With my parents gone, I made a point of using the old car from time to time to make sure it goes through its paces and the engine gets used and the impurities in the oil get burned up. It's not a great car, and it certainly has had its better days. But ever since the fateful day five years ago when the head gasket blew up, it has driven pretty well. I'm not aware of any of the problems that would have stressed me into immediately taking it into a shop, but I am believing that the car drives pretty well.
Well, not lately.
I will tell you this: It may have turned a corner (maybe temporarily, maybe not) about a month or so ago. Besides acceleration issues and the tachometer not working (have I blogged about that? No matter), the car gets me around town. (My parents insisted we take this car when I dropped them off at the airport, and I'm still amazed it survived in one piece.) However, one afternoon after work I was coming home from the bank. It's afternoon rush, and I need to make a right turn. After I nose myself to get a better look at oncoming traffic, I see that the car is just far enough away for me to make a run for it. So I put the pedal down on the car. Again, it doesn't accelerate well, but everything else about the car was just fine, so I thought I could push it a bit.
Turns out that seems to have been the wrong thing to do. Ever since that moment the car has not been acting well. It does get me around, but the performance has taken a sizable hit. Not only does it not accelerate well, it appears to begin to shake around second or third gear (which is, like 40-50 mph). And even though it may just be the cold, the shaking has also spread to uneven idling, which also did not happen (or at least did not happen as badly) before.
Oh, and it is still leaking, and possibly more so now. Last night I started shoveling the few inches of snow we got and that I didn't bother to shovel just after it fell. There are drops of ... fluid from old car, and so I made sure I parked it on top of snow so 1) the fluid would not seep into the asphalt driveway and 2) I could see what fluid it was based on the color. I parked the old car (after getting home from exercising) at a different spot so I could see the drips. And even though it was night, it looks as though the leak is colored red ... which means transmission ... which I kind of tortured when I accelerated fast in order to beat the oncoming traffic after my trip to the bank.
Wonder if I should tell my parents. In the meantime, I cross my fingers every time I turn the car on.
Well, not lately.
I will tell you this: It may have turned a corner (maybe temporarily, maybe not) about a month or so ago. Besides acceleration issues and the tachometer not working (have I blogged about that? No matter), the car gets me around town. (My parents insisted we take this car when I dropped them off at the airport, and I'm still amazed it survived in one piece.) However, one afternoon after work I was coming home from the bank. It's afternoon rush, and I need to make a right turn. After I nose myself to get a better look at oncoming traffic, I see that the car is just far enough away for me to make a run for it. So I put the pedal down on the car. Again, it doesn't accelerate well, but everything else about the car was just fine, so I thought I could push it a bit.
Turns out that seems to have been the wrong thing to do. Ever since that moment the car has not been acting well. It does get me around, but the performance has taken a sizable hit. Not only does it not accelerate well, it appears to begin to shake around second or third gear (which is, like 40-50 mph). And even though it may just be the cold, the shaking has also spread to uneven idling, which also did not happen (or at least did not happen as badly) before.
Oh, and it is still leaking, and possibly more so now. Last night I started shoveling the few inches of snow we got and that I didn't bother to shovel just after it fell. There are drops of ... fluid from old car, and so I made sure I parked it on top of snow so 1) the fluid would not seep into the asphalt driveway and 2) I could see what fluid it was based on the color. I parked the old car (after getting home from exercising) at a different spot so I could see the drips. And even though it was night, it looks as though the leak is colored red ... which means transmission ... which I kind of tortured when I accelerated fast in order to beat the oncoming traffic after my trip to the bank.
Wonder if I should tell my parents. In the meantime, I cross my fingers every time I turn the car on.
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