I hate worms...

Hocrest · #1 08-23-2007, 08:32 PM

Last night I got a call from Melis, she was driving my SVX and it lost power and started bellowing large clouds of smoke. The engine was still running, but none of the gears would move the car and there was red fluid dripping all over the place

After making sure that she was OK, and the car was safely off the road, I grabbed some lights, some tools and some ATF and headed out. Going over everything in my head and while talking to her on the way there, I was guessing that one of the lines leading out of the trans sprung a leak. The guy that helped push the car off the road, said that he was a mechanic and it "was definately a dead transmission"

I got there and looked down and the hose had completely slipped off of the output from the trans.

I slip it back on and try to tighten the worm screw hose clamp. It won't tighten, the damn thing stripped.

I dig another clamp out of my parts bag and fasten the hose. Then add a gallon of ATF. And drive it away

I just checked the clamps about a month ago before we left for the dragon, I bought them new when I swapped this trans in about a year ago...
I've had those stupid clamps fail while tightening, but this is the first that I've had one fail while in use. I have always preferred the Subaru type clamps, but many times I can't reuse them since they twist apart when you remove them. Well I stopped at the dealer today and got these;

I'll be replacing clamps tomorrow. No more worms for me

sicksubie · #2 08-23-2007, 10:19 PM

speaking of the dragon...... Where are my 2 stickers that I bought while I was there at the meet?

just kidding

ensteele · #3 08-23-2007, 10:20 PM

Yep, it "was definately a dead transmission" I guess you are glad that it was only a hose that had slipped off. I hope you found out where he worked so you can make sure you don't take your car to him.

Hocrest · #4 08-23-2007, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sicksubie

speaking of the dragon...... Where are my 2 stickers that I bought while I was there at the meet?

just kidding

Oh yeah... did you pay Steve that night? Send me a PM...

sicksubie · #5 08-24-2007, 12:02 AM

I did pay steve and I did drop you a PM. Sheesh, what are you busy or something?

Bucky92 · #6 08-24-2007, 02:34 AM

I got the call from melis while she was waiting for Dave..I agreed that it had to be something simple with Princess's tranny.

I have to laugh at the mechanics commment on the toasted tranny...must not be that good of a mechanic..

crazyhorse · #7 08-24-2007, 07:18 AM

Well I'll play the "devil's advocate" here.
IF the guy never looked under the hood, then the symptoms, and SVX history, would lead to a snap diagnosis of a fried tranny.
I had a similar experience with my Olds not long ago. I replaced the Rad. & missed a clamp when I "Nut & Bolted" it. POP, hose comes off , car quits moving. As much of a POS as this car has been, not to mention I'd just paid it off, I thought "UH HUH the *%#^ tranny just died".

BTW I reused the factory clamps, but had a brain fart.

JaySVX · #8 08-24-2007, 08:38 AM

Ooh, i don't care for those types of clamps at all. I much prefer the standard hose clamps i've been using for years. When i did my radiator, i had to cut near all of those clamps off, as the metal had dug so far into hte rubber, and rusted so bad, that even after cutting, ihad to pry them out with a pair of pliers. In some cases, I had to cut the end of the hose off entirely, as it was so badly damaged.

Glad to hear it wasn't anything major and you were able to get it on the way in a reasonable amount of time though.

My choice:

Hocrest · #9 08-24-2007, 10:23 AM

Jay, that's the type of clamp that blew apart on me. Coincidentally, the same thing happened on the same night to a member over at Subaru.com

Unfortunately, his was on an engine oil line and it ended up killing his engine

Getting the subaru style off can sometimes be a problem, but if they're rusty a quick snip with the dikes and they're off, something you can't do to a tight worm clamp.

JaySVX · #10 08-24-2007, 10:48 AM

I can understand being hesitant about not being able to cut them off, but i've never had one of these fly on me. I've been using htem for years, if anything my only turn-off to them is 99% are flat-head screw driver only, and it can often be rather tricky to get a flat-head to stay on there without sliding off. I will keep a close eye on them now though, that you mention it. Thanks for heads-up.