Car troubles

[jay]

Arrgh... I was stranded in an empty parking lot tonight at 1am, waiting for a tow truck. The convertible has a new battery that I installed this morning, but when we came out of the cafe on Winchester, it was dead. I must've been running it down all day long... which makes me suspect the alternator. Sigh. patgreene was with me...

On top of this, the minivan is showing unmistakable signs of needing a new clutch. Plus an engine overhaul. And tires and brakes. After 8 years and 122,000 miles, it may be time to go shopping. Together, my two cars have 23 years and over a quarter million miles between them...

Comments

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Wow, you have a minivan with manual transmission?

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't seen those in the US. I've worn out enough automatics that I recognize the pattern of behavior beforehand... unfortunately, this also means a $2K transmission replacement instead of a $700 clutch repair :-(.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, it didn't occur to me afterwards that automatic transmissions must have some mechanism in them equivalent to a manual clutch.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

I've actually driven a Chrysler minivan with a manual transmission in Europe... it was *very* stiff in something that large and heavy. I kept popping the clutch... roundabouts were my friend, much preferred to signal lights!

[geekchick]

which makes me suspect the alternator.

Does indeed sound like it. I've had to replace mine twice in the 7 years I've owned my car; at least it's a fairly quick repair (you shouldn't be without your car more than a day) and it's not *that* expensive.