To be more accurate, the auto shop that housed my car wasn't in Hachinohe, but in the general area. The workshop was actually in Misawa. (For those of you that are or were in the US military at some point, the answer to your question is yes, that Misawa.) I had to connect onto a local train to get to the station, and I knew I picked the right one when I saw the American military personnel on it with their suitcases. They looked like they were returning from vacation, and some were greeted by families and other military personnel in full uniform.
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| The plane is apparently a city mascot, as there were some references of it around the area. |
The mechanic, Kubo-san, came to pick me up at the station in his modified Subaru Outback. This is the same mechanic that towed me when Tackawanna originally broke down. On the way there, we exchanged plesantries, and he gave me the usual you're-crazy-to-have-travelled-that-far-in-such-an-old-car speech. I didn't fight back on that; I just wanted to get Tackawanna and go home.
Kubo-san explained the repair job to me. As it had turned out, the actual radiator had a burst in its upper tank. He showed me the old radiator, and it looked pretty old and worn. Fantastic, I thought. Tackawanna's now all better, and I can take her home.
But he didn't stop there.
He took me out to Tackawanna and opened the hood so that I could see the work. There was, in fact, a new radiator. But alongside the new radiator, he had to make two modifications. The first was that he removed the thermostat from its gasket without replacing it. The second was that he put on a new radiator cap, but took off one of the rubber stoppers to alleviate pressure. As it turned out, Kubo-san was concerned that what had caused the rupture was either a gasket or a piston. If either were warped, it could've built up extra pressure in the cooling system, which could've caused the rupture. Putting back the original cap and thermostat would then have the effect of pressure building up in the system again, and then I'd have to get another new radiator.
Reeling from the shock, I went inside and paid for the repair. $400. Compared with the train ticket prices both ways, this vacation was already too expensive.
Before I left, he recommended that even though Tackawanna was tested on the express roads, I should first stick to driving back on regular roads (in this case, National Route 4), and then get on the express road around Morioka if there were no further issues. He then warned me that the passenger-side window switch was broken. The window could go down, but not up. I told him that I'd look at both issues as soon as I got back to Aizu. I set off.
Of course, being the total idiot that I am, I tried operating the switch while driving. The window, as he had said, would go down, but not up. I now had that window stuck at two-thirds of the way up. To make matters worse, I couldn't move the window back up manually at a gas station with the help of an attendant. And, there was a typhoon scheduled to hit the Tohoku region that evening.
JUST.
With no other choice but to maintain constant driving to prevent rainwater from seeping in, I set off on the express roads after the gas station stop and drove back to Aizu. I ended up making contact with the typhoon about 40 miles north of Sendai. I was passing through different intensities as I drove further south. The storm would get bad, and then it would lighten up, and then it would get worse, and then less worse, and then at some point between bad and worse, before lightening up again.
I arrived back on campus just as the rain started picking up again. I had to go outside and use plastic garbage bags, some flimsy tape, and two frying pans to cover the window, which did the job of keeping the excess water out. I also lost two small pieces of paint removing some of the tape used to cover the window the next morning. As of yet, I have not fixed those spots. (Tackawanna was never really a looker, anyway.)
There was a bit of a silver lining, though. Tackawanna did not break down, or have any hiccups, or show any signs of engine issues on the way back. I also spent that same morning and part of the afternoon removing and cleaning out the window switch for Tackawanna. As it had turned out, the contacts were full of crud, and cleaning them off got the window working properly again. That was a great reprieve for an otherwise sucky weekend.
But today, we dove right back into uncertain waters. I brought Tackawanna to Saito-san, and explained my situation to him. His current theory is a warped piston, but until the tests are ran and the engine inspected, he has no idea what the problem is or what it will take to fix it. He promised to try and keep everything cheap, even in the case of a head gasket, but he did tell me, however, that if my block is cracked, I'm essentially fucked. I'll get the results on Tuesday.
Of course, there is the chance that the radiator was just old after all and the engine was fine. The engine did not show any signs of failure until I hit that rough patch of road, and there were no engine problems with the car coming back. Tackawanna also still runs and drives fine, apart from having no thermostat, which is used to optimize coolant flow and efficiency. And as much as getting another car sounds like an easier solution, it's not. Tackawanna has 9 months of road taxes and 21 months of shaken left. If I get another car, I'll have to go through that whole car-buying process again. And I'd still end up with an older car which could have a similar problem.
But not having a car would be an even worse decision. Aizu is a big place, and it can be especially hot during the summer. Walking or bicycling is going to be impossible for me, even as I have started going to the gym. And as a car enthusiast, it would absolutely kill me to be in one of the most unique car places on the planet with no car.
So at this point, I just have to sit here and wait for the verdict. I've probably used up all of my luck between the trip home and fixing the window, so I'm not holding my breath. If the repair bill is too high, then the plan will be to just drive Tackawanna until the engine gives in for good. I can still use her around town, and maybe take an occasional hop to Koriyama or Fukushima City, but either way, I'm not taking any more expeditions like I did this month. As much as it pains me to say, there's a train for that.
-wp
1 comment:
Will, this too, shall pass. Just another little hiccup in life. I believe that tacky will be just fine. We thought it would be much worse and it was the radiator. Think positive. He/she will be fine.
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