(no subject)
OCT 31 2011
ROAD TRIP CONT.
To avoid an excessively long previous post, I have broken this day down to two entries.
It was a bloody nightmare to drive. I have been to Wonderland and rode all the roller coasters, but with those, at least I knew at the end of it all, I would be back, safe and sound. I had a 8km trek to go, with no guarantee that the car (or I) would make it. There were just so many uncertainties.
It must have been a humid day. Or night I should say. We began our trek late at night, no traffic to hold up in case it decides to die. But without A/C, the defroster just made things worse. Half the trip, I just ended up sticking my head out of the window to see ahead. Other problems made themselves apparent as I drove. I shall list them:
-No speedometer
-No horn
-Tires were square (clunk.clunk.clunk.clunk.clunk.)
-Awful (different) clunking in the rear end
-Dreadful WHIIIRRRRR coming from...somewhere
-The inability to exceed ~30km/h due to excessive vibrations shaking the whole car. Don't know how fast it was since I had no speedo, but it was very slow. I just know I never went past 2nd gear.
And driving with only 3 brakes was awful. The 4th starting leaking too, so pedal pressure was a valuable commodity to be used only sparingly. The brake pedal felt more like a suggestion for the car to stop, and it had to be planned ahead of time.
It was a nightmare.
I had pulled over a couple of times during the ride because I kept feeling/hearing things. And I kept thinking "HOLY CRAP A BOLT FELL OUT" or "OMG SOMETHING HAS EXPLODED" and each time I stopped to take a look, things were fine. Surprisingly.
I really, really wish I had a video camera or something to document that trip. I think I was half afraid that I would be documenting a catastrophic failure and would be featured on Failblog or something. Nonetheless, all went well and I arrived at my destination safe and sound.
I must applaud BMW for designing a car that can sit for 10 years and then drive (however poorly) without stalling or exploding.
ROAD TRIP CONT.
To avoid an excessively long previous post, I have broken this day down to two entries.
It was a bloody nightmare to drive. I have been to Wonderland and rode all the roller coasters, but with those, at least I knew at the end of it all, I would be back, safe and sound. I had a 8km trek to go, with no guarantee that the car (or I) would make it. There were just so many uncertainties.
It must have been a humid day. Or night I should say. We began our trek late at night, no traffic to hold up in case it decides to die. But without A/C, the defroster just made things worse. Half the trip, I just ended up sticking my head out of the window to see ahead. Other problems made themselves apparent as I drove. I shall list them:
-No speedometer
-No horn
-Tires were square (clunk.clunk.clunk.clunk.clunk.)
-Awful (different) clunking in the rear end
-Dreadful WHIIIRRRRR coming from...somewhere
-The inability to exceed ~30km/h due to excessive vibrations shaking the whole car. Don't know how fast it was since I had no speedo, but it was very slow. I just know I never went past 2nd gear.
And driving with only 3 brakes was awful. The 4th starting leaking too, so pedal pressure was a valuable commodity to be used only sparingly. The brake pedal felt more like a suggestion for the car to stop, and it had to be planned ahead of time.
It was a nightmare.
I had pulled over a couple of times during the ride because I kept feeling/hearing things. And I kept thinking "HOLY CRAP A BOLT FELL OUT" or "OMG SOMETHING HAS EXPLODED" and each time I stopped to take a look, things were fine. Surprisingly.
I really, really wish I had a video camera or something to document that trip. I think I was half afraid that I would be documenting a catastrophic failure and would be featured on Failblog or something. Nonetheless, all went well and I arrived at my destination safe and sound.
I must applaud BMW for designing a car that can sit for 10 years and then drive (however poorly) without stalling or exploding.