Hi folks,
I ask you all to bow your heads in a moment of silence for my recently
departed TR6 differential. It was a good little diff., always answering
the call, never complaining. It will be missed.
Seriously, I was driving my car home from getting some petrol last evening,
(Thursday) and I noticed a vibration that seemed to be coming from the rear
of the car. My initial reaction was:
@#^&ing #&!!
Translation: Oh, that's interesting.
So, as I tried to nurse the car home, I had to climb a biggish hill. About
2/3 up the hill, the vibration converted to noise. It was a little scary,
because my initial thought was that I had broken an axle, and I was concerned
for the hydraulics etc. and being able pilot the car. It's funny how your
mind can race in times of panic.
Then there was the terminal crunch crunch CLANG! and the car stopped all
forward motion.
Well, I thought, catastrophic failures require the least amount of diagnosis.
So, I knew I could spend little time figuring what was wrong and be able to
dedicate most of the next 5 hours or so fixing the problem.
Oh, and tonite (friday) I am supposed to drive the TR6 some 200 miles to
Manchester, VT for the Hildene and Mt. Equinox events this weekend.
Double #$%!
Well, a quick look confirmed my worst fears, the axles were okay which meant
it had to be the diff. I rolled the car backward down the hill to a parking
lot: roll roll roll clang roll roll roll clang. Yep, it's the diff.
Got to visit with a friend I hadn't seen for a while while I waited for the
tow truck. It's funny how cars can bring people together.
The car was in the garage by 9:15 or so. I called another friend and he came
over around 10 to lend a hand. We had the diff removed and the spare installed
before 1 AM, and I took the car around the block to make sure. Good thing I
happened to have a spare.
So now it's Hildene or bust. George Hayes and Ray Gibbons, see you there! If
there are any other SOLers going to the Hildene Car Show or the Mt. Equinox
Hillclimb this weekend, look me up. I have the red TR6 with the silver
stripe down the side. Say "Hi" and look at my newly installed diff!
Yikes,
rml
p.s. I _MUST_ stop doing big jobs on the car prior to long trips, planned
or otherwise!
p.p.s. Recap for car problems this week: Clutch slave rebuild, new exhaust
system from exhaust manifold to tail pipes, differential. If you exclude the
time factor it still comes out to around one monthly payment for an "average"
new car. Amazing. Now, if I could just convince my SO about the advantages...
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Bob Lang Room 11-221 | This space for rent.
Consultant MIT Computer Services |
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