Sticky Wicket

[berettabone]

The wifey comes in the house last night and says that something bad is happening. Of course, I fly off the couch thinking the worst............................ The car is pucking fluid all over the road, driveway, garage, etc. It's always worse when the temps are in the single digits. Not when you want to be fooling with a car. I did a bit of digging around and discovered that one of the transmission lines going to the radiator was no longer attached. Since it's a threaded thing, I am assuming that it probably rusted off somewhere. Waiting for the tow truck. I'll give a shout out to AAA. Been using them for years and they've saved our bacon a few times. Worth every penny. The car has 160,000 mi. on it, and we've done pretty much everything to it. Might be time to start looking for a vehicle, and I don't really want to at this time. Prices are up 30%........................I haven't looked at the carnage on the garage floor yet.:mad:

[Armybrat]

My old 1974 MGB roadster leaked enough oil on the garage floor over several years that I could probably lease the drilling rights to Exxon.

But yeah, dead of winter is no fun to mess with car trouble inside or out.

[DavidR]

While it may not be a great time to buy a car I don’t see it getting better. Inflation, chip shortages, other supply chain issues and the move to electric vehicles mean prices for internal combustion engine vehicles aren’t coming down.

[BirdsThaWord]

Those tranny lines are usually pretty easy to replace. Runs from the radiator to the tranny. You can usually pick one up, pre bent to the exact shape, at your local auto parts store. Just gotta add back the fluid when done. I would not kick a car to the curb over that, more so considering your point about current car prices.

[yqtszhj]

Hey Bbone, what kind of car is it? Is it an older model? I’m like you I usually do all my own repairs too. We had 1993 GMC van we sold years ago with 100k on it and the wife saw it still on the road 200 miles away just last year being driven by some Mexican contractors. Knew it was our old van because it still had my “custom” paint job and back door opening device on it. Those older American vehicles would run forever and parts are “cheap”. I drive all Toyota’s now (a 2006 tundra and 2012 4Runner) and parts are more expensive but less maintenance required but I think even the new Toyota’s don’t last like the old ones. I figure I’ll have to buy one more vehicle some day before I kick the bucket and as of now it would be a 4x4 4Runner. Of course I retired last year so $$$ would be more of a consideration now.

Side note, retirement is awesome.

[berettabone]

It's a 2008 Accord. We've had it since new and it's been a good car for us. We'd really like to find a small truck but so does everyone else. We also have a 2014 Legacy. We've had that since new also. Great car for the weather up here. Kind of been babying it. It only has 33,000 miles on it. We figured it would be our last car but now I don't know for sure. Had the Accord towed in yesterday. There is a plastic tank attached to the radiator that is the cooling tank for the tranny fluid. It separated from the radiator and the tranny hose came loose (it let me say tranny?) from an aluminum fitting. Mechanic said that it's a typical thing to happen. The hose connection eventually works its way loose from vibration and road salt, rocks etc. The plastic tank eventually separates and there is no fixing that. Have to wait a week for the repair. He tried sourcing a radiator up here but no go. Closest one was in Iowa. Between the chip thing and parts, it's becoming a real PIA for some. We're fortunate that the repair shop is about a minute away. They have auto shops in the middle of nowhere up here. Real easy tow for the tow driver....................Retirement IS awesome. Car repairs and $$$$$ not so much.................

[yqtszhj]

2008 accord is a good one. Might be cheaper to keep her.

Gave my daughter a 2004 Camry a few years ago that I bought used back in 2010 with 100k on it. She drove for a few years then traded it on a 2012 Tacoma. Sometimes I wish I still had that Camry but at the time I didn’t have the need or the space. That car was easy to work on.

[skiflydive]

My old 1974 MGB roadster leaked enough oil on the garage floor over several years that I could probably lease the drilling rights to Exxon. Having wrenched on little British cars for about 50 years (currently a '72 Mini) I can tell you precisely why your MGB leaked. It's because it was a Little British Car. You never let the smoke out of the electricals did you?

[berettabone]

2008 accord is a good one. Might be cheaper to keep her.

Gave my daughter a 2004 Camry a few years ago that I bought used back in 2010 with 100k on it. She drove for a few years then traded it on a 2012 Tacoma. Sometimes I wish I still had that Camry but at the time I didnÂ’t have the need or the space. That car was easy to work on. I started buying Japanese cars back in 2000 when I bought a new Accord. Always had people yelling at me, "buy American". At that time, you could purchase an American model equivalent auto, but it would cost more, not have half the options, and wouldn't handle nearly as well. From someone who worked at foreign car places, the American cars have always lagged behind as far as suspensions go. Both Honda and Toyota have had their hiccups, but for the most part, make a pretty good automobile. My current basket case Accord has had in its life, a few coolant changes, 1 tranny service, oil changes every 3000 miles or so, completely new brakes twice, new tires 4 times, and been in one accident. It also had the timing chain and water pump replaced along with belts and hoses. The turn signal lever stopped functioning which caused having the whole steering column replaced. It was under warranty, but they must have thought it was cheaper than having someone disassemble the column to fix the innards. I had a recall for the rear brake pads which I guess were crumbling/chipping. I remember there was a class action lawsuit against Honda. It was settled in court, and the people accepted $ 110.00 towards replacement pads. If you read the fine print, the $110 was only to be used for brake pads. Not rotors, calipers, springs, clips etc. I went and had them fixed myself and told them to stick the $110 express. People that did not understand were putting new brake pads on with messed up rotors because of the previous pads. It either ended up costing them way more than the $110 they could have gotten to fix the brakes correctly, or they just let it go and couldn't figure out why there was pulsating in their brake pedal and squeaking and grinding. I don't know who the attorneys were in this case for the people, but they should have been dismissed...........I had an airbag recall on the passenger side. So, I figure all in all for a 14-year-old car, it hasn't been too bad. It's always been a nice car to drive. One thing I have figured out. All of the car companies have many more problems/issues than the general public are made aware of. In many cases the general public ends up paying for the repair issues out of pocket when in reality there should have been a recall issued for these instances. The auto co's are aware of most of these issues but if no one investigates or sues, they just keep letting the consumer pay for their mistakes.

[mr surveyor]

I'm still hanging on to a 2003 Nissan 4 door, 4X4 pick up bought new for a work truck. Started the Nissan p/u thing in 1983 when my 18 month old "1981-1/2 Model" Ford Ranger (still under warranty) just began to disintegrate - and the various Ford dealerships couldn't seem to make it right. I think I paid off the 2003 model in 2008 and made it up to 2012 when it was needing necessary mechanical repairs. I can remember valve cover gaskets, timing belt, rear main seal, water pump (several others along the way), but I guess I've been lucky. Counting tires, oil and repair bill over the years, It's probably cost only $100 a month to keep it going. Since it's an "outside truck", the paint is either nearly gone or faded, tailgate latch mechanism is broke, driver's door latch is getting "iffy", driver's seat has a couple of worn spots ... and probably a whole lot of other things I just totally ignore - I'm still planning to limp it along. Last year I took it in to get it's annual vehicle inspection and after 30 minutes a guy told me he couldn't give it a passing grade because the idiotic "cab mounted" brake light was no longer bright enough to pass the test. I asked him about their shop either replacing the bulbs or the entire light itself and he said there was no source for that part unless I found one at a salvage yard, Ppfftttt ... next day I went to another shop and in 15 minutes I drove away with the "O.K. paper" that I needed. I'm just not sure how many years I can limp "Old Red" along now.

jd

[Bawanna]

I'm still riding a 2000 F word full size van I bought used in around 2010 maybe. Had like 50 or 60,000 when I bought it. Now has 155,000. Had the tranny rebuilt once and some bearings in the rear differential, but other than that just goes and goes.
Now the equipment, lift, power seat and power doors, they have aggravated me a few times but at the moment everything seems good to go. I did notice yesterday the lift was going up a little slow so hope it was just a mood swing.

I have a 97 Chevy pickup that I can drive. All three kids drove it through high school, now it's just dump runs and load of hay once in awhile. I rarely drive it, wife does the dump and hay thing.
She has a 2014 Mustang I begged her not to buy as she had a nice 2005 which was much nicer but she insisted and so far it hasn't given any grief. Now we inherited my mom's Toyota Rav and in the winter months wife generally drives it around. Don't recall what year it is, around 2008 maybe give or take.

I don't go to town much, haven't been to the gas station in my gas guzzler van in over a month which is fine with me, I like staying home. Things will change soon, trying to get the lawn mower started and there will be gas can's to fill. 3 weeks ago a foot of snow and today, grass needs mowing. .......

[yqtszhj]

I'm still riding a 2000 F word full size van I bought used in around 2010 maybe. Had like 50 or 60,000 when I bought it. Now has 155,000. Had the tranny rebuilt once and some bearings in the rear differential, but other than that just goes and goes.
Now the equipment, lift, power seat and power doors, they have aggravated me a few times but at the moment everything seems good to go. I did notice yesterday the lift was going up a little slow so hope it was just a mood swing.

I have a 97 Chevy pickup that I can drive. All three kids drove it through high school, now it's just dump runs and load of hay once in awhile. I rarely drive it, wife does the dump and hay thing.
She has a 2014 Mustang I begged her not to buy as she had a nice 2005 which was much nicer but she insisted and so far it hasn't given any grief. Now we inherited my mom's Toyota Rav and in the winter months wife generally drives it around. Don't recall what year it is, around 2008 maybe give or take.

I don't go to town much, haven't been to the gas station in my gas guzzler van in over a month which is fine with me, I like staying home. Things will change soon, trying to get the lawn mower started and there will be gas can's to fill. 3 weeks ago a foot of snow and today, grass needs mowing. .......

If that Toyota has the 4 cylinder engine in it that’s a keeper. Keep coolant and oil in it and it will run forever. They do need valve cover gaskets replaced every 10-12 years though usually. That was the engine in the Camry my daughter traded in.