Anna Dunster

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:

The gear box goes to the correct gear, but pushing the gas it will only rev and move very very slowly. I travel ed 100 yards and back. On the trip back, the kid had to push to help it get going...

That unfortunately sounds very much like a slipping clutch, and probably the most expensive fix you have in front of you now. :(

I'm pretty handy with a car and worked in parts for ages, etc but I wouldn't be keen on replacing a clutch myself.  However, if you have a couple people to help it could be done. You would most likely need enough jacks and stands to a) get the car high enough to have space to work under the engine area with the transmission dropped, and b) lift the engine and the transmission separately.  Might also be worth checking for other potential failure items in that area while you are in there and be prepared to replace them (rear main seal for example).

Alternatively, if you're definitely doing the work yourself anyway, and since you have had power steering fluid leaking and possibly onto the clutch for a while (I'm not sure if there is any external access where your leak was - the bell housing is usually mostly sealed other than maybe a view port or two) it could be worth taking things apart, and spraying down the clutch and the disc with brake clean in case it's just oil - but if the surface is slick and not grabby even after that, then it'd be new clutch time.

Brake clean is not the same thing as the B12 chemtool but any parts store should have tons of it.

Those battery cables don't look too terrible. How many cables come off the back side of it?  Might be worth taking a look at the universal, spliceable options that autozone
or other parts stores sell. https://www.autozone.com/batteries-starting-and-charging/battery-cable

To be clear, what do you mean when you say the car 'doesn't go'? You were able to start the engine and leave it running if I understand right, but when you hit the gas, what happens? Engine revs and the car doesn't move, or?

Pearl Sutton wrote:
And welcome to permies Anna!! :D

Thank you :D I've been a member for a while but I'm not very active :o

An alternative to cutting that sometimes works well with old stuck hoses is to take a pair of pliers (or ideally vice grips), grip the end securely, and rotate it until it loosens, or as you're pulling.

As others have said, you can definitely take 8 off, just keep in mind if it's old also it may be hard to do without damaging it (worth seeing if it's pliable or stiff first, if it's stiff, have a replacement on hand first). And of course plenty of antifreeze to replace what leaks out, which depending on how far down the hose goes, may be most of what's in your engine. (It looks like an upper hose though so probably not.) You will also want to be prepared to 'burp' your coolant system to get any air bubbles out, air bubbles in your coolant system can cause weird swings on your engine temperature gauge and issues with your heater.

Glad you found the right stuff. When I worked at an O'Reilly store some years ago we carried Pentosin also, but this was at the main regional store, smaller ones might have to order it in.

Good luck!

Is that power steering hose old and stiff? If so, if you're buying fluid anyway, it'd probably be a good idea to replace the hose (especially if it's just clamps on either side - which a return line could be - less exciting if it goes into a hardline before the other end connects).  If it's hose-only they usually aren't too pricey, assuming you can find it. And, if it's hose-only, even if you can't find a pre molded one you probably could get a length in the right size. Again, way harder if it goes into a hard line, and your hose diagram didn't load for me for some reason.

Tightening a hose clamp on a dry, brittle hose is not going to fix anything and could make it worse, though.

I think the general reference to "drunk the koolaid" is, yes, a reference to the Jim Jones situation, but broadly means "have bought into a cultlike fanaticism" over something. It's used jokingly here but in a more serious way would refer to people who have accepted a poorly supported set of information or worldview to be part of a group.

Bindweed is horrible stuff, trying to get it out to plant vegetables in my parents' new property and it's literally everywhere - the lawn, the beds, the alley, not just our property but all over the neighborhood. I'll do what I can but I think my parents will be fighting this one for a good long while.

Another one I haven't seen mentioned is spiderwort. I guess people grow it as an ornamental, but it looks horrible after it flowers, reseeds everywhere, is difficult to pull, regrows from roots, likes to root under cracks in sidewalks, etc.... I fought it for 5 years at my last property and my parents have some too, lucky them.

Thanks, I sent them a message, we'll see!

Hello all,

I'm living in the Idaho panhandle (in town) with my parents at the moment and we're trying to get a 'pandemic garden' going. It's going decently well, my parents bought the property last year from someone who had extensive ornamental gardens (so most of the work has been digging and moving or giving away ornamentals). But I've noticed when it rains that a lot of the freshly exposed soil is getting washed away, leaving a crust of gravel. Gotta love that Post Falls soil xD  I would love to get some mulch on things, thinking wood chips for the beds that are staying ornamental but would love to get some good clean straw for the vegetable beds. Organic would be great but as long as it's not full of herbicides I don't really care. I just don't want to be putting mulch full of persistent plant killers in my garden for obvious reasons.

Any north Idaho leads on a clean supply?

Thanks!