Gwen is back home
Feb. 9th, 2006 12:59![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillYesterday started with climbing into my car and reaching for the clutch pedal -- and it wasn't there.
The day before, the point of engagement had climbed suddenly to the very top of the pedal's range of motion, so that the clutch wouldn't grip on hills. We tweaked the pedal a little to make it driveable, and now the next day, it had corrected itself so that the pedal was down near the floor.
So I took it to Macy transmission earlier than the Friday morning we had agreed on. Dropped it off, drove the truck to school, and spent the day fretting. A very long day.
What Steve at Macy did was readjust the pedal back to where it had been, then spend a couple hours driving it around, trying to make the clutch slip. No dice. He handed it back to me this morning for $25, saying that the best theory anyone has (one my dad agrees with) is that the bleed valve had gotten clogged. (The clutch has two hydraulic cylinders in series. When the first one gets depressed all the way, there's a little hole to let air in so that there isn't a vacuum at the top, preventing it from going all the way down. That hole is the bleed valve.)
Verdict: the car is fine. The car is also a prima donna; I think she just wanted a little attention. I am very happy to have her back -- I threw my shoulder out on the truck's gearshift yesterday.
When he handed the keys back to me, Steve mentioned that my car is very pleasant and easy to drive. I asked him to consider the age and mileage, and he agreed that with 12 years and 235,000 miles, it's an impressive feat to be that comfortable. If I weren't already sold on Hondas, I would be now.
The day before, the point of engagement had climbed suddenly to the very top of the pedal's range of motion, so that the clutch wouldn't grip on hills. We tweaked the pedal a little to make it driveable, and now the next day, it had corrected itself so that the pedal was down near the floor.
So I took it to Macy transmission earlier than the Friday morning we had agreed on. Dropped it off, drove the truck to school, and spent the day fretting. A very long day.
What Steve at Macy did was readjust the pedal back to where it had been, then spend a couple hours driving it around, trying to make the clutch slip. No dice. He handed it back to me this morning for $25, saying that the best theory anyone has (one my dad agrees with) is that the bleed valve had gotten clogged. (The clutch has two hydraulic cylinders in series. When the first one gets depressed all the way, there's a little hole to let air in so that there isn't a vacuum at the top, preventing it from going all the way down. That hole is the bleed valve.)
Verdict: the car is fine. The car is also a prima donna; I think she just wanted a little attention. I am very happy to have her back -- I threw my shoulder out on the truck's gearshift yesterday.
When he handed the keys back to me, Steve mentioned that my car is very pleasant and easy to drive. I asked him to consider the age and mileage, and he agreed that with 12 years and 235,000 miles, it's an impressive feat to be that comfortable. If I weren't already sold on Hondas, I would be now.
