"...to post on the forums on Monday."
Saturday, it was 40 and rained all day long. I
hate cold rain, but I didn't have to spend a lot of time in it.
Still, it didn't occur to me until Sunday that the rain would have washed the salt off the roads. As soon as I realized that, I declared that I'd be taking the SVX to be washed. It had been sitting in the garage, dirty, all winter. I didn't get the chance to wash it before the snow fell and I didn't want to put the cover on when the car was dirty. The guy I share my garage with has been doing woodworking projects, so the SVX has been getting covered in sawdust.
I had to jumpstart the car with the Justy again, but once I did that everything was fine. Put it in 'D' and away I went, tranny barely making it into second and third as I went.
The car wash itself was fine, although I'm not a huge fan of the one I used. It's close to the house, though, and therefore a safe bet.
As the driers blew the water off, I watched the lights for the green 'go.' When it lit up and the curtain drew back, I put the car in 'D' and gently hit the gas.
Nothing. Just revs.
'Uh oh.'
I glanced in the rearview as I tapped the gas again. The giant whirling cloths behind me parted and the front grille of a black Durango emerged, covered in suds. I had maybe fifteen seconds.
Punching the gas repeatedly, allowing the engine to rev higher and higher each time I did, I saw the Durango go through the rinse.
Of course, in the middle of all this, I think, 'man, what a sweet-sounding engine.'
As the blowers started up with a roar behind me, first gear finally caught and I pulled away from the building. I got out of the car to dry it off, but by the time I dried one side, the water drops were frozen on the other side.
I called AAA. Depsite my telling them that the car was AWD, they sent a regular wrecker. This was the only time I didn't tell them specifically to send a flatbed, so I guess I learned my lesson. The driver dollied my SVX, with great care and difficulty, and drove me the five miles home.
My driveway only added to the experience. It's uphill, curved and covered in about 4-6 inches of deeply rutted ice. On Saturday it was 4-6 inches of slush, so imagine that freezing solid. Ugh.
Still, the driver got my car up the driveway, backwards, up the ice. It took him probably another 20 minutes to get the car down. No injuries.
I jumped the car with the Justy again and drove it into the garage. Some of you may remember the problem I had last summer, right before the 10th Anniversary meet. I guessed that this was similar and I was right. The car will engage all gears when cold, but will slip badly and eventually coast to a stop when the tranny gets warm.
<sigh> Sorry for the long post. This trip to get my car washed was a failure on every level, except that I actually succeeded in getting the car washed. It's now under its cover, in the garage, and there it will stay until I have a new transmission.