"Johnny" will be ready tomorrow, barring anything untoward. I may have neglected to mention in my previous entry that the power steering pump was leaking, and is being rebuilt. I also asked Simon to flush and refill the brake fluid. Yes, this is all simple stuff I could do at home, but there are a lot of things going on right now, and I wish to have these items ticked off the list. In any event, Simon does an outstanding job each and every time.
I did stop by Auto Haus earlier today and talk to Simon, and he told me the brake fluid was pitch black. That was a bit surprising since we replaced it just two years ago. According to Simon, it is not unusual if the car was neglected for many years, as Johnny was. All the sediment and other crap gets picked up by the new brake fluid, and thus the current condition of the "new" fluid from just two years ago. That possibility never dawned on me, which it should have, and I should have changed the fluid at least one more time, if not twice in the intervening period. You learn something new every day in this hobby. Simon did mention he completely cleaned out the brake fluid reservoir, so maybe next time it will not be so bad. I think I'll go to a least an annual brake system flush and fill until things get back to normal.
Simon also clued me into the quick turn around on the transmission. I guess he called the gentleman in Texas and explained what we needed. The correct transmission being something like 117-323, if memory serves. "Jaggi" apparently had one already rebuilt on the shelf, so he packed it up the same day, along with a new torque converter, and shipped it off. It got from Missouri City, Texas to Auto Haus in Williamsburg in less than a day. The guy ships them in a 20 gallon Rubbermaid trash can via a private shipper. Go figure. Too bad the USPS isn't so efficient. (Just watch, now I won't get any mail for a week and a half). Simon, bless his big Austrian heart, stayed at it until 11:00 pm last night installing the replacement.
I'll let you know how it drives when I get Johnny back tomorrow.
BTW, if anybody has a lead on a black NOS dash for a 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC, please let me know. Johnny's is cracked in two places and I would like to replace it.
Power steering pump to go.
Old transmission and torque converter ready to be sent to "Jaggi" in Missouri City, TX.
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