It started as usual by finding a right mechanic. As I travel & new to many places I use BBB Accredited businesses and Yelp
I found a few shops in the Canoga Park / Woodland hills area that were featuring 'stars and torches' and spend some time on the phone with each.
Leon's Transmission offered a free tow-in, diagnosis and estimate. Mark was very courteous and friendly, however his estimate couldn't conclude the cause for the gear shifting problem because the engine wasn't idling smooth. Replacing was quoted at $720, e.g almost twice my car's value. They also don't deal with engine tune-ups
Next I called a few more mechanics qualifying on both criteria's. I asked if I can bring my wn clutch kit, which I found for $60 on rock auto, and have them do the installation. Some mechanics refused because they warrant their work and can't account for quality of outside parts. A couple however were OK with that as I was satisfied with having my car only roll out functioning and releasing them from further responsibility. Among the two tht were both cooperative, friendly and down-to-earth I felt more comfortable with the easy going feel of Jesus.
I wanted to check my car in the same day, but since it was already noon time, Jesus suggested that I check my car in at the morning and we set an appointment for two days ahead. Because of my other errands of housing and catching a ride to and from 3 day meditation in Joshua Tree I forgot about the appointment.
When I got back and had to deal with moving my car because of parking regulations, I recalled Jesus and called him again. He was happy and surprised to hear from me again and asked hat happened that I was supposed to arrive that day. I told him and he said he as waiting for me and made the time to treat my car. Although I noticed I scewed up he wasn't angry, short neither became less friendly and so I asked if I can bring my car, this time promising to let him know if I can't make it for any reason, and we set for 2 days after. The day after I called him just to confirm. Today morning I drove my car in. It was a stuntman job: no stopping or the engine shuts down and gears won't shift when it's running, only while cruising.
Jesus smiled heartily and reached out for a hand shake as he came out to the sunny alley in front of the shop.
He got my car right in to one of the four ports of the sun flooded garage. He started looking into the problem and from time to time had to attend a client that dropped off their car. He offered me coffee from their humble but tasty do-it-yourself coffee corner.
He was surprised by the amount of parts I bought online to try and fix the problem myself and was ready to use them to install what would be found faulty.
He explained the lack of fuel sprayed in idle as he pointed out and demonstrated while manually operating the throttle. He suspected the 'throttle control sensor' to be faulty and so replaced it with my provided new one. That improved a little but the engine was still uneven while idling. Another part which I broke while trying to replace a few days earlier was missing and so any conclusion would have been biased, so we went for the gear problem.
The car was jacked up on the lift and Jesus quickly spotted the failure of the rear gearbox mount which affects the alignment of the shift stick with the gearbox and affects the smoothness or ability to shift gears.
He suggested to replace it. It is a heavy forged metal support combined with a rubber bushing. I asked him how much it would be and he said $60 for a new part and another $60 for the labor. I approved. Within less then 30 minutes the job was done and we went for a test ride. Shifting now was possible but quite stiff and attempting to engage into reverse sounded of grinding. We drove back and Jesus with the help of another employee adjusted the clutch cable. This time shifting was smoother and more exact then I ever remembered the car since I first got it 3 years ago.
Because Jesus didn't have the diagnostic tool for the 1st generation Ford onboard ca computer he couldn't go further on the idle problem but then I told him I had wired a jumper over the diagnostic harness and read the error codes sequence flashing by the 'check engine' light. Then he went over got a stripped wire and we ran the test, read the eror codes and he looked up his computer for the related faulty parts.
After all this, when it came to the bill he only charged for the gear mount replacement though it accounted for only 30 minutes out of the 2 hours he had put in. Eventually, acknowledging my tight budget he offered to swap one of the spare part I had purchased online and was not necessary for the problem solving or hefty discount. When we parted he was as welcoming as when as when I first met him and invited me to come and call with ay problem.
Jesus is having an upstream challenge to overcome and correct the popular pre-conceived idea about car mechanics. It's not easy but he succeeds. read more
