| #1 |
Good morning and afternoon to all...
I have had an exciting week with my TC.
It all started with the oil leak...
I put the TC on the street because of a mysterious oil leak that appeared and put out a quart of oil a minute, it seemed. All of my DMV fees are paid and everything is good.
Until the call...
"There's a Sheriff car following a flat bed with your car on it down the road. You should call the Sheriff's Department!".
I'm 35 miles away in Bakersfield when I get the call, on my way to pick up my wife. I immediately call the Sheriff and the Deputy calls me back. She says:
"Normally I won't tow a car if it's "registration in progress, but it's been sitting out here too long."
Wow- it hasn't been "long" in my understanding of the word "long", but no use arguing my case with the Deputy. I simply ask her what I can do to get it back tonight. She tells me to go to the substation (which I live next door to) and have a certain Sergeant sign a 'release' and I can get it. She advises me to hurry.
I leave all behind (except for my wife, which I HAD to pick up) and was back in McFarland in around 30 minutes. I went to the substation and it was locked- all lights off. I call the substation and nobody answers. I called the main headquarters in Bakersfield and am told, very simply, that no Sergeant will be on duty until Monday.
A Sergeant should be on duty in Bakersfield, right? Well, yes, but a Sergeant from McFarland has to sign for it.
She sat in the tow yard all weekend.
I went to the substation on Monday at exactly 8AM to get my "release". Nobody there. I wait until 9:15 when someone arrives. They promptly send me to the DMV to get a moving permit. I go to the DMV, get my moving permit in exactly 2 minutes and am back at the substation. They tried to charge me $250 for the relase, but I told them that I would have to speak with the Sergeant first. The lady came out with my release and apologized.
The tow yard was a place where I could have easily snapped and been transported to the nearest jail, but fortunately my wife was there. I had to keep her from hurting someone, so that kept me sane.
To the tune of $419. Would have been $149 on Friday night.
Paid the man, mumbled 'highway robbery', subdued my wife and dragged her out to the TC. I look it over. They obviously tried to pry their way in through the driver's side door, but they didn't damage it to any real point. I just wanted the hell out of there, so I get in and turn the key. "CLICK". Once again- "CLICK/BANG". What the heck!!!!! The car has never had a problem starting!!
I get a 12V Jumper from the man who just took my paycheck (I figured it was the least he could do, since I can no longer afford a cup of coffee) and hooked it up, thinking that they had drained my battery when they tried to get the door open. Nothing. A little hispanic guy came out and tried to get it started. He pried on the starter, pulled on it, hit it with a hammer, jumpered the solenoid and grabbed a torque wrench and tried to turn the crankshaft pulley. "Motor No Good" he says.
I pushed the car about 50 miles out of this place and waited for reinforcements to arrive with tools. Once I had them, I walked to the parts store and bought a jack stand (20 dollars). Took all the bolts out of the starter and pried it out with a bar. I turned the starter over with the ignition, re-installed it and it fired right up. Missed one full day of work.
I've now got it parked in front of my house and the Sheriff's department with a DMV-issued "Thank you" sticker in the window.
Anyways, this was a rant. If you took the time to read this, I apologize. I'm sorry for wasting half of your day.
Revised list of things needing repair urgently:
Oil leak (seal bottom side of dipstick tube with RTV)
Finish wiring job for main fan
Replace ABS Accumulator
Bleed brakes (only getting air from front)
Replace A/C Clutch
Recharge A/C System
Fix Transmission Shifter (won't go into park??)
Repair/Replace driver's seat (leans back to the right)
Replace taillights (outer shells are cracked and shattered)
Get windshield wipers to park
Then comes all of the stuff for restoration that is 'non-essential'.
I'm dedicated to this car. I think that I proved it this weekend!!
I have had an exciting week with my TC.
It all started with the oil leak...
I put the TC on the street because of a mysterious oil leak that appeared and put out a quart of oil a minute, it seemed. All of my DMV fees are paid and everything is good.
Until the call...
"There's a Sheriff car following a flat bed with your car on it down the road. You should call the Sheriff's Department!".
I'm 35 miles away in Bakersfield when I get the call, on my way to pick up my wife. I immediately call the Sheriff and the Deputy calls me back. She says:
"Normally I won't tow a car if it's "registration in progress, but it's been sitting out here too long."
Wow- it hasn't been "long" in my understanding of the word "long", but no use arguing my case with the Deputy. I simply ask her what I can do to get it back tonight. She tells me to go to the substation (which I live next door to) and have a certain Sergeant sign a 'release' and I can get it. She advises me to hurry.
I leave all behind (except for my wife, which I HAD to pick up) and was back in McFarland in around 30 minutes. I went to the substation and it was locked- all lights off. I call the substation and nobody answers. I called the main headquarters in Bakersfield and am told, very simply, that no Sergeant will be on duty until Monday.
A Sergeant should be on duty in Bakersfield, right? Well, yes, but a Sergeant from McFarland has to sign for it.
She sat in the tow yard all weekend.
I went to the substation on Monday at exactly 8AM to get my "release". Nobody there. I wait until 9:15 when someone arrives. They promptly send me to the DMV to get a moving permit. I go to the DMV, get my moving permit in exactly 2 minutes and am back at the substation. They tried to charge me $250 for the relase, but I told them that I would have to speak with the Sergeant first. The lady came out with my release and apologized.
The tow yard was a place where I could have easily snapped and been transported to the nearest jail, but fortunately my wife was there. I had to keep her from hurting someone, so that kept me sane.
To the tune of $419. Would have been $149 on Friday night.
Paid the man, mumbled 'highway robbery', subdued my wife and dragged her out to the TC. I look it over. They obviously tried to pry their way in through the driver's side door, but they didn't damage it to any real point. I just wanted the hell out of there, so I get in and turn the key. "CLICK". Once again- "CLICK/BANG". What the heck!!!!! The car has never had a problem starting!!
I get a 12V Jumper from the man who just took my paycheck (I figured it was the least he could do, since I can no longer afford a cup of coffee) and hooked it up, thinking that they had drained my battery when they tried to get the door open. Nothing. A little hispanic guy came out and tried to get it started. He pried on the starter, pulled on it, hit it with a hammer, jumpered the solenoid and grabbed a torque wrench and tried to turn the crankshaft pulley. "Motor No Good" he says.
I pushed the car about 50 miles out of this place and waited for reinforcements to arrive with tools. Once I had them, I walked to the parts store and bought a jack stand (20 dollars). Took all the bolts out of the starter and pried it out with a bar. I turned the starter over with the ignition, re-installed it and it fired right up. Missed one full day of work.
I've now got it parked in front of my house and the Sheriff's department with a DMV-issued "Thank you" sticker in the window.
Anyways, this was a rant. If you took the time to read this, I apologize. I'm sorry for wasting half of your day.
Revised list of things needing repair urgently:
Oil leak (seal bottom side of dipstick tube with RTV)
Finish wiring job for main fan
Replace ABS Accumulator
Bleed brakes (only getting air from front)
Replace A/C Clutch
Recharge A/C System
Fix Transmission Shifter (won't go into park??)
Repair/Replace driver's seat (leans back to the right)
Replace taillights (outer shells are cracked and shattered)
Get windshield wipers to park
Then comes all of the stuff for restoration that is 'non-essential'.
I'm dedicated to this car. I think that I proved it this weekend!!
88 Medium Red Turbo Coupe. 172K. Stock. Horrible A4LD. 5k miles since 2006. She will be a part of my family as long as I am.
