[AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop recommendation, mason, and ??????

[michele mason]

Yes, I like the "places" too. I have seen tool, but don't have one—can 
see it would be useful.  mm

On Dec 14, 2006, at 8:35 AM, Michael Eisenstadt wrote:


> Michele,

>

> You are taking the words out of my mouth as when i penned a

> never sent reply to Jon's comment on Click & Clack. Of course

> the fun of it is to hear the younger brother nail hard to diagnose

> car problems. And guessing ahead what the answer is. Also

> there is the charm of hearing about car problems in exotic and

> extreme settings.

>

> As for tools, I recommend the versatile cotter pin puller tool.

> You can buy it from the tool truck when you see one parked

> in front of an auto repair place. The illustration of the one below is

> the only one i could find. Mine has a more robust shank terminating

> in a broad hook. Useful around house and car.

>

> Mike

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: "michele mason" <yaya.m at earthlink.net>

> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

> Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 8:00 AM

> Subject: Re: [AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop

> recommendation

>

>

> You know, I really have fun listening. I try to guess the problem, or

> the fix, and see how close I come. Sometimes, I do pretty well.

> Sometimes I learn something—what it is and how to watch for it—also

> handy tools to add to my trunk.  mm

>

> On Dec 12, 2006, at 12:18 PM, Jon Ford wrote:

>

>> Mike-- I find their show entertaining, and they have a good web page,

>> but for the life of me I can't understand why anyone serious about

>> getting a car fixed would call them up, when the person could speak

>> face to face with a  mechanic who could actually inspect the car,

>> motor-to- face. Some of the callers do seem to be from small towns

>> where there aren't too many mechanics around, so maybe that explains

>> it. Or maybe they just want to get on the radio to have their 5

>> minutes of fame. Why there are so many women callers may be for

>> several reasons-- entertainment value, or because many  women are

>> afraid of/intimidated by face to face encounters with nasty old greasy

>> mechanics. But I'm getting into sexist territory here so I'd better

>> shut up.

>>

>> Jon

>>

>>

>>> From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <michaele at ando.pair.com>

>>> Reply-To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the

>>> 60s<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

>>> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the

>>> 60s"<austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

>>> Subject: Re: [AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop

>>> recommendation

>>> Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:13:54 -0600

>>>

>>> Gerry,

>>>

>>> Interesting what you say about Tom & Ray. Yes of course they

>>> screen their calls. As for forced laughter, yes Tom the older one

>>> has a forced laugh. My take on it is that the younger brother

>>> being somewhat the smarter of the two has been the dominant

>>> throughout their grownup years and that the older's laughter is a

>>> defense mechanism. The younger brother doesnt laugh or at least

>>> not in the same way.

>>>

>>> They do fewer interesting diagnoses, yes i agree. I think this

>>> reflects more the enormous and mostly not understood change

>>> that has occurred in car design and quality control at the factory.

>>> As you well know, pre-comuterized cars with mechanical spark

>>> distribution and timing adjustments and carburetors could be fixed

>>> under a shade tree. Nowadays that is for the most part impossible.

>>> But there is an upsides to this. The contemporary car needs far less

>>> repair. I am still amazed that in 3 years, nothing in our car has

>>> needed

>>> repair. When we bought it the previous owner, when asked if he

>>> had kept his repair bills, said he hadnt repaired anything yet. The

>>> car is 9 years old and no repairs?

>>>

>>> When i do eventually see a engine trouble light message, i will

>>> borrow Ed Penak's laptop cum computer reader accessory

>>> or get my own and at the least read the trouble code. Maybe

>>> it will be something i can poisonally deal with.

>>>

>>> So Tom & Ray's advice and diagnoses has changed with

>>> the changing demographic of the cars on the road. They still

>>> are very good at diagnosis, more accurately, the younger

>>> brother is the whiz at diagnosis. He apparently still runs an

>>> a repair shop. It is my understanding that BOTH brothers

>>> are MIT graduates. 20 years apart in age, their symbiosis

>>> has much charm.

>>>

>>> Mike

>>>

>>> ----- Original Message -----

>>> From: "Gerry" <mesmo at gilanet.com>

>>> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

>>> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 9:05 AM

>>> Subject: Re: [AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop

>>> recommendation

>>>

>>>

>>>> Well Mike, glad you got your trans serviced in a way that is

>>> acceptable to

>>>> your high standards. I salute you in sticking with a vintage

>>> machine and

>>>> taking good care of it. For the record, there are Jiffy Lubes and

>>> there

>>>> are

>>>> Jiffy Lubes, thousands of them, probably a dozen in and around the

>>> Austin

>>>> metro area. In my zone there are no trans shops and just one Jiffy

>>> Lube

>>>> which employs mostly young men with some mechanical acumen. I

>>> watched the

>>>> technician service my trans and his work was first class, knew what

>>> he was

>>>> doing and did it by the book. The equipment was first class (no

>>> doubt the

>>>> same as that of the trans shops). The cost was half of what a

>>> dealer or

>>>> trans shop would have charged--an important consideration for those

>>> of us

>>>> on

>>>> Social Security who drive 15 to 20 year old cars.

>>>>

>>>> I have listened to Click and Clack forever, since they started. In

>>> the

>>>> beginning, same as you, I liked them, they had a good enthusiasm

>>> and were

>>>> sincerely concerned with the few callers they attracted, also quite

>>> funny

>>>> and original. These days I find it hard to sit through a complete

>>> show.

>>>> They

>>>> have become media idols and they are very full of themselves. The

>>> shows

>>>> have

>>>> become very predictable and not as interesting. The calls are

>>> screened

>>>> carefully to be sure that there are always a half dozen or so

>>> female 30

>>>> somethings who want advice on what car to buy, yawn. The nitty

>>> gritty

>>>> mechanical advice is limited to popular cars. The laughter is often

>>> forced

>>>> and phony, breaking up at every gag leads to boredom. Dewey,

>>> Cheatham, and

>>>> Howe ain't funny anymore. So while I don't say that they are a

>>> drag, their

>>>> shows have fallen quite a lot from the old days. BTW, only the older

>>>> brother

>>>> is an MIT grad. I used to give them 5 stars, now it's more like 2.5

>>> or 3.

>>>> They are kind of like Siskell (sp? RIP) and Ebert, innovators who

>>>> eventually

>>>> ran out of original ideas and became parodies of themselves.

>>>>

>>>> I made contact with the brother of the previous owner of my

>>> Cressida. He

>>>> is

>>>> a retired mechanic who watched over the car since its original

>>> purchase.

>>>> Nothing but raves and good news about the car. If anything it has

>>> been

>>>> over-maintained! I must confess that I made the deal hastily, based

>>> upon

>>>> intuition rather than a careful mechanical inspection, jumping at

>>> the good

>>>> price. Later I did the inspection and found everything to be in

>>> apparently

>>>> excellent condition, but I was still a little paranoid at my haste,

>>>> hesitant

>>>> to take off on a 2K journey. That is no longer the case, I am

>>> leaving for

>>>> California next week, confident that the wheels are not a concern.

>>> Looking

>>>> forward to Christmas in my old neighborhood in Terra Linda (Marin

>>> County)

>>>> with family and old friends.

>>>>

>>>> Does anyone know if the resurrected Avalon Ballroom is still in

>>> business?

>>>>

>>>> G

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> ----- Original Message -----

>>>> From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <mike.eisenstadt at gmail.com>

>>>> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

>>>> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>; "Hans-Peter Otto"

>>> <hpoPhotog at mac.com>

>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 6:10 AM

>>>> Subject: Re: [AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop

>>>> recommendation

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>> Hans,

>>>>>

>>>>> I shouldnt have said it the way i did. I know you

>>>>> have American citizenship. Also German citizenship????

>>>>> I was thinking of how one can ask a question on

>>>>> the Internet and get the answer back from half

>>>>> way around the world in under 5 minutes.

>>>>>

>>>>> Have you considered retiring back to Austin?

>>>>>

>>>>> about the car. I finally did what i should have done

>>>>> at the beginning: call a parts store and see if there

>>>>> is a transmission filter and gasket kit for this model.

>>>>> Well, they do sell such a kit, which means that the

>>>>> dealership (Leif Johnson) salesman was full of it

>>>>> telling me this model has a metal screen not a

>>>>> replaceable filter.So the B & M Transmission guy

>>>>> was advising the correct precedure (dropping the

>>>>> pan) and the dealer and Jiffy Lube do it the easier

>>>>> way not having to steam clean the old gasket

>>>>> off the pan.

>>>>>

>>>>> I am going to be taking it to Chapman Transmission

>>>>> (also on S. Lamar) who were recommended on

>>>>> the Click & Clack Web page (B & M not

>>>>> mentionned). Jiffy Lube has a TERRIBLE

>>>>> reputation and so does Leif Johnson Ford.

>>>>> Chapman's procedure, like B & M's, is to drop the

>>>>> pan.

>>>>>

>>>>> When you have an idle moment, you should

>>>>> visit the Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers

>>>>> Web page and listen to one of their broadcasts.

>>>>> These are 2 endearing brothers from Boston

>>>>> who own a auto service shop and take calls

>>>>> and answer car questions. You may or may

>>>>> not have heard them (on KUT). They are

>>>>> muy funny. Back in the 60s, in Cambridge

>>>>> Mass they started up a do-it-yourself auto

>>>>> shop (the Good Times Garage) where

>>>>> customers used the garage's tools and

>>>>> advice to work on their own cars (very

>>>>> 60s). It was a total flop. The younger brother

>>>>> then went into the garage business for real.

>>>>> The older brother is actually a business consultant.

>>>>> Interestingly they both went to and graduated

>>>>> from the Mass. Institute of Technology (MIT).

>>>>>

>>>>> Ciao!

>>>>>

>>>>> Mike

>>>>>

>>>>> ----- Original Message -----

>>>>> From: "hpo" <hpophotog at mac.com>

>>>>> To: "survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s"

>>>>> <austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

>>>>> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 5:53 PM

>>>>> Subject: Re: [AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop

>>>>> recommendation

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> Pleasedon´t forget Mike I am only an expatriot, a guest worker in

>>>>> Krautonia

>>>>> hans

>>>>> berlin

>>>>>

>>>>>>>> - - - - - - - - - - - - ->

>>>>>

>>>>>      Hans-Peter Otto

>>>>> Freelance Photojournalist

>>>>>     Reichstrasse 101

>>>>> 14052 Berlin, Germany

>>>>>

>>>>> Mobil   +49    172 321 5956

>>>>>  Tel     +49    30 667 75450

>>>>> Skype            hpoPhotog

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>> On Monday, December 11, 2006, at 04:24PM, "Michael Eisenstadt"

>>>>> <michaele at ando.pair.com> wrote:

>>>>>> Hans,

>>>>>>

>>>>>> the internet, ya gotta love it!

>>>>>>

>>>>>> some german in berlin points me the right way. i'll

>>>>>> call them right after i get straight. unless your view is

>>>>>> that it is best to call them while bent.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> please advise!

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Mike

>>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>>

>>>>

>>>

>>

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> <tool.jpg>