I'm screwed

[amysusi]

First of all, I was already upset by the car: I just ran down the street for a quick errand which turned out not to be quick (should've known better than try to get a money order on the 1st of the month), and ended having to take a long way home because of an accident. My car just started acting funny. FOr you car experts, what do you think? I doing about 35 and it suddenly feels like the brakes are being put on, but my foot is on the gas. At the stop light, when I tried to go, I applied the gas (I don't stomp on it), and the car just went so slow, and the RPM's were way up. It got up to 7 before it shifted hard, and started picking up speed. Continuing down the street, the car would slow down again and again like I was braking, and the RPM's would go up and down. I was so afraid it was just going to lock up and I would lose control. Even scarier to me was that Nowee was in the back seat. I pulled over for a minute, and then decided to continue the 1 block to my house. I told DH what happened, and he checked the oil (plenty), and drove it around the property, but of course, it was fine for him.

Anyway, so I was about to cry from being so afraid, when I found a note in the office from the owner asking about the missing $107. A lady had come in and paid $107 for her boyfriend's unit, nad apparantly I never took the money. I remember she counted it out. I was preparing the receipt, and had my back turned to her while working out numbers on the calculator(they owe a whiole lot more). Cash is kept in a locked cabinet which I hadn't opened yet. I don't remember having the cash in my hand, only the quarter she paid for the keychains she bought. She must have put it back in her purse, or put it in her truck when she went to get the quarter. Here's where I'm screwed: She has a receipt for the $107. DH is trying to call her, but i tell what good will that do, she has a receipt saying she paid. I usually have the payment in my hand before the receipt leaves my possession. I didn't even know I didn't have the money until I found the owner's message. What am I gonna do? :(

[gonnascream]

I have no clue about the cash, Sorry about that. But on the car. either you had your emergency brake on, your EGR solinoid is going bad, or your Catalitic Converter is about to go out. My chevy did the same thing on the way home one day, had the pedel to the floor, and I was lucky to get it over 25mph.

go have your hubby roll himself under the car with a hammer. have him to tap the converter (very gently !!!!!!) with the hammer. if it sounds like a roll of quarters rolling around in there, it's the honeycomb in the cat, and it's got to be replaced. In case he don't know, the cat is right in the center of the car attached to the exhaust intake/outtake system. if he don't want to do that, have him go out there and take out a spark plug. If it's covered in soot (and I mean COVERED) it's the cat.

The reason the rpm's were going haywire is because the cat regulates pressure in your engine. the rpms read the pressure to regulate with the fuel/transmission.

BTW> this is the REDNECK ya'll was making fun of last night. See, were good for something

[redrig]

Sounds to me like a transmission problem, especially with the RPM's going up and down. Maybe you could call a repair place and explain what it was doing and they could give you some idea?

[Quaker_Parrots]

Parking brake left on(did your DH possibly disengage it when he got in the car?), or transmission.

If it was the catalitic converter, it wouldn't be THAT bad, just slow on take off. (or going up hill, sluggish)

[gonnascream]

nope it can get THAT BAD. cats can take awhile to go out and you not even notice it till your near dying.

[MamaFairal]

Your transmission is slipping!

[amysusi]

Nope, no security camaras, but I was thinking this morning it would be a good idea to have one(in the office). We actually have signs on the premises saying you are being watched by camaras, but there are none. The owner keeps saying he's going to put some in, but I have yet to see it.

DH ws already planning on taking the car in Saturday to get the headlights fixed. They both went out at the same time, and the brights don't work - have to drive with the flashers. I think it's a fuse or something like that. I wonder if it will act up on him today. Probably won't because he's a man, LOL.

Funny story: years ago, the station wagon was making funny noises. Mom kept complaining to dad about it, and he never heard anything, so he kept telling her it was nothing. Then a couple weeks later, we went to visit the grandparents 100 miles away. Before we got to their house, we stopped at an auto parts store in thier town for what I don't remember. When dad got back in the car, and we tried to go, we couldn't. The transmission slipped and we could only go in reverse. Grampa towed it to his house with his motorhome, but because of high winds, we had to hire a tow truck to get it 100 miles back home. Mom was saying "told you so" for a long time.

[AngelGrim]

My husband has been a mechanic for most of his life, his dad ran a shop since my dh was 3 and he said it sounds like the tranny, most cats don't cause that much of a problem, that usually causes it to be slow or sluggish or cause your motor to heat up a bit from not being able to properly get rid of the exhaust.

[iluvmybaby]

DH ws already planning on taking the car in Saturday to get the headlights fixed. They both went out at the same time, and the brights don't work - have to drive with the flashers. I think it's a fuse or something like that. I wonder if it will act up on him today. Probably won't because he's a man, LOL.

Mine turned out to be the headlight switch itself burnt out, with labor it was $250, they had to pull off steering wheel, dash, and underdah :rolleyes: Hope it aint that!

P.S Chrissy13, wish you lived close I am trying to find someone to replace a valve cover gasket for me, mechanics around here want $50 an hour :confused:

[amysusi]

Mine turned out to be the headlight switch itself burnt out, with labor it was $250, they had to pull off steering wheel, dash, and underdah :rolleyes: Hope it aint that!

Oh, Yuck!! DH was trying to figure out how to get the dash off because the heater/air conditioner knob broke off, and he wants to fix it.


I just talked to the owner. He's soo awesome! First let me say, there was a couple managing this place for 2 months before we came along. They stole from him and he kicked them out and has a case pending against them. We've been here almost a year and a half, so I was hoping he would know us well enough to know we'd never do anything like that. But it did cross my mind that he might suspect. He totally doesn't!! He's suspicious of this woman! If I have to make up that money, that's totally fine with me, it was my fault. He probably won't hold it against me though.

[amysusi]

Wow, am I blessed. The owner got a hold of the woman, and she just came in and paid again!! And no, I didn't give another receipt because she already had one. The owner said she could have stuck by her guns and said she'd paid, but because she was so nice about, he removed $60 worth of late fees, and applied it toward their rent, which gives them another month paid up. I'm so releived, and soooo happy, but also shaking my finger at myself for automatically assuming the worst.

[amysusi]

Mine turned out to be the headlight switch itself burnt out, with labor it was $250, they had to pull off steering wheel, dash, and underdah :rolleyes: Hope it aint that!



That's exactly what it is. DH is at the shop right now. $250. As for the transmission, DH said it's not slipping, it's just having a hard time shifting. He went to technical school and has his certificate in auto repair. All his tools were stolen over 10 years ago though, so he only does what he can with what little we have to our car (which hasn't needed much in 5 years).

[Freebeemom]

nope it can get THAT BAD. cats can take awhile to go out and you not even notice it till your near dying.


ITA...this happened to me as well!!

[gonnascream]

I had no warning on mine. It ran fine all day, I had a couple dozen errands, and it was right after I had picked up the TV from the repair shop, I was heading home, and everytime I went to stop it would take a little longer to take off and build up speed. And it got to the last stoplight before the 10 mile stretch home. From that point it was just dragging. The engine was overheating, the rpms were high, and I had no clue, other than some smoke coming from the egr solinoid. I got it home after 5 hours of nursing it down the road, let it cool then tapped the cat with a hammer. it's sounded just like a dozen quarters in there (it should have been real solid). it took about 2 days to fix cause of having to saw off the factory cat, then we had to replaced the solinoid and all the spark plugs. but after that it ran like a dream. but mine had no warning, it was just poof, it exploded.

[menanamama]

we had that car problem....transmission...had to replace the censors and have it fulshed...about 250

[sdmay3]

We just got our van out of the shop . It was doing the same thing and the transmission ended up needing rebuilt. I won't vent in your vent but the transmission had just been replaced in December and the new one only had 10,000 miles on it. We were not very happy. If it hadn't been covered by the warranty it would have cost around 1800.

[queenangie]

Glad to hear that the owner believed
you were honest & truthful about the $$
that woman took.
Shows you've been doing a great job for him.

I don't know anything about cars. Can't help there.

[iluvmybaby]

:rolleyes: I know that they are expense when they break down, but from having many many hoopties I have learned a little here and there about the little tricks they can play. One thing I did not know was about the CAT, never even knew where it was mind you, I think I am going to tap on mine and see what happens

[amysusi]

We just got our van out of the shop . It was doing the same thing and the transmission ended up needing rebuilt. I won't vent in your vent but the transmission had just been replaced in December and the new one only had 10,000 miles on it. We were not very happy. If it hadn't been covered by the warranty it would have cost around 1800.

Dang, that sucks. My parents had a transmission rebuilt in their Windstar, and then soon after it just broke down. They took it to a shop and nobody could figure out what was wrong. For 4 months it was passed around all the shops in that area and no one could figure it out. Someone eventually did, because they finally got it back. They got rid of it about a year ago.

[twinkiesmom]

Glad the lady came in and was honest about pmt. Ya know, when you get yourself psyched up for the worse, isn't it a great feeling when u don't actually encounter the worse? Glad it worked out in your favor. Hope your car can be fixed.