Sooooo been a while since I posted here . . . Dirty Girl's been sitting at my mom's place down the road for a while now since we already have 4 cars in our driveway (the HOA there isn't as snarky as where I live). Been dealing with a bad PS leak for a couple years that Doug thought he resolved - I told him it was the rack but apparently he saw the fluid in the valleys while resolving a bad vacuum leak/no start condition and just did the pump. I think it started after I got her back from a tow - I suspect either the tow dude or I put a bit too much on the unpowered PS system while wrenching steering wheel around and a seal on the rack just couldn't take it . . . too pricey to resolve at this point, as are the rear calipers and rear suspension that need new parts.
I was able to give her a good wash this weekend (after cleaning up the PS fluid mess that puddled up on tarp I've placed underneath). My days of doing the wash/clay bar/polish/wax are long gone, though the exterior is still pretty decent; something I attribute to having done the thorough cleaning in those initial years ('00-'14 or so). Sitting under a live oak without a car cover is something I've left unresolved for far too long. UV is an enemy . . . but so is pollen!
What I mostly wanted to ask about was how big a deal it is that putting the car in PARK doesn't keep it in place - on the slightly inclined driveway this weekend, it was making a clicking sound - definitely from the trans - and rolled back as if in neutral. The shifter position got a bit whacked during trans rebuild in 2010, and is still somewhat of an issue with starting the car - I often have to push it forward to start (neutral safety switch?), so that may be partly to blame. The UPSIDE is that the lifetime trans warranty should resolve things. I will probably give them some billable work along with it; the rear calipers and suspension may fit the bill. Other than that, she did bog down badly when I went WOT after a u-turn - reminiscent of the vacuum leak.
I was able to give her a good wash this weekend (after cleaning up the PS fluid mess that puddled up on tarp I've placed underneath). My days of doing the wash/clay bar/polish/wax are long gone, though the exterior is still pretty decent; something I attribute to having done the thorough cleaning in those initial years ('00-'14 or so). Sitting under a live oak without a car cover is something I've left unresolved for far too long. UV is an enemy . . . but so is pollen!
What I mostly wanted to ask about was how big a deal it is that putting the car in PARK doesn't keep it in place - on the slightly inclined driveway this weekend, it was making a clicking sound - definitely from the trans - and rolled back as if in neutral. The shifter position got a bit whacked during trans rebuild in 2010, and is still somewhat of an issue with starting the car - I often have to push it forward to start (neutral safety switch?), so that may be partly to blame. The UPSIDE is that the lifetime trans warranty should resolve things. I will probably give them some billable work along with it; the rear calipers and suspension may fit the bill. Other than that, she did bog down badly when I went WOT after a u-turn - reminiscent of the vacuum leak.
