Backdrop..
It’s been a bad summer for cars. While changing my T4 atf I managed to ruin the valve body wire harness. Parts on order, car Inop
My beautiful T5 ate its timing tensioner at 30k miles, ruining my new valve job. Car inop
Caitlin registration expiring. She is on an out of state extension on inspection. Get it back to inspection. “ guy left lights on , battery dead “ need to reset monitors. I drive it for a week , with my usual split time between upstate and NYC. Take it back, week backlog. Pulling out of inspection station by lamp out warning light comes on. Smokey pulls me over for a brake light out. I get a ticket for expired registration. Luckily I’m in hometown and Judge takes my renewal and throws ticket out. Leave it at inspection station. Drive by three days later and it’s in parking lot with parking lights on. Wtf? I collect it and bring it home. This time only two drive cycles and 50 miles to get to evap only not ready
Take it my Volvo indie who pins a fob and two new keys and inspects. Whew
Abby calls. Inspection expired. I go to three indies in LIng island who tell me all monitors must be ready. Fourth one knows the 2 monitor 1999 rule. I get everything but evap set. I drive it over and leave , bus home. Call later. Guy apologies they accidentally reset ecu. Charges me $10, comps it. I get a safety pass, emission fail. I take car upstate. 140 mile drive. I have evap, cat non-continuous, and oxs non-continuous still not ready. I drive cycle it for three days each morning and evening. Oxs goes ready. I run over to Volvo indie who takes me right in and passes me on emissions.
The Kat goes for her safety emissions upstate. Passes safety, but “ we accidentally reset monitors”. Get 30 days extension. I drive cycle it for one cycle it goes ready for all but evap. Run out of time to get her done, go backdownstate.
When I come back up, crank , no start. Fuel pump is quiet. Part NLA. Car inop
Upside. I have not needed a single recovery except for the infamous VA trip , which I lucked out having a friend making a delivery to MD , so he flat bedded it home for me. The best one was the T5. I was just finishing a 200 mile trip home when the timing belt broke. I stalled out 200 yards from the indie where Caitlin’s car was on first leg of fob inspection saga on a dead end street. I walked to shop, picked up her car, and drove home, came back at night and rope towed her home
