Wow this is a good one. I will certainly stay tuned for the enlightenment
from the list.
FWIW , there seems to be a lot of Healey trany parts on ebay lately
including bellhousings if you need one. The seller keeps getting "skunked"
on his auctions. Sooner or later maybe he'll lighten up and realize that all
used parts shouldn't START at a $75.00 price tag just because they belong on
a Healey.
I can get you his number if you don't want to do the E-bay thing. Sometimes
talking direct can yield you a much better price.
Mark
----- Original Message -----
From: <STEV0001@aol.com>
To: <healeys@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 10:03 PM
Subject: Mechanical Mystery Tour
> Hello all:
>
> For those that think troubleshooting 40 year old British cars is
a
> fun way to spend some time, you should have a blast with this one...
>
> The car - BJ8 w/overdrive - 65K miles.
>
> The symptoms - Two weeks ago had to brake hard and heard a horrible,
> very loud noise from what I thought was under the hood on the passenger
side.
> The noise sounded like an automatic transmission that had been thrown in
park
> at 60 mph. (If not for rental cars how would we know what that sounds
like?)
> Anyway, after stopping, the car drove and shifted fine with no other
> symptoms.
>
> I called the shop and they surmised that the engine mounts were loose
> and the abrupt stop threw the drive train into the radiator and fan.
Took the
> car to the shop...no sign of the radiator being damaged or breached in
any
> way. Wanted to charge me $1600 to change suspension parts "just
because."
> ?????
>
> I took the car home and it drove/shifted fine. Today, while driving
> along, I heard the noise while cruising in fourth gear. It only lasted
about a
> second but was very loud. The car continued to shift and drive fine. I
> later looked under the hood and noticed a chunk out of the transmission
bell
> housing, about 1 1/2" in diameter, at about the "10 o'clock" position (as
you're
> facing the engine from the front - i.e. on the passenger side.) This is
> baffling because if the trans decided to implode and shoot something out
of the
> housing, how come it still drives and shifts fine?
>
> Any and all thoughts and/or suggestions will be gratefully received.
> Thanks in advance for your time.
>
> Steve Gizzi
> Benicia, CA
> # 43007
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