[AGL] off topic question - need transmission shop recommendation

[Michele Mason]

You may not remember this, but I've kept it all this time, until I was  
ready to get my truck running. Mr. Bohannan says, "Tell Maggie, Hello  
and thanks for the referral."  He'll pick it up next week sometime, so,  
I thank you, too.  michele

On Dec 12, 2006, at 10:05 AM, Margaret Martone wrote:


> Michael: Don Bohannan, Bo's Automotive, 512/784-4641 or 933-0658. He  

> kept my cars running for many years before I bought a new one and,  

> actually, did the 30,000 mile maintenance on my 2004 for about $200  

> less than the dealership. He is GOOD, HONEST, and worth the drive out  

> near Decker Lake!

>

> Margaret

>

>

>> 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 09:52:12 -0600

>>

>> Gerry,

>>

>> I appreciate your unvarnished advice. I havent serviced it yet, so

>> am open to whatever info you can give me.

>>

>> The 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis (identical to Ford Crown Vic)

>> is hardly a vintage machine. When we bought it 3 years ago, of

>> course i checked the ATF and it was quite red and not smelling

>> burnt, just the nasty smell of fresh ATFluid. Up to just recently

>> the ATF seemed the right color. Now it seems brownish and

>> smelling slightly burnt. The phone guy i got at the JiffyLube on

>> S. Lamar suggested massive indifference so i thought to go past

>> the JiffyLube on Guadaloupe & 38th to smell around. You

>> are right that many JiffyLubes are run well. As it is a franchise

>> there are quite a number of JiffyLubes which are horror shows.

>>

>> Not knowing this model, I still dont know whether there is

>> a steel screen for a filter in this transmission or the traditional

>> replaceable filter. The service rep at Leif Johnson said the former.

>> Two transmission shops told me the latter. South Austin Auto

>> (you should know this parts store) sells a filter/gasket kit.

>> If Ford recommends flushing it without dropping the pan or

>> changing the filter, i would go that route because after dropping

>> the pan it is very difficult to keep the new gasket from a slow

>> weep. Please advise how i can find out the real Ford

>> recommendation. Leif Johnson is notoriously a hardball dealership

>> so it would be imprudent to assume that a service rep there was

>> not lying. I worked for a while at McMorris Ford so i know

>> how crooked dealerships are.

>>

>> I just spoke to the guy at the Valvoline Express shop on

>> Research. He said there is a removable filter. Drop the

>> pan he advised for the first change ($70). Then alternate with

>> the full flush leave the filter alone option afterwards ($90). He

>> says there is a rubber gasket which they replace when dropping

>> the pan. The B & M phone guy said the rubber gasket was

>> reusable.

>>

>> 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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