Discovered that used VW 02T(?) 5 speed transmissions (not 6 speed!) do not exist, parts are unavailable to rebuild. 2012 Golf with low miles and in decent shape going to the scrapper.
A Jeep Patriot can be fully functional even when the underhood grounds are corroded to where the wires are floating free.
Replaced the old nasty chrome wheels on an Escalade with new GM knockoff chrome wheels from whatever country China outsources to. The wheels felt like peanut butter when torquing the lug nuts. Mind you we are going unto summer and the A/C is broken and there are numerous maintenance and repair items heavily deferred, both convenience and safety items, but dangit gotta have non corroded wheels.
And, this shows up.
Not everything I did today...
wae
PowerDork
5/9/22 5:39 p.m.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
An om642 with clogged up swirl flaps!? I don't believe it!
That's totally crazy that a 10 year old car needs to be thrown away because there isn't even a rebuild kit out there
In reply to wae :
We can install a VW reman unit for $7k.
If it were mine, I would look into a 6 speed swap. Much more common. Not every unicorn is a high performance model.
If I didn't have the Volvo and it didn't just return a total trip average of 32.3mpg (in a 300-odd horsepower 4000lb all wheel drive tank!) I would consider making an offer on the car and trying for it. It is that clean, and I like the 07K five-cylinder.
I am in the 07k swap the world club.
NickD
MegaDork
5/9/22 6:14 p.m.
The Escalade thing doesn't surprise me. In my experience the majority of Escalades are owned by younger people who want one as a status symbol and then can't afford to fix all the fancy E36 M3 that breaks. A Tahoe of the same age and mileage tends to be owned by a meticulous old guy who keeps it pristine.
Tahoes are owned by soccer moms!
I'm assuming that Lotus did some consulting on the Jeep Patriot, because that looks like the classic Lotus "air ground". If it's working, don't ask. A friend used to have a Europa where the functional tails were "grounded" to the fiberglass body.
The only thing that surprises me about the Escalade is that the ac didnt take precedence. We always had customers that would pay $1000 to fix ac and ignore the wore out brakes and tires.
NickD
MegaDork
5/9/22 8:45 p.m.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
No no no, soccer mom Karen drives a Yukon Denali. Tahoe's are old guy vehicles. At least around here.
NickD
MegaDork
5/9/22 8:57 p.m.
On the topic of junking things for lack of transmission parts, we had a guy bring in one of those rare Tahoe Hybrids, ya know the one that gets worse fuel mileage than a regular Tahoe, with a slip in 3rd and 4th gear. Guy took it everywhere and no indy shops would touch it, because hybrid, so he brings it to our dealership. Before starting, our trans tech went and made sure internal parts were still available because it's entirely different than a regular Tahoe transmission. It has two 80lb electric motors and a weird tiny fluid damper instead of a torque converter. Surprisingly all the internal parts are available, so he tore it down and found that the snap ring for the 3-4 clutch drum broke all the teeth off of the case. Case isn't available, GM doesn't offer a new transmission, no one offers a remain transmission, and good luck finding a used transmission
In reply to NickD :
Fair point. My sister in law drives a Denali and she has three kids that play soccer. I was considering that to be the same vehicle but I am unaware of the subtle class distinctions.
The only person I know who has owned a Tahoe is...well, he's older than I am.
My ex business partner drives a Tahoe. He's 66.
I must be super young.
I coach rec league soccer for 7 year olds. A kid nearly vomited on me today. My wife, who is a teacher has this happen to her on a weekly basis, laughed at me.
Perspective I guess.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :
I taught Lil Stampie at a young age to aim for the tub not the toilet. Much easier to hit for a young kid. Still washes down the same unless it's chunky but I'd rather deal with that than all over the bathroom floor.
NickD said:
On the topic of junking things for lack of transmission parts, we had a guy bring in one of those rare Tahoe Hybrids, ya know the one that gets worse fuel mileage than a regular Tahoe, with a slip in 3rd and 4th gear. Guy took it everywhere and no indy shops would touch it, because hybrid, so he brings it to our dealership. Before starting, our trans tech went and made sure internal parts were still available because it's entirely different than a regular Tahoe transmission. It has two 80lb electric motors and a weird tiny fluid damper instead of a torque converter. Surprisingly all the internal parts are available, so he tore it down and found that the snap ring for the 3-4 clutch drum broke all the teeth off of the case. Case isn't available, GM doesn't offer a new transmission, no one offers a remain transmission, and good luck finding a used transmission
wonder if you could put a regular trans in it and reflash the computer so its no longer a hybrid.
In reply to Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) :
You may have to do a lot of other changes, the hybrids have a bunch of electric accessories. Not sure about the A/C but the power steering is electric, not sure if it is 12V or high voltage or something.
How many doors on that Golf?
NickD said:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
No no no, soccer mom Karen drives a Yukon Denali. Tahoe's are old guy vehicles. At least around here.
Maybe that's why Denalis have AWD and Tahoes/lower trim Yukons have 4WD.
NickD
MegaDork
5/10/22 10:34 a.m.
eastsideTim said:
NickD said:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
No no no, soccer mom Karen drives a Yukon Denali. Tahoe's are old guy vehicles. At least around here.
Maybe that's why Denalis have AWD and Tahoes/lower trim Yukons have 4WD.
That's an interesting point. I just assumed it was because having to manually engage 4WD is for the poors.
In reply to Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) :
Two.
Working on the Sprinter...
Today is going to be fun.
wae
PowerDork
5/10/22 10:44 a.m.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Better to put a new battery in than a new battery cable?
That is the one nice thing about mine being under the passenger seat: The battery and its terminals were absolutely pristine. Not a spec of dirt or corrosion anywhere.
mtn
MegaDork
5/10/22 12:24 p.m.
The only person I've known who had a Tahoe, in the last 20 years anyway, was my uncle who had one from 2007ish until about 2017. He was 58 when he bought it; it replaced a Cadillac. He put 400,000 miles on it before replacing it with the "Cowboy Cadillac", aka a High Country Silverado. He likes to emphasize the "High" part of that.
mtn said:
He likes to emphasize the "High" part of that.
He does live in Illinois, after all.
wae said:
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Better to put a new battery in than a new battery cable?
That is the one nice thing about mine being under the passenger seat: The battery and its terminals were absolutely pristine. Not a spec of dirt or corrosion anywhere.
Was putting battery in, terminal stayed on cable. Came off with almost no effort.
Oddly enough, with a new aux battery, all of the comms codes didn't come back. It is almost as if electronic devices require stable voltage to function! 
Next up, an alavanche that needs... a lot. First thing I saw under the hood amused me...
Self removing A/C belt again.
NickD said:
eastsideTim said:
NickD said:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
No no no, soccer mom Karen drives a Yukon Denali. Tahoe's are old guy vehicles. At least around here.
Maybe that's why Denalis have AWD and Tahoes/lower trim Yukons have 4WD.
That's an interesting point. I just assumed it was because having to manually engage 4WD is for the poors.
From what I have seen, SUV drivers are indifferent enough that they will happily drive one in manual 4WD on dry pavement until it breaks something. The people who buy Denalis usually complain more, though.
I can attest to the crappy maintenance on a Escalade. I have spent a couple thousand dollars and a gang of hours untying years of deferred maintenance on mine. I can also talk to the status (although I would say stigma) of the Cadillac. As a middle class working Joe I would rather drive a Suburban but I don't plow or drive off road so I would rather have all wheel drive than 4wd and the allure of 403HP in the 6.2 is strong. That said you feel like a tool when you have the only Cadillac at the campground in a sea of (more expensive) crew cab F150's.
At my work today I got to catch a beat down from one executive for doing what I was told to do by 2 other executives. I have literally spent 6 weeks putting together pilesof contrasting data and costing for 2 different business scenarios. The mention of the second one started the slap around. I could have just taken a 6 week nap and been in the same place. We all have to deal with E36 M3, it isn't always the same shape but it's still E36 M3.
