This week our only car, the 1991 Isuzu Amigo, yeah the one I just spent $300 on a new top for started squealing whenever the clutch was engaged (it is a manual transmission). I first noticed it this weekend at the ballet while we were driving along together over the weekend.

I commented about the sound and how it didn’t seem like a good or normal thing N said it was the cold temperatures causing it and was done with it. The sound and also the fact that the clutch has been sticking and loosing pressure has been going on since the weekend.

Today when we got all bundled up in our 3 layers and were headed out to hit a few stores we immediately noticed that our sidewalks and streets were iced over as we practically slipped to our death on them which meant the drive was going to be crazy.

N scraped the car windows and we were all set to leave the house when the car would not go in to gear. It was like the clutch was not engaging despite N’s forceful attempts at engaging it. The clutch would not work and the car is still squealing away.

I am pretty sure the transmission is shot now. When the clutch was still engaging but the squealing started we thought it was a transmission fluid issue. Just today N pulled the car repair book and read that the fluid access area was under the car. This of course discouraged him about adding transmission fluid which it clearly needed.

Before heading out to the attempted shopping trip he called several lube and oil places to see who works on manual transmissions. If we could pay someone to add the fluid that would be great. Problem is only one place would do it, for $130.00 and it would take several hours. That would make N late for work so that idea was out of the question I guess…

Now the car wont go in to gear and we are trying to figure out our transportation situation. How will N get to and from work through the holiday week? N got a ride from a coworker and went in an hour early today. Will we be able to get the car to a mechanic to fix the issue before the holidays or after? The car is being towed to a local transmission shop for free today thanks to our Chevron Travel club membership.

N will get to drive a station vehicle home from work tonight to ensure he is able to get to and from work the rest of the week. We know the repair work will take several days and that it will probably not even start until after Christmas since no mechanic is going to be fixing a car on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

I am still wondering if it will be an easy (inexpensive) fix or will it break the budget?

All I know is that it was our only transportation and I thought we were trying to be proactive in maintaining it so it would be there for us and get us around. Now we are in a predicament and it is all our fault for not acting sooner to fix the issue once we noticed it.

Although, I am beginning to calm down and to be less angry about the issue. Must be my hormones making me a raving lunatic huh?

Oh and it is not snowing, we have freezing rain here and will continue to the rest of the day. If it snowed I might feel a bit better…

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