Prior to A-Kon, my transmission had a temperature-sensitive leak- no leak in winter or when cold, leak plenty when idling hot. A-Kon was, in part, a test to see if the leak was managable enough to manage Anime Weekend Atlanta. I made it to Dallas at 8:30 AM with no trouble, and I felt confident enough that I had no worries about making an afternoon trip to buy snacks and print flyers for the WLP room party on Friday.
Afternoon trip. Dallas. June. Dallas heat. Dallas traffic. Heat-sensitive transmission leak.
Yeah, I should have known better.
With
morphyloon and
bar1scorpio in tow, we left the hotel (after many delays) after 2 PM. When we left I had in mind a Wal-Mart and a Kinko's in Irving, near Belt Line Drive. However, I took a quick detour through Deep Ellum, having heard rumors of an Albertson's in the area. Not finding it, I ended up on US 75- the wrong road for Irving- and, misremembering things still further, tried to cut across on Loop 12.
I eventually remembered a Wal-Mart at Midway Road in Farmer's Branch on I-635. Unfortunately, 635 was locked solid with stop-and-go... and this was probably the fatal error, here, taking I-635. By the time we stopped at that Wal-Mart, after multiple detours trying to get around the traffic, the transmission was leaking merrily away. Furthermore, the Wal-Mart no longer carried a full grocery section- a Neighborhood Market had opened on the other side of the freeway.
After shopping at both Wal-Marts (and topping off the transmission fluid) we rolled out again on 635, heading for a Kinko's not far north of the hotel. We'd only gone a couple miles in slow traffic when the smoke began billowing from the rear of the vehicle. The last time this had happened was the day the link first sprang- and that time, somehow, I'd managed to get home without incident. I had serious doubts that I'd manage that this time, but there was no option but to try.
Progress was slow and painful, as with every stop to add fluid from the emergency supply the vehicle became more sluggish, less responsive. Stumbling upon a Kinko's about halfway back to downtown seemed a prime opportunity to let the car cool down, if it was possible during the hottest part of the day. We spent the better part of an hour making copies, my nerves on edge the whole time. I used practically the last of the transmission fluid for one more attempt, and somehow the Exploder got underway again... but limited to reverse and first gear, and reluctant in either.
At about 5:15 I gave up; the engine was overheating (despite the running-cold indication of the gauge), the vehicle barely moved, and the transmission fluid wouldn't last all the way downtown even if the transmission did. I pulled off onto a residential street in University Park, killed the engine, and asked Morphy to call AAA for a tow; the Exploder would move no further under its own power.
AAA was its usual incompetent self. It took fifteen minutes to get a call for help through their system (including one absolute hang-up). What AAA originally promised was a ten minute wait turned into over a two hour wait in the Dallas afternoon heat. Thankfully, I'd managed to park in the shade. While Morphy (eastern Tennessee) and BAR-1 (Detroit area, Michigan) sweltered, I commented that it didn't feel particularly hot to me (wilderness vaguely northeast of Houston).
That lasted until the man who we were parked in front of came out of his house with a bottle of water for each of us. (Very kind of him.) The other two took sips at first, but I took one swallow... and INHALED, nay even TELEPORTED more than half the bottle into my stomach. Evidently I wasn't dealing with the heat as well as I thought.
Time passed; it seems the tow truck company had all its day drivers gone for the day, the night shift driver's car had broken down, and there was no telling when they'd be back. After ages, a taxi finally showed, and BAR-1 rushed off in it- I had to run after him to give him my cel phone number. At last, at 7:30 or a bit after, the tow truck came and picked up the Exploder.
Night was falling by the time the tow truck driver dropped the car in the open air parking lot just north of the con hotel. Thankfully, with Morphy's AAA card the tow was free. We managed to get all the groceries up to the hotel room in one trip, and plans for the rest of the convention went forward, albeit with a cloud over all concerning getting the thing home Monday.
Of course, my choice of tow-accessible parking places led to more worries the next day... but that's another story.
Afternoon trip. Dallas. June. Dallas heat. Dallas traffic. Heat-sensitive transmission leak.
Yeah, I should have known better.
With
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I eventually remembered a Wal-Mart at Midway Road in Farmer's Branch on I-635. Unfortunately, 635 was locked solid with stop-and-go... and this was probably the fatal error, here, taking I-635. By the time we stopped at that Wal-Mart, after multiple detours trying to get around the traffic, the transmission was leaking merrily away. Furthermore, the Wal-Mart no longer carried a full grocery section- a Neighborhood Market had opened on the other side of the freeway.
After shopping at both Wal-Marts (and topping off the transmission fluid) we rolled out again on 635, heading for a Kinko's not far north of the hotel. We'd only gone a couple miles in slow traffic when the smoke began billowing from the rear of the vehicle. The last time this had happened was the day the link first sprang- and that time, somehow, I'd managed to get home without incident. I had serious doubts that I'd manage that this time, but there was no option but to try.
Progress was slow and painful, as with every stop to add fluid from the emergency supply the vehicle became more sluggish, less responsive. Stumbling upon a Kinko's about halfway back to downtown seemed a prime opportunity to let the car cool down, if it was possible during the hottest part of the day. We spent the better part of an hour making copies, my nerves on edge the whole time. I used practically the last of the transmission fluid for one more attempt, and somehow the Exploder got underway again... but limited to reverse and first gear, and reluctant in either.
At about 5:15 I gave up; the engine was overheating (despite the running-cold indication of the gauge), the vehicle barely moved, and the transmission fluid wouldn't last all the way downtown even if the transmission did. I pulled off onto a residential street in University Park, killed the engine, and asked Morphy to call AAA for a tow; the Exploder would move no further under its own power.
AAA was its usual incompetent self. It took fifteen minutes to get a call for help through their system (including one absolute hang-up). What AAA originally promised was a ten minute wait turned into over a two hour wait in the Dallas afternoon heat. Thankfully, I'd managed to park in the shade. While Morphy (eastern Tennessee) and BAR-1 (Detroit area, Michigan) sweltered, I commented that it didn't feel particularly hot to me (wilderness vaguely northeast of Houston).
That lasted until the man who we were parked in front of came out of his house with a bottle of water for each of us. (Very kind of him.) The other two took sips at first, but I took one swallow... and INHALED, nay even TELEPORTED more than half the bottle into my stomach. Evidently I wasn't dealing with the heat as well as I thought.
Time passed; it seems the tow truck company had all its day drivers gone for the day, the night shift driver's car had broken down, and there was no telling when they'd be back. After ages, a taxi finally showed, and BAR-1 rushed off in it- I had to run after him to give him my cel phone number. At last, at 7:30 or a bit after, the tow truck came and picked up the Exploder.
Night was falling by the time the tow truck driver dropped the car in the open air parking lot just north of the con hotel. Thankfully, with Morphy's AAA card the tow was free. We managed to get all the groceries up to the hotel room in one trip, and plans for the rest of the convention went forward, albeit with a cloud over all concerning getting the thing home Monday.
Of course, my choice of tow-accessible parking places led to more worries the next day... but that's another story.