time a mere three inches from the ground.

They told me this all the while comforting me by saying, "We don't mean to terrify you." Oh no, I'm not terrified at all.

But with a real car and me inside it and stuff.

I'm going to cry myself to sleep tonight if you don't mind too terribly.