ah geeze, J2...you finally like one and buy it and it craps out on you. I'm sure you were diligent in prepping it for the trip. I sincerely hope that it's not something real serious and you luck out. But, if it's fried it isn't the end of the world either. I know you posted that you are not mechanically inclined and don't have a lot of money to spend but swapping an engine isn't necessarily rocket science. Please keep us posted on this. And more pix! I would like to find out what the problem is or possibly determine the problem from more pix and more description from you as to just what happened. By the way....is that a Gucci Edition??
It was only a 2 hour drive, but the car wasnt up to highway speeds (i was doing 60ish) in a while, so I think I might have pushed it too hard. I tried doing 80 to keep up with the person I rode with but couldn't do it. Finally, it sputtered, started to smoke and died an hour from home. May have been junk in the thermostat, bad or low water, anything. I had it towed to Jiffy Lube and they are looking at it right now. It's not a Gucci edition, as it doesn't have the Gucci-type seats, just plain black leather.
Jiffy Lube???? Do you know soemone that's a car guy that can look at it for you? My experience is that the guys at Jiffy type places are NOT mechanics by a long shot.
I know a guy near my house that is more familiar with older cars, but USAA would only pay to tow my car within 21 miles from home to an approved car shop :-( It's still an hour from home.
Jiffy Lube is an approved car shop?? Well....I hope you are able to tow it home soon and get looking to see what's up. I sure hate to see this kind of thing happen. Seems your friend wasn't doing you any favors, either, driving 80 miles an hour knowing you had just picked up an old car. Keep us updated, J2!
Hopefully you have a friend that has a trailer. How about the AF motor pool? If not, the cheapest way I know is renting a car dolly. Just unhook the drive shaft and you are good to go. About $40 & up to rent one from UHaul. They track well, too.
Jiffy Lube ???? J2H, I was thinking maybe as simple as a bad thermostat or low on water. But I went to bed last night. You did say it ran well for an hour. Also, trying to drive faster may have just been too much on the old girl. If you could pull the thermostat out and leave it out for now, and check to see if radiator fins are clean and it's full, you can drive home at a decent speed. Even with a newer strange car I would not have driven that fast. You don't know about the steering or brakes! They are sort of important too! -------- And I still can't figure why insurance company or wrecker chose a Jiffy Lube as a garage. Many of those quickie Lube places hire employees who don't know their dipstick from a pogo stick! People say an hour from home. Depends how fast or how much traffic. But if you take back roads and drive slower you may be in luck.
