"When it rains, it pours. Or, the trials of a shade tree cheapskate."

Joined
Apr 1, 2020
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Pacific Northwest
What a couple of weeks it's been for me and my fleet of over the hill rigs. I'm running out of cars, as they've all decided to break at the same time. Week before last the clutch disk in my Nissan Sentra decided to finish coming apart. I've been babying it along for last couple of years and it finally decided to let loose. Last week, the 6r80 in the wife's Expedition threw some codes and started having delayed engagement in first and reverse. Pretty sure it's a valve body seal issue as there is a TSB. Today, the front pump seal in the E40D in my old F250 sprang a huge leak on the way home. My daughter's Jeep has been waiting for my lazy self to fix the transfer case and a leaking rear axle seal for months. So now we are down to my son's Buick, lovingly referred to as Ethel, 'cause its a "grandma car".

I gotta hurry up and get some cars fixed before Ethel kicks the bucket or we're going to be walking. :)

Still waiting on a flywheel for the Nissan, my transmission guy is still two weeks out on looking at the Expedition, and it's just way, way too dang hot to work on cars. For a New York second I even thought about shopping for a new car when I saw that puddle of transmission fluid under my truck.

Sweating in Seattle
 
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Blame yourself.
What's with sending the Nissan flywheel out? Show some gumption, de-glaze with some 120 wet/dry, flywheel & the pressure plate.
Toss a RockA disc in there (keep it under $23. - the shipping) & motor on! You lazy maint. deferrer.
edit: I take it back, RA's discs go for $27.79, lowest cost. Use Pik n' Pull in Lynnwood, $17.99 + .99 core charge. (used, natch) Get to it. : ) it's only 86 tomorrow.
 
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Cheapskate? I prefer the term "getting value for my money" ;)

 
Blame yourself.
What's with sending the Nissan flywheel out? Show some gumption, de-glaze with some 120 wet/dry, flywheel & the pressure plate.
Toss a RockA disc in there (keep it under $23. - the shipping) & motor on! You lazy maint. deferrer.
edit: I take it back, RA's discs go for $27.79, lowest cost. Use Pik n' Pull in Lynnwood, $17.99 + .99 core charge. (used, natch) Get to it. : ) it's only 86 tomorrow.
LOL, I found I really needed new motor mounts so I shelled out for a new flywheel since it was ridiculously cheap on RockAutoBay. Had I known, I would have slapped it back together with the existing flywheel and mounts.
 
There’s two sides to every coin. I know people that fix EVERYTHING...like, if it’s even starting to show wear? Replaced, instantly. Oil changes every 3,000 miles using synthetic. Tranny service every year, diffs every year, brake jobs way before they’re worn. And I guess all this^^^is good, but it does cost you.

And then I know people that do NOTHING until the car physically stops moving or the noise is so loud they can hear it over the radio. I know a guy who blew apart his front diff on a Ford Edge. His first thought was to disconnect the driveshaft. His first thought should have been to change the fluid a 100,000 miles ago. And this guy also owns an Audi...the thing leaks oil everywhere - his solution is to put diapers and piggy mats under the engine (resting on top of the lower plastic shield). I’m serious. He’s got oil soaked diapers and rags catching his oil leaks. I’ll ask him...have you ever changed the tranny fluid or coolant on something? And he’ll say, no why?

I try to stay proactive, I like maintaining the vehicle and keeping up on all fluids, filters, etc. I’ll let stuff go sometimes but I’ll pick and choose. I’m pretty good with tires because I just can’t stand the unstable feeling when it rains or snows. Brakes I’ll let it get down bellow halfway. I’ve let a wheel bearing go for a while. I’ve driven with a few worn tie rods and ball joints, but I’ll get them fixed. I’ll try to fix leaks eventually (if it’s not major). I mean, I’ll get to the stuff, but I’m not out to win any medals.
 
Can only say this. The clutch wasn't going to fix itself. By babying it for years you set yourself up for having to change it on it's terms and not yours. But I do understand the hesitancy in wanting to start such a job. Same with the Jeep.

I have one car, I shedule repairs in when I have a few days off work. Not 1 day, sometimes you run into extra trouble and I need a running car to get to work...
 
I haven't done a clutch job in over 35 years. But I remember it well. After getting it done in record time for me, on the ground with the front axle on jack stands. Everything went great ,or so I thought. When I was done the clutch would grab 1/4 of an inch off the floor. The more you drove and the hotter it got, you could hardly stop it. There's was minimal adjustment that could be done to correct the problem. My friends garage owning father said, every time you do a clutch, either cut or replace the flywheel. So reluctantly I jacked it up and redid the whole job. Had the flywheel cut and I guess it removed the high spots, and after putting it back together it worked perfectly.,,
 
I tried to make the multiple older vehicles thing work. I'm good on upkeep so I don't have to worry about lingering problems coming to a head all at once. However, what drove me to get the Subaru ...

First, the unibody/frame in the Cherokee broke. I could turn right, but not left. I had some time scheduled at a friend's fabrication shop but that was a few months out. No biggie, I still had to others! Then something happened and took the truck out of service. Okay, no biggie, still have the Focus! Then something happened to that and the clutch didn't want to release at all if there was any load on the car. Unfortunately the Focus wasn't the easiest thing to work on so I wasn't going to take on that as I was in the middle of some major projects at home and switching jobs.
 
The Navigator is like this. Buy the car, have a flawless 1000 mile road trip.

Then things start breaking. 6r80 transmission starts leaking from the sleeve where the PCM plugs in, leaves multiple messes in the driveway. Pull off the pan, supposed to be reusable, and the pan gasket rubber is separated, run to Ford dealer for new pan gasket. Replace PCM sleeve, get MIL, which it turns out I have misinterpreted, everything is ok. Get the thing all back together after 6 hours on my back on the garage floor and a heater hose blows on the test drive. Wife's not home, so I ride my upright bike to the parts store and buy a Dorman heater hose. Have a precarious ride back to the house juggling a gallon of antifreeze and a heater hose. Put everything back together, working OK for now.

I suppose the good news out of all that was that the transmission fluid came out nice and pink. Perhaps it was actually maintained, that would be a plus.

Fast forward a few months. Take the dash apart to fix the clicking blend door actuators now that it's summer again, rewarded with a MIL for the Advancetrac system. Brakes work fine. Bought pads and rotors, waiting for install, although I don't think that will fix the MIL light, nevertheless, if I take it in to be looked at, I don't want them nagging me about the pads and rotors.

Downloaded Forscan and purchased the fancy cable they recommend so I can interface with the PCM. Haven't tried it yet, but maybe I can avoid a shop trip if I can get some more information about the MIL.

Needs timing job I think, getting some noise at startup, and you can hear clicking at the drive through. Put in 10w40, noise seems quelled, for now. Have new guides, chains and Melling high volume oil pump, saving pennies to buy phasers, solenoids and roller followers to complete the job.

Additional connundrum: I have a 2 year extended warranty on this vehicle, but it has a high deductible. I could probably flog the engine on 5w20 until the timing is truly FUBAR and then have the warranty get me a new long block, but this engine runs good and doesn't burn a drop of oil, so I'd rather do the work on it, even if it costs me more out of pocket. On the other side, I regret not taking it in under warranty to get the blend door actuators fixed, because that was truly a PITA. The book procedure is to take the dash completely apart for this work and I tried not to go this route, and regretted it.

Even though my vehicle is much more comfortable for me as I'm 6'7", decided to take the wife's Mitsubishi to Florida instead of my Navigator, just not feeling that confident we will not be Found On Road Dead. Also, her car will probably get twice the gas mileage that mine would, so there's that as well.
 
Cheap? I call it financial literacy. **** happens, do what you need to do and get it done. All the best and I hope it all goes well without more issues.
 
Just checked the tracking on my flywheel and parts... It originated in South Carolina, was in Idaho 2 days ago and now it's back in Tennessee (I'm on the west coast), LOL! Some poor guy was probably sorting packages in a 120 degree trailer and threw it on the wrong slider. Oh, well. It's still too hot to work on cars anyway.
 
Just checked the tracking on my flywheel and parts... It originated in South Carolina, was in Idaho 2 days ago and now it's back in Tennessee (I'm on the west coast), LOL! Some poor guy was probably sorting packages in a 120 degree trailer and threw it on the wrong slider. Oh, well. It's still too hot to work on cars anyway.
Yeah it was way too hot to work on anything. I live in the Poulsbo area, but was headed to Pacfic City Oregon to camp. Lost a wheel bearing on the trailer on route 6 on the way to Tillamook. It was 92, not real fun changing it in the heat on the side of the road.
 
I'm about the same. We've got 4 vehicles and my oldest kid hit 16 last year so we're down to one extra, which ... is an Expedition that definitely needs a timing job! Startup rattle sounds like someone running down the driveway dragging a shovel and phaser tick that would scare an uninformed person out of their britches.
 
Well... Ethel just kicked the bucket - she suddenly lost all gears today when my son was driving it. He said something seemed to let loose when he was giving her "a little gas." I suspect the infamous 4T65E input shaft or the main pump. No codes. Luckily it was just around the corner and I was able to tow him home. Luckily, she held out until everything else was back on the road.
 
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