Doppelgänger
07-31-2006, 11:28 AM
So im on my way home from chillin with my friend Thomas after the Gap event. Crusing down Pleasant Hill toward I-85, everything is going smooth. Appearantly not. I came to a stop at Satellite Blvd, the light turned green and i started to go. Suddenly i hear a "ka-chunk", like something got kicked up into my wheel well. Not thinking much of it, i went to accelerate to get into the middle lane. As soon as i did this, i hear a TERRABLE grinding noise. With a panic-like quickness, i get the car off the road and start poking around. I've become a regular at diagnosing problems with my car lately. Hold in clutch, start car...keep holding clutch in...... no problems. Let clutch out.... no problems. Last time i blew a tranny, it was nice and quiet until i let the clutch out.. that was followed by some godawful noises of pieces being flung about in the tranny. But this noise was different. It seems to have changed pitch depending on speed...not gear.
I decide to limp the car home, which is about 6mi. Or not. I got about 3/4 the way home and decided the car needed to be towed. Only under power did it make noise, strange. So i call my roadside assistance and dispatch a towtruck. In the meantime, i try to figure out whats wrong. Bad engine mounts?? Nope. Bad diff mounts? They weren't doing so hot, but i have been being VERY careful not to drive the car hard until i get them replaced. Bad tranny mount? Nope.. Miatas dont have one..... but close. I was randomly checking under the car and saw something shiny under the differential....and it wasn't good. Turns out i managed to snap the Power Plant Frame in 2 pieces!!!!
So i got it out of the car today. Suprisingly it only took me about 10 min from the time i jacked the car up to pulling it out.. then again, i have done it several times before.
I noticed the bolt that is under the shifter/turret area was missing. The 2 bolts at the front of the PPF were in and tight while the ones on the diff itself were... well, one was missing and the other was just more then hand tight
I had been driving the car and noticed the shift lever torquing over under acceleration, but i thought it was my diff mounts startign to go bad. Turns out the top of the PPF snapped 2 weeks ago when i noticed the problem, the bottom half snapped lastnight. I could tell because the break o nthe top was dark and dirty while th ebottom break was clean and shiny
Ill have it all back together tomorrow though
I decide to limp the car home, which is about 6mi. Or not. I got about 3/4 the way home and decided the car needed to be towed. Only under power did it make noise, strange. So i call my roadside assistance and dispatch a towtruck. In the meantime, i try to figure out whats wrong. Bad engine mounts?? Nope. Bad diff mounts? They weren't doing so hot, but i have been being VERY careful not to drive the car hard until i get them replaced. Bad tranny mount? Nope.. Miatas dont have one..... but close. I was randomly checking under the car and saw something shiny under the differential....and it wasn't good. Turns out i managed to snap the Power Plant Frame in 2 pieces!!!!
So i got it out of the car today. Suprisingly it only took me about 10 min from the time i jacked the car up to pulling it out.. then again, i have done it several times before.
I noticed the bolt that is under the shifter/turret area was missing. The 2 bolts at the front of the PPF were in and tight while the ones on the diff itself were... well, one was missing and the other was just more then hand tight
I had been driving the car and noticed the shift lever torquing over under acceleration, but i thought it was my diff mounts startign to go bad. Turns out the top of the PPF snapped 2 weeks ago when i noticed the problem, the bottom half snapped lastnight. I could tell because the break o nthe top was dark and dirty while th ebottom break was clean and shiny
Ill have it all back together tomorrow though