Driveline doctor bill
Ugh... I'd even hate to admit that I can't do much about it, but here's the prognosis for the plinking sound that's been bothering me since my road trip.
I'll give you an idea of how much this is going to set us back, so you can appreciate the value of doing your own work.
First off, the universal joint hardware was wearing out. Both sides, but the worst was in the front. No great surprise, there. That's what was causing the metallic noise underneath, obviously.
Not terribly expensive to get fixed by itself, but the guy said he couldn't let me drive it for safety issues. They are required for liability reasons not to let a car go when it has a problem that could cause an accident. He showed me how much play it had, and it did look bad. I wasn't able to see that for myself, I was busy focusing on the back u-joint, and didn't really look very closely at the front.
So, now that the car was on a lift, I'd seen it for myself. I don't think I'd want the axle to drop down while I'm going down the road. I mean, duh. :P
Second, which is the bigger, more expensive job, the leaking differential seals need to be replaced, yadda yadda, which I knew about. But that's not all. Turns out the rear axle seals are also leaking, putting gear oil on my rear brake shoes. So, the differential seals need to be replaced, the rear bearing seals need to be replaced and repacked with axle grease.
As a result the third job, which is not too expensive, but just adds to the total bill, is the brake shoes need to be replaced, and the rear brake drums cleaned/resurfaced to get all traces of the gear oil off of there, otherwise, another major safety issue.
Since I didn't have enough cash on me, I had to leave the car there, and go back tomorrow after I hit my son up for more money.
Well, we have a deal worked out between us, that he gets my other car when he gets his license, so he doesn't *really* mind. Not really. And this garage was the most recommended place on the peninsula. I'm hoping to add my recommendation as well. I got a ride home from them. I don't know if they give rides to go pick up the car, but I'm hoping so.
Total cost will be about $635.
Once this is done though, the drivetrain shouldn't need any more attention and hopefully the rest of the car won't need anything for a while. Yes, they did say the valve cover gaskets were leaking, but I can do that myself, done it plenty enough times before on other cars, and that's not urgent.
Geez. I know somebody who had a Subaru for only 5 years where the engine has been replaced already. Only 125K on it. Really, out west, that isn't much for mileage. I've rarely had a car with less than 120K on it, and I drove them for years afterward. Other stuff needed attention, but not the engines. Hmm.
I'll give you an idea of how much this is going to set us back, so you can appreciate the value of doing your own work.
First off, the universal joint hardware was wearing out. Both sides, but the worst was in the front. No great surprise, there. That's what was causing the metallic noise underneath, obviously.
Not terribly expensive to get fixed by itself, but the guy said he couldn't let me drive it for safety issues. They are required for liability reasons not to let a car go when it has a problem that could cause an accident. He showed me how much play it had, and it did look bad. I wasn't able to see that for myself, I was busy focusing on the back u-joint, and didn't really look very closely at the front.
So, now that the car was on a lift, I'd seen it for myself. I don't think I'd want the axle to drop down while I'm going down the road. I mean, duh. :P
Second, which is the bigger, more expensive job, the leaking differential seals need to be replaced, yadda yadda, which I knew about. But that's not all. Turns out the rear axle seals are also leaking, putting gear oil on my rear brake shoes. So, the differential seals need to be replaced, the rear bearing seals need to be replaced and repacked with axle grease.
As a result the third job, which is not too expensive, but just adds to the total bill, is the brake shoes need to be replaced, and the rear brake drums cleaned/resurfaced to get all traces of the gear oil off of there, otherwise, another major safety issue.
Since I didn't have enough cash on me, I had to leave the car there, and go back tomorrow after I hit my son up for more money.
Well, we have a deal worked out between us, that he gets my other car when he gets his license, so he doesn't *really* mind. Not really. And this garage was the most recommended place on the peninsula. I'm hoping to add my recommendation as well. I got a ride home from them. I don't know if they give rides to go pick up the car, but I'm hoping so.
Total cost will be about $635.
Once this is done though, the drivetrain shouldn't need any more attention and hopefully the rest of the car won't need anything for a while. Yes, they did say the valve cover gaskets were leaking, but I can do that myself, done it plenty enough times before on other cars, and that's not urgent.
Geez. I know somebody who had a Subaru for only 5 years where the engine has been replaced already. Only 125K on it. Really, out west, that isn't much for mileage. I've rarely had a car with less than 120K on it, and I drove them for years afterward. Other stuff needed attention, but not the engines. Hmm.
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