To date, the tip jar has recorded $1560 in contributions, of which a majority has already made its way to my grubby grasping hands. It brought my bank balance to $2035 and change, which meant that I was able this morning to deal the shop manager $2000 to get the ball rolling.
So they will presently get busy yanking the transmission out of the Jeep and determining whether it can be rebuilt: My money is on no, which will trigger the most expensive option which is a new trans, and which as of this morning has already been paid for in full. If it turns out the transmission can be rebuilt, the job will be less expensive but more time-consuming and honestly I don’t know which to hope for. Personally I like to keep things simple but going cheap has also become something of an instinct.
Once that’s done there are a few other things I’m going to want them to look at while it’s in the shop: A PS fluid leak that’s probably just a hose, that busted shock bolt, and find out how badly worn the brake pads are. None of those things are transmission-level showstoppers, of course.
Assuming, as I still am, that they’re going to end up ordering a new trans, that means I need to raise a minimum of $500 dollars further, the labor charge, to get the Jeep out of hock. And if there’s more in the bank by that time I can get the other more minor repairs completed.
WooHoo! Thanks for the update.
So how are things going today?
ok, I just hit you with $200
Hey Joel, now that it’s getting cold, how’s that solar water heater working?
Oh, not so hot. Or rather, too hot for even high-quality garden hose. I kind of gave up on that early in the summer.
With the advent of YouTube, fixing one’s ride has, if not become affordable, understandable. That said, the initial buy-in for doing one’s own auto repairs, (oh yee of self-sufficiency, and I mean that to all who wish, attempt or simply dream of that “closer to the land” malarkey). is or rather can be, (depending on where thou shoppest for auto repair tools), as steep or steeper than having someone else fix thy chattel. But not the second time.
Okay, sorry for going all biblical on you guys. Also, apologies for not having filled out my poster info. I called the “closer to the land” dream as “malarkey”, because for years I had my bellyful of those types who I knew would never, (and haven’t yet), moved off of square one to make that happen.
So here’s an observation from a) someone who knows a fair number of farmers, (the guys who never got off the land from the start), and b) now in my year 4 of putting my ancient and previously fat ass’s money where its reticulum was. The number one way to ‘afford’, (and that’s not even the right word, as ‘survive’ seems way more apropos), being and staying, (because its one thing to get ‘there’, it’s another to be able to afford to STAY there), on “The Land”, (I can’t tell you the number of people who did make it there actually call it that, like some achieved mythical princess), is to not only be able to fix your own stuff, but to improvise when the most obvious methodology is either unobtainable or not practical. To be able to do that you need a very extensive set of tools, whether that be wrenches (spanners), ratchets & sockets, punches, chisels, hammers, screw drivers and so on. Along with that, (again, kudos to YT, despite their evilness), for being the fount of so much repair knowledge.
Obviously repairing a tranny is way over most folks’ heads, (and that includes yours truly, as I am not the sharpest ball-bearing in the slingshot, Wait! How did I get here?), but brake jobs are really rather easy, and dimes to donuts the repair of your car/truck’s brakes has been posted on YT and can be done with a very low level of tool ownership. If you haven’t let the job go for so long that the back of your pads are now GRINDING away at your rotors, (assuming disc brakes), then swapping out the pads is child’s play. Even replacing the drum shoes on older style brakes isn’t rocket science.
I guess the point I’m trying to share is that if you plan/dream/hope to make it to a more self-sufficient lifestyle, it starts where you are standing right now, not some point in the future. You really have to take a “maker” mentality to life. It’s “I can fix that” not “Who can fix this for me?”.
Here’s a lesson I taught myself in the last century. Maybe it can be of use to the readers:
1.) “The Maintenance” will and MUST be done.It doesn’t matter whether it’s a garbage disposal, window shades or the brakes on your ride. It must get done.
2.) It is infinitely cheaper, especially when talking automotive, to address it earlier rather than later.
3.) IF ‘it’ MUST get done, then the only choice you have in the matter is “WHERE & WHEN” it “gets done”. Option one: Sunny day, on asphalt or concrete with all the tools in reach or Option Two: On the side of the road, in the dark, during a downpour/blizzard/sand storm without access to even the most basic of tools.
That’s it. Those are the only options when it comes to having repairs done. Option #2 comes with a towing charge to boot. Oh, and probably paying someone else to fix it as you are now pressed for time to get your ride back on the road. Ditto with leaking household plumbing. The point is that if you, (or anyone for that matter), want to be ‘self-sufficient’, you have to have the mindset that even if you don’t “do it” yourself, you know HOW to do it if you needed to. If you embrace that mindset, you can make it anywhere. Peace, y’all.
What a psychotic bunch of rambling the above two comment were.
Have you thought about therapy?
P Clark Lewis — Joel has been “on the land” (though he would never use that phrase is knows very well that the land he chose is hostile and not able to be “lived off”) for 15 years. Also, he’s not only a former auto mechanic, but a former teacher of auto mechanics. So yes, he can do a brake job, and even did one for me when I was his neighbor.
Find out whom you’re talking to before you embarrass yourself.