Smoking engine question...

Another way you'll know if the water pump is going out is if you hear squeaking (like a fan belt, but it won't go away). Heard any unusual or prolonged noises coming from under the hood?

As things go, water pumps are not terribly expensive to fix (certainly not like a head gasket). And like slappy said, white smoke is better than black, or blue.

And I'm pretty sure it's not the Johnson rod, or flux capacitor.

 

My friend, your car has given you 140,000 miles of service. It's time to say goodbye if you can't fix this for $300 or less. And keep this in mind: It's not the last thing that will go wrong. After a certain point, you have a choice: Either buy a new car and deal with the payments, or spend the same amount of money trying to keep a dying machine going. And that's all a car is, despite the emotion that's involved in owning and selling them: A machine. Keep the memories, and enjoy that new-car smell.

 

Racist

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I took it in this morning to a mom and pop place that was recommended to me. He popped the hood as soon as I got there, took a look and said "It's either one of two things -- your head gasket (which I had replaced two years ago) or an oil-sending valve (whatever that is). That's only about $25 for the part and 20 minutes of labor."

So I was praying for that and not the head job (hahaha). Well, it turns out it was a hose leaking power steering fluid onto the manifold. Parts and labor it's gonna be $340 and he's fixing that oil valve for free because he said it's not the problem but it's something that could probably stand to be fixed.

So I'm gonna do this and start trying to figure out a way to afford a new car and start looking at them.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. Now I'm just waiting for them to finish it and hitching rides all over the place.

 

Dont make me start posting Ralph Wiggum pics...

 

Fix the car. At least you won't have a car note over your head and your insurance will be cheaper.

 

$340 to fix a hose? WTF?

 

It was all labor. Like I said, under my hood is like a damn puzzle of a maze. If it were any other car, it would've been half of that. You basically have to take everything apart to do just about anything. The part itself was $78.