Been a while since I last posted some updates. Took a week off after finals and have been enjoying the fine taste of not doing anything.
Anyways, I was finally able to go down to the DMV to get started on my registration. It turns out that since the car is a 2000 I need a formal Bill of Sale via a standard form from the DMV instead of just a printout from the yard. So I have to go back to San Jose and get them to fill that out. Good thing was that I got a temporary permit issued to me so I can legally drive it around! w00t! So now that I can drive it got the following done
Tires finally installed. Its amazing how much of a power loss there was using a 175 instead of the stock 165s. Its got much more pep now. Its no 4.0 but it can move itself fairly well on a level ground. Which brings me to my next problem......
The 2nd gear syncro is shot. 1st->2nd shifts are fine, just down shifting from 3rd->2nd grinds. Which is kinda odd since normally it should grind up or down. On top of that, the clutch is gone, I cannot drive uphill anything steep. Say a 2% grade tops will more or less stop me.
Auto stop seemed cranky, but I think that was more due to my 12volt battery being half dead than anything else.
When it was on the lift getting the tires installed found out that both my back shocks are blown out as well. Front passenger side strut is a total write off, the drivers side setup seems to have a bit of life left.
The best way to make the seats look like new is to pull the covers off and stick them in a washing machine. Downside is it takes forever to pull them off. Should have a small write up about that later on.
Now I've got a small dilemma. A junkyard tranny is going to set me back around $800, clutch set $300. Front struts $90 per, rears $130 per, grand total of $1540 buckaroos.
Unfortunately or fortunately, haven't decided yet, I have finished my 3 yrs needed at a JC and will be transferring to UCLA in the fall> Hopefully I'll be able to meet some of you SoCal'ers. But because of my transfer I am going to be seeing a ton of new expenses inside of 3 months.
Now if I run the Jeep down south, I'm out about $3k in gas or so assuming I drive the same amount of miles per year. The Insight would only cost me about $980 bucks for the same number of miles. If I fix the Insight right now, I'm out the same amount of cash, so its a bit of a wash. On top of that I doubt I'll have the facilities to tear down the Honda is something major breaks over there.
So dunno what I want to do at this point. Fix it up and take it with me, or patch her up and let it sit