A bad financial day in rural Indiana

[hoosier]

Do you know a mechanic that does work on the side? Really sorry to hear about your transmission. I drive a '93 S-10, so am just waiting. . . I can't complain, though. It stopped dead on me a couple of months ago, but it turned out to be a battery cable that had corroded. It was under a cover so you couldn't see it was bad. Other than that, I have only replaced a belt.

 

[Boogity]

It's an '07 Toyota Carolla 1.8L with 47k miles. DW received a call from a friend in her Bible study group last night and she said her husband would take a look at it tomorrow night. He used to be a mechanic at a Toyota dealer in Indy. and is retired. He works out of his barn part time nowadays. We have plans to meet them at 6:30 tomorrow at their house. I'll be a hick-town bartering negotiator extraordinaire.

 

[FarmerChick]

funny post but you go for it....batering maniac.....a retired toyota mechanic...you stepped in the right stuff :bun

 

[SKR8PN]

Boogity......WTH transmission part are they calling a "slip shaft"? Did they maybe say "half-shaft"?

Just for the heck of it, tell me a little bit more about this "noise" your hearing. Does it do it while the car is setting still, or do you have to have it moving?
Is the transmission slipping? Did you check the fluid level and condition?? Reason I am asking is......With that low mileage, I find it very hard to believe the transmission would need rebuilt.........

 

[Boogity]

Scraper-man, the guy called it a broken slipshaft. I'm pretty sure I heard him correctly. I know what the half shafts are and I know what the CV joints are. The sound is like a dry ball bearing, not a squeak, not growl. More like a grinding noise with a definite feel to it in the steering wheel and under foot. It only makes this sound when in motion and the sound does not increase with engine RPM unless the vehicle speed increases with it. The noise/feeling is not loud but it does get a little louder under acceleration force. Also I noticed that it does not make the noise in reverse - at least I cannot hear it.

I'll call the mechanic tomorrow to verify the "slipshaft" word. I've never heard of it either.

 

[Boogity]

After our little get-together last night it has been determined that a closer look is needed. Jeff, the retired Toyota mechanic (who is much older than I expected) drove the car, lifted the front end, listened and he even used a stethoscope to listen to certain areas inside the tranny. We tinkered with it for over an hour with no real diagnosis. Jeff wants to dig into it on Friday or Saturday to make a real diagnosis.

We agreed that I would plow up a new 100 ft. x 150 ft. vegetable garden area and run a rototiller in that same area. I will also run the rototiller in his existing garden after he pulls the plants later this fall. Now I gotta get out back and weld a broken part on the three point hitch on the tiller. It's something that I have been putting off all summer. We also discussed how I could pay for the actual repair work if he thinks he can fix it. He just winked at me and said we would work something out. I'm not the kind of guy who will get deep into this repair job without an agreement first so we'll see.

I called the original mechanic yesterday morning to find out what he called a slip-shaft and had to leave a message as he is at a training seminar or convention or something thru Thursday. Jeff said that slip-shaft may be his name for a short machined and polished rod upon which a selector slides on. He had never heard it called by that name. Jeff did say, however, that if the selector rod is broken or otherwise damaged that the transmission may not go completely into the proper gear automatically.

 

[Boogity]

Update: 9/29/2011

We got the car back last Thursday and it's like new. Jeff, the volunteer mechanic, dug into the engine/transmission as promised and showed me a small piece of internal linkage that was keeping the tranny from shifting all the way. A small chunk of the casting had chipped off the linkage arm. We had to wait a few days for the new part to arrive and Jeff installed it as soon as we got it.

Now here's the really cool part. On Monday and Tuesday of this week I tilled up some of his field to make a new garden and repaired two livestock gates for him. These things were, to me, just to repay him for his investigation into the transmission problem. Tuesday during a conversation with him he said that we are "even Steven" and that I did not owe him any more work. I told him that I still want to install the new steel roofing he has for his open air tool shed. I think I owe him this roofing work.

I'm so glad we were able to get this particular car repaired because DW can slip her wheelchair in the back floor area and hobble around and get into the driver's seat all by herself. She loves that feeling of independence.

All's well that ends well.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Glad to hear it worked out!

 

[Marianne]

 

[Bimpnottin]

Yeah!!!!!!!!!