Car troubles are fun when rent+car+insurance are due

[cyng <cyng@lamere.net>]

Hello. Here's something to make you all feel a bit better about your 
situations.
Granted, this isn't the worst that has happened to me, but it still 
sucks. Read
and enjoy ... or commiserate, as appropriate. Occasionally, there will be 
a
place where the text reads, ">INPUT TIME<" where I'll ask for some 
suggestions.
If you have any, please share them. Any input will be a GREAT help to my 
over-
worked mind.

   There are two cars involved in this story.
   The first is a '95 GLX which I've had for about a month. Mods? Few, as 
of yet,
and I mean FEW. An air box modification was done (snow mesh removed, that 
big
tube thingy on the top half of the box removed). A chrome VR6 badge was 
added to
the previously-bereft front grille (courtesy of Kevin Ng with the cool 
last
name). That's it. Plans? Grandiose, ranging from K+N OEM to a Garret chip 
to
2" lowering to 16" rims and so forth and so on ad nauseum. This car will 
hence-
forth be referred to as either "Car A" or "the GLX."
   The second is an '84 A1 GLi which I've had for about a year. Mods? I 
won't
list all the work that has been done on the zippy little box, just a few. 
1"
lowering courtesy of Boge and Neuspeed. K+N air filter courtesy of ... 
well,
K+N. A new distributor. 6 new fuel injectors (on a 4-cyl, yes. This is the
result of first needing a new set as a course of matter and later 4.5 
gallons
of water in the fuel system ruining 2 of the new ones). A new warm-up 
regulator
courtesy of a used parts rbuilding shop out west. A sporttuned exhaust 
courtesy
of New Dimensions, along with a new catalytic converter. And I can't 
remember
what else - some electrical stuff and some coolant hoses and other hoses 
and
so forth and so on and suchlike and whatnot. Anyhow, it's needed and had a
lot of work. This little buggy will henceforth be referred to as either 
"Car
B" or "the GLi."
   And now for the story.
   It is nearing the end of the month. Rent is due in a week. Car 
insurance is
due in two. The GLX's payment is due in three. I won't tell you all how 
much
each of these is, because a number of you smacked my bills into the 
ground with
your own $1k+ rents and such. How nice that you can afford such. The 
situation
here is far different, however. Things are tight. Very tight. Everything 
is
covered, so far, though. Two incomes let us make ends meet, with a little 
bit
left over. The car payment will be sent out on time (refinancing will 
occur
sometime before the summer is over). The rent will be payed on time. 
Insurance
will be paid on time. Everything is hunky-dory, right?
   Well, here's the situation, after tonight.
   Car A needs all new pads. I can hear some squealing from what sounds 
like
the rear when I apply the brakes. Applying them harder makes the noise go
away, but it IS there. I looked at the pads through the rims, and they are
really quite thin. I need to replace them soon or I'll be needing new 
calipers
and discs as well. And I can't afford 'em at the moment. Pads, yes. 
Calipers
and discs, hell no. >INPUT TIME< Do you have suggestions for replacing the
stock brake pads? Brand and source and probable cost?
   Car A also needs an oil change. Due to the holiday, I won't be able to 
get
the car into the dealership until Friday at the earliest, and next Monday
more likely. I'd change the stuff myself TOMORROW had I not heard rumours
about the "special" oil filters which only dealers can get that I'm 
supposed
to use. Is there are truth to this? >INPUT TIME< Do you have any idea if I
can get an oil filter from a source other than the dealership (VIP, NAPA,
Parts America, etc - no Pep Boys around here) that will do the job for 3k
miles? Should I use Castol Syntec Blend 10/30 for summer in New England? 
Or
a heavier weight?
   Car B is the troubled little puppy, however, as it has always seemed to
be the case. Car B's battery is dead. It's a good battery. 2 years old. 
Very
tough. I'm afraid that it's the regulator on the alternator which is bad,
or the alternator itself (cringe). The car's sitting in the parking lot at
work, where it can stay for as long as need be. But, with two people 
working
40-60 hours/week, we NEED both cars up and running ASAP. The car will turn
on, but it'll get about 2 feet and then die if you turn the headlights on.
It'll start, but any additional drain just seems to be too much for it and
it gives up. >INPUT TIME< Should I take the little bugger to the local
alternator/radiator shop and have 'em rebuild it? Or shall I take the 
whole
car into my mechanic's and have him take a look? OR shall I drop in a new
battery and hope that that's the source of the problem?
   Car B also needs new brake pads. Pads. Not brakes. I'd love to replace
the stock brakes on both cars, but that just ain't gonna happen any time
within the next year or so. This is not a top priority on this car, as it
doesn't need 'em so badly as Car A does. >INPUT TIME< Any suggestions on
decent brands of replacement pads for the stock calipers/discs on my '84
A1 JettaGLi?
   Car B also has a weird problem which I thought one of you might be able
to diagnose. It's been leaking coolant for a couple of months now. Not a
lot. Perhaps an inch every other day, sometimes not even that much. I know
that an old car burns fluids, but it shouldn't be burning this much. I 
look
under the car after it's been running, and the worst puddle I've seen in
all this time was a little 3"-in-diameter puddle. A tiny little wet mark.
The weird thing is this: there seems to be coolant pooling on the 
passenger's
side front floor. That's right - the carpetting is sodden with 
yellow-green
liquid that smells kind of sweet. Somebody suggested that this was a 
problem
having to do with the AC or a leak in the AC system or some such. This 
strikes
me as being odd for a couple of reasons, the first being that I didn't 
know
that an AC system had any use for coolant. The second reason is this: my 
AC
has been disabled. I had the belt removed. It is never used, it is never
turned on, it is never cycled. The only reason that I didn't have the 
whole
AC system yanked out of the car is that it'd've cost more money than it 
would
have been worth. >INPUT TIME< Any clues here? Is there some strange hose 
which
runs down by the passenger-side/front floor which may have sprung a leak? 
The
car doesn't run especially hot - about 70-90 Celcius oil temp on any given
day. Could this problem have anything to do with the battery/alternator
problem?
   Anyhow, we don't yet know how this story turns out. It looks as though
I will be getting the oil in Car A changed within two weeks (it's pretty
filthy). I will be bringing Car B into the shop to have the coolant thingy
looked at. I might have the guy check the alternator, too, if I haven't
already yanked the thing and brought it myself to an alternator repair
place nearby. As for brake pads ... well, based upon your advice and
responses, I might be ordering a new set of pads by Wednesday and 
borrowing
the brake tool from a friend to put 'em on the GLX myself.
   Regardless, thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions or 
advice
(warning: advice to junk the GLi will be belligerently ignored - I bought
the thing for $1100, put about $2800 into it since, and as such have no
intensions of giving up just because its battery is on the fritz and the
floor smells funny and is kind of sticky), please drop me a line. Long 
hours
make me very tired, and car troubles are a great source of depression for 
me,
especially having a few at one time like this.
   Thanks again.
- -Tom

          //=-           -=Thomas J. Boyer=-           -=\\
         //              -=cyng@lamere.net=-              \\
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