On Wednesday, I took my '04 L26 in for the valve cover recall (you know, the one where they let us know in October, but they didn't have the parts, then they had the parts in February, but then they didn't again?); they did whatever it was they were going to do... but then the service advisor gave me a laundry list of things my car needed, including:
Oil pan gasket,
valley pan gasket (and because of that, the upper intake gasket as well!),
struts,
brakes,
front axle seals,
Add to that the gearbox is starting to go out, doing a number where it "slaps" whenever I touch the accelerator and when I start from idle it acts as if I'd been in neutral then gives an almighty yank! I'd changed the fluid & filter in January, and reset the adaptives, but those adaptives had maxed out again within days! So... I have to ask myself: how long can I nurse this motor along for? I'll need a car to be in tip-top shape for fall, when my road trips between Moline and Joliet double every week, but I can't keep pounding sand down a rat hole, nor can I just go buy a new vehicle! ...Though I've had my eye on a Mazda CX-3, to be fair; it's got the essential must-haves, including heated leather seats and HUD!