For some weeks my 2001 Outback station wagon has been making a noise. The sound is a dull "thunk" beneath the driver's seat when I shift into reverse or accelerate from a stopped position. The noise is short-lived and disappears once I'm in motion.
I've been treating my car, I call her Lily May, gently because she was due to be inspected this month. I name my cars in hopes that the bond will prevent them from breaking down on some lone stretch of highway. So far, so good. Lily May is named for two of the characters in The Secret Life of Bees which I was reading when I bought the car.
I took her to the local garage Tuesday morning. I described the sound to the mechanic who said he'd see what he could find. Minutes later he returned to the waiting area with a stricken look that said she-is-going-to-think-I-broke-her-car.
"You have a broken u-joint."
The mechanic who works the desk was up and on his way to the work area in one fluid movement.
The two returned together and said in unison, "I've never seen a broken universal joint on a Subaru."
They ushered me to the bay where my car was up on a lift and showed me the broken joint on one end of the drive shaft, which joins the front and rear axles and makes it possible for the car to move. When the car would start moving the detached rod bounced up against the bottom of the car, hence the "thunk" sound. With enough momentum the rod could have busted through the floor of the car or taken out the front end or caused any amount of damage. But it didn't.
The guys said I could take the car home while they tried to find a used part, which would cost half the price of a new one, while me, who lives on a dirt road where potholes are year-round realities, felt like I had used up my portion of luck on this round and opted to leave my car at the garage.
Meanwhile, there was a small problem with our other car, a 1999 Legacy sedan called Loretta, named for her zippy get-up-and-go attitude. Last Friday she wouldn't shift out of park. Then hours later she would...but we didn't want any one of us to get stuck somewhere.
Loretta decided to shift Tuesday evening so off we went to leave her at the garage with the thought that it was something easy to fix, a sensor or casing between the shifter and the brake. I was hopeful.
Wednesday morning I called to ask if they had found the problem. Yes, they had. There was a mouse nest in the shifting assembly. The nest had been removed, the car was running fine, and the bill was $36.10.
That evening I told my son, who drives Loretta when he's home, what the problem was. He was philosophical. "It's because we live in the woods, isn't it?"
Well, yes. But it's also because we live here that we found a garage we can trust that has mechanics who will do all they can for the lowest price to keep our cars running.
It evens out I think.
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3 comments:
Oooooh! While I was reading I was thinking strut or ujoint. Yikes! They are great cars but can be expensive to fix- I've got an outback (anonymous- no name) that is starting to have those mini problems that add up to almost time to get a newer car!
Wow; I believe it does "even out". I can't believe you got out of the garage for under 40 dollars! Amazing! That never happens in the big city.
Sharon, what a great story -- especially about the honest mechanics who found the mouse nest in your car!
I lived in a couple small towns in Ohio and found that, when I had car trouble, it was a great place to be! I was a poor reporter with no credit card and carrying just a few dollars in my pocket when my car spun out into a ditch on a snowy evening while I was trying to cover a city council meeting. So I walked up the embankment to a house off the road to call for a tow(the era before cell phones) and the family was wonderful. They graciously let me use their phone and even offered to loan me money, too. When I called for the tow, I told the guy I didn't have enough cash right then, but he towed my car out anyway and said I could come back the next day and pay him. As someone who grew up in the city always being cautious, I was floored!
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