(no subject)
Bad news: my car broke down and died on the way to work.
Good news: I got it out of the way with no hassle, to a garage, and they replaced a sensor.
Bad news: I started getting piston misfire errors.
Good news: I took it back to the garage, they were unable to get it to duplicate.
Bad news: They found an exorbitant amount of other work they would recommend, which I declined.
Bad news: On the way home that day, I got SERIOUS piston misfire errors.
Good news: A local mechanic replaced the spark plugs and wires for a more reasonable price.
Good news: I stopped getting piston misfire errors.
Bad news: For two days.
Bad news: My father is irritated that he didn't have the mechanic do the distributor cap and rotor while he had the engine opened up.
Good news: The mechanic did that today. I bummed a ride to and from work from my father; he's retired, so he could spare the time.
Bad news: The mechanic had counted on being able to reuse a manifold gasket and couldn't, so it's not finished.
...News: While the cap and rotor were old and used, they weren't in terrible condition, and the mechanic has seen nothing else that looks suspect. If this doesn't resolve my problems, I SHOULD be able to get by for a while. I know people who drive old cars with pistons that completely don't fire, and run the engine into the ground. Since nothing looks supremely like it's going to catastrophically fail and leave me stranded, I probably can get away with driving it even if the errors persist, and just get my finances in order for a few months before shopping for another car. (Though if I do have to emergency-shop for a car, I do have one option that's looking mighty attractive.) I PROBABLY can get away with it. Though winter's in a couple of months...
Good news: I got it out of the way with no hassle, to a garage, and they replaced a sensor.
Bad news: I started getting piston misfire errors.
Good news: I took it back to the garage, they were unable to get it to duplicate.
Bad news: They found an exorbitant amount of other work they would recommend, which I declined.
Bad news: On the way home that day, I got SERIOUS piston misfire errors.
Good news: A local mechanic replaced the spark plugs and wires for a more reasonable price.
Good news: I stopped getting piston misfire errors.
Bad news: For two days.
Bad news: My father is irritated that he didn't have the mechanic do the distributor cap and rotor while he had the engine opened up.
Good news: The mechanic did that today. I bummed a ride to and from work from my father; he's retired, so he could spare the time.
Bad news: The mechanic had counted on being able to reuse a manifold gasket and couldn't, so it's not finished.
...News: While the cap and rotor were old and used, they weren't in terrible condition, and the mechanic has seen nothing else that looks suspect. If this doesn't resolve my problems, I SHOULD be able to get by for a while. I know people who drive old cars with pistons that completely don't fire, and run the engine into the ground. Since nothing looks supremely like it's going to catastrophically fail and leave me stranded, I probably can get away with driving it even if the errors persist, and just get my finances in order for a few months before shopping for another car. (Though if I do have to emergency-shop for a car, I do have one option that's looking mighty attractive.) I PROBABLY can get away with it. Though winter's in a couple of months...