strotter Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Saturday morning, beautiful, clear and cool, coming home from Pick-n-Pull in Stockton on '99. The wiper-motor out of a '77 280 I just found is in the back. Slowly moving past a pickup, I'm in the middle lane doing about 80 or so, traffic closing behind me pretty quick (maybe 10 higher than me), I'll just move past the truck and get out of their way, no need to impress the natives with the shock and awe of my secret weapon; it's too nice a morning. The 327 has been running *sweetly* lately, turning 2400 or so, the exhaust is singing (not too loud, not to quiet, *just right*), the overdrive ratio of the T5 is about perfect, I could see taking a long drive like this, like to Wyoming. Thought I'd give the "slow wiper syndrome" another shot, thinking about how it may be the bearings/bushings in the motor getting tight after years and years, I'll take apart this one and get out the micrometer and check the clearances and... tink! Uh, must've picked up something from the road surface, didn't see anything, gotta be more careful, I already picked up a big nail in a sidewall and had to replace the whole tire! Man, that was expensive, I'd hate to have to do that again! You know, though, I ought to go back to the alignment shop and have them check the toe-in again, it's been getting a little "darty", seems to pull right or left over rough road surfaces a bit. Wouldn't doubt driving in and out of the backyard put it out of alignment - I've hit that curb a bit hard a couple of times... Jerk! Huh? Jerk Jerk! - pause - !thunk! back-end locks up! Swerving left, towards the fast lane and the acacia bushes! Pull it back, scare the *crap* out of the pickup driver... What the fu- !!! Rolling again but losing speed fast, everything in the back including the wiper assembly's about in my lap, feels as if the e-brake is on, and on hard! Mainbearing failure? Glance at the mirror, traffic's right on top of me, closing *fast*, I've got maybe five seconds before they get on their binders, gotta get out of this lane! This must be a brake or suspension failure, but I have control, tire failure? No, it'd pull, floor it, RPM's too low no torque, try for a downshift need more power I can't stop in the fast lane! Tranny is stuck in 5th! Clutch does nothing, clutch failure? Truck is gone, 100 feet, 200, I'm losing speed fast, jerking hard every few milleseconds, there's a big opening to the right, kick the turn-signal on, may as well give 'em *some* warning, swing across three lanes. There's a shoulder but not much, it becomes ditch three or four feet past the tarmac, I'll go threre if I have to but it isn't very inviting - Offramp ahead a few hundred yards, Jeez am I gonna make it even that far? Speed's down to maybe fifty and dropping, I must've left skid marks behind me on the freeway, I may as well try a downshift, nothing else worked, screw the clutch, glad I learned how to power-shift, oh Lord, there's *smoke*! What the hell *is* this? Suddenly *pop!* it's out of fifth and starts rolling freely, but with a horrible grinding sound, won't engage fourth, alright there's three more, rough metal on metal, loud (did that even start just now? has it been doing it the whole time?) But we *are* rolling, hit the throttle hard and try third, it engages! OK, let's get some velocity, RPM's still up and floored, it starts to pull, check the rearview again folks are moving over I don't have to say hi to the ditch, speed coming back up again, thirty, forty, passenger side rolling on the gravel, one more look in the mirror and, miracle of miracles, behind the pack of fast traffic there's a *great big hole*! They clear me, still at speed. Glad I installed roller rockers and lifters, here's the ultimate test I guess, missed the shift a couple of times. I move back over onto the asphalt, finally the exit, and it's over. I run the stop at the end of the offramp, thank goodness there's no traffic. On the frontage road I pop it into neutral (still thinking it's a clutch failure, but the noises were wrong) and pull it off onto a wide spot. The motor is idling just fine, and in neutral the loud grinding sound from the clutch is just a "click-click-click-click". Engaging the clutch makes it worse, much worse. OK, no clutch. Shut it off, remember that I have no cell-phone and the woman is probably still snoozing (as is her habit on Saturday mornings). Well, if I need to I can walk, but that'd be sort of giving up. Under-body inspection reveals no fluids, no visible mechanical problems. Some smoke is coming from the bellhousing. Doesn't smell like clutch, though, not burned clutch at least - it smells like hot motor oil. Could it have lost a rear seal? Dipstick says plenty of oil. Tranny fluid then? Get back in the car and operate the clutch, it feels perfectly normal. Uh oh, I'm starting to think the tranny may have a problem. The tranny I just bought. In July. For Five HUNDRED dollars. Damn. Futzing with the shifter, it feels - funny. The action isn't smooth, and there's a distinct rattle when moving the shifter. It won't move to the first/second detent at all, or reverse. Nor will it go to fourth. But, it will engage third and fifth, which means I won't be walking ten miles home. Starting it up and experimenting, I discover that it'll make a rattle/growl in neutral, but engaging the clutch increases the volume ten-fold. Down that road lies mechanical death. Shut it down, put it into third, check traffic, hit the starter, not enough torque to start it in gear. OK, clutch in, engage first, start it up. Rattle clatter clunk, but it's sitting there, the clutch is working. Rev the snot out of it, if I'm going to have it apart a new clutch plate isn't too much more work, engage the clutch; Houston, we have motion. Did you know that it's possible to drive from north Morada to north Lodi without stopping? Even for signs? Even for lights? Even to climb up on your curb, across your lawn, and into your backyard? Well, it is. Just thought you'd like to know. Mind you, it wouldn't work if there was a policeman behind you, but it *can* be done. So I'm back in the "looking for parts" phase of my project, a definite downer from the "showing it off" phase. But on the plus side, it gives me a chance to paint the engine compartment, since the motor's going to be out, and all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Sorry about the 'box, but great story!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Scott, that's horrible. Please tell me it's a non WC T5? Now I feel guilty for calling for that smokey burnout at the Anywhere Cafe. Maybe time for a six shooter (T56)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strotter Posted November 24, 2003 Author Share Posted November 24, 2003 Dan, it *is* a WC. There's a T56 on ebay right now, in Sacramento. no bellhousing or shifter. It has 19 hours, 49 minutes left - that'll put it around noon tomorrow - when I'll be at work. Sigh. I don't even know if the tranny in the car is really munched. Maybe it's fixable. I haven't had the energy to even jack the car up and look underneath. Maybe during the long Thanksgiving weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigWhyteDude Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 glad you didnt have a close encounter of the walled kind on the freeway. Sorrry to hear about your tranny but im glad you or the car didnt get hurt. Good luck to you, Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Thurem Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 It has 19 hours, 49 minutes left - that'll put it around noon tomorrow - when I'll be at work. >>>------>> http://WWW.esnipe.com has worked wonders for me. Thure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaparral2f Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 Damn, that's too bad. Well, at least it got home without the hook. Hope it ain't anything too major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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