'92 SE-R Transmission

[Dan Mitchell]

Bill-I can relate to your experience re: "professional" mechanics.  I have a
1991 se-r, bought new.  Had 2 things done under warranty, a replacement fuel
pump (recall) & leaking rear main seal.  The idiot who did the pump (REAL
easy job)  did not seat the large o-ring properly & the car filled with gas
fumes.  Went out, bought an o-ring & did it myself.  On the rear main seal,
the ham handed moron used a pickle fork to separate the lower ball joint to
get the xaxle out, which ball joint of course failed about a year later as a
result of the ripped boot, so I had to stick a new lower control on (did
this myself).  Hell, even *I* had the correct screw type puller to leave the
boot intact when disconnecting ball joints, but it's easier just to slap the
fork into your air hammer & let'r rip.  Your saying "If you take your car to
the garage, you won't know what sort of bad job they'll do.  But if you fix
it yourself - you'll know..." is quite apt.  I've done most anything you can
think of on cars, from engine overhauls to body work, unfortunately for
health reasons I have not been able to do this stuff for about 5 years.  So
when I take my car in (as I did for my own 5th gear popout, see my recent
post on "engine miss") I'm careful to point out to the careless jerks JUST
what I want done & how.  It helps if they know you're not a complete babe in
the woods, but you can't stand there & make sure the guy puts in all the
bolts, or puts them in the right holes (as you know, the xaxle to engine
bolts are various sizes.  On one of them, the guy put one of the short bolts
in a hole for a longer one.  It fell out while I was driving the car.  Heard
it as it fell, I had to go back & pick it up off the street, then buy a
longer bolt for the hole). They also left the pass. side splash shield off,
& broke the vacuum nipple off on the side of the air cleaner housing (again,
if in central Ohio, AVOID Columbus Transmission on N. Hamilton like a hooker
with herpes).   They say ignorance is bliss, and I think this is true when
dealing with mechanics.  Being knowledgeable helps keep you from being
screwed too blatantly, but then you lay awake at night turning all the crap
they could have done wrong over & over in your mind.  I hate to damn an
entire profession, I am sure there are good, conscientious professional auto
technicians out there, but in my experience most are either incompetent or
thieves, many are both, and none of them give a shit.  Sorry, but in 20+
years of car ownership this has what I have found almost without exception,
both on my own cars and on those of friends.

Dan