Wednesday, August 03, 2005

What Exactly Does a Transmission Do?

This morning when we logged onto the internet to check the status of the package and hooray...... it was in Alaska and out for delivery!!! Ed checked with the UPS store and was told that they usually got their delivery between 11:00am and 1:00pm. At noon we pulled out of the RV park (check out time) and headed to the UPS office. After waiting patiently in the parking lot for a little over an hour the package arrived. We could leave Palmer and head for Valdez. Ed did notice something funny about the truck though. Only a couple of the gear positions were lit up (3rd and 1st) but we assumed it just an issue with the display as the truck appeared to operate otherwise normally, so we would get checked out the next time we were near a GM dealer – WRONG. A little town called Sutton had a historical site regarding coal mining and we decided to stop and have a look around. Some of the buildings were from the 1960's which isn’t very historic but reminds you just how young Alaska is. Continuing on our way the scenery became more mountainous and thus the roads became more hilly with steep and winding roads. About 30 miles from Sutton as we were going down a big hill Ed told me we needed to pull over at the next pull off and to figure out what was going on with the truck. Luckily, there was a pull off at the bottom of the hill. Ed then explained to me that we no longer had a transmission ... well it turned out that we did have reverse and 1st (I figured that was better than nothing). It also turned out that the pull out was actually a wayside campground and there was room for the 2 rigs. Using reverse and 1st Ed managed to get the trailer parked ... managing to only partially park in a large mud puddle (his rubber boots came in handy!). Next it was time to figure out where to get the truck repaired and how to get it there. Cell phone service wasn’t great but if he stood on the tool box in the back of the truck he could get reception. First call was to our road side assistance plan to arrange a tow... ooops we had to figure out where it was going first. Second call was to information looking for GM dealers in Anchorage (85 miles from where we were)... they said there were no GM dealers in Anchorage (that seemed weird). A person walking through the parking lot gave us the name of the Chevrolet dealer in Wasilla (about 50 miles from where we were). A call to the Chevrolet dealer resulted in the information that their transmission expert was going on holidays next week (great) but they did reveal there was a GM dealer in Wasilla but wouldn’t tell Ed the name or phone number. Another call to information .... this time Ed got the number of GMAC (argh!!!). Another call to information resulted in a phone number for the GM dealer. The service manager at the GM dealership was fantastic. When Ed described the problem, he immediately knew what was causing it — the switch attached to the transmission had failed (this is a problem that they’ve seen a lot up here). When the switch fails the transmission’s computer doesn’t know what gear it’s it so it ceases to function. Ed and Colin fiddled with the switch and got it recognize D (drive) — Ed would be able to drive the truck to the dealer and wouldn’t need a tow. A call back to the GM dealer resulted in a 7:30am appointment. Colin was thrilled ... he would need to get up at 5:45am so he could follow Ed to the GM dealer ... I think we owe him big time!



Zaph needed some special cuddle time while we waited for the package. Splash told him you should sit on your mommy's lap when ever possible --- thanks alot Splash!


Now that's one big pooper scooper!


Now this is the pooper.


So what's this?


"The Tug Bug". It was parked at the wayside campsite.

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