Oorgo

Chug chug chug die

Well it has been an interesting holiday season so far, we've gone from anticipation of gifts and all that's Christmas-ish, to happiness and joy at recieving cool or needed things, to swearing and yelling and wanting to blow things up.

The last day of work before Christmas I was driving around and around and around town doing various things, all the time hoping my car wouldn't act up, as it has wont to do when the tranny gets overworked. Sure enough about 10 blocks from home, car full of Wendys and Tim Hortons food and drink, and with Xavier in the back sleeping, the thing chugs to a halt in the left hand turning lane. Usually I can turn it back on, put it in neutral, rev it a bit, or toss it in 2nd and it will get going again. Not today. Today it says "Screw you f@$#er!" whenever I attempt to put it in gear, and thereafter dies.

I pull out the phone to call AMA, all the while being flabbergasted at the amount of people pulling in behind me (I'm in the beginning of the turning lane with my fourway flashers flashing). One effer even honked! Christmas brings out the best in people doesn't it? Anyways I get AMA on the line and after a bit they schedule someone to come pick me and the car up. After a few minutes of eating fries and drinking Coke and listening to Xavier be whiny and full of anxious questions about the car I decide to try it again. Turn key, cautiously put in 2nd and away we go. AMA lady calls me back I said no worries, thanks but don't bother. WHEW.

Later friday night I was talking to my brother-in-law and he suggested it's a commonplace problem in GM vehicles after they're 10 or so years old. It's called a TCC something or other, and it gets dirty, but what you can do is unplug it right at the transmission and it will work fine until I can get it fixed. I highly doubt I'll get it fixed, it apparently takes about 3 hours of work, and at $85 an hour... no. I unplugged it, and the car is running fine like this, on highway trips I'll plug it back in because it definitely will affect my gas mileage at higher speeds. I noticed an extra 500 rpm at 100 km/h, and since I usually travel at 120 km/h on trips that would eat into my pocketbook a little too much.

Posted by Oorgo at December 28, 2005 03:15 PM Permalink - Category: Things | TrackBack