Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies
This is the $6 part that caused all the aggravation on our trip to Salt Lake City. According to the dealer who did the repair in SLC, the seal was damaged during installation.
I wonder what the Royal Dodge service department will have to say about that?
Budweiser, The King of Beers, out in the middle of no where on I-15 in Montana is this huge ad. Pretty much a blight on the otherwise gorgeous landscape. The hills behind were dusted with snow while we were in Salt Lake City and are looking quite majestic. The drive up to Butte is very scenic and everyone is enjoying this section of the drive which most of us have not seen before.
Tomorrow we’ll be in Winnipeg, Yahoooo!
We’re heading out from Salt Lake City for Billings tonight and Winnipeg tomorrow. So far the transmission is working fine and if there is any leakage, it’s quite small. So far, we’ve only added 1/2 a quart as we left SLC and the level is holding.
As we head up I-15 to Butte I’m noticing the billboards for various motels and hotels. When I was traveling with my parents in the 70’s, the big thing we looked for on the sign was a colour TV and a pool. Today I notice the draw on the billboards is free high speed Internet access. I know that’s what i look for when I’m shopping for a hotel. Things change. What will my kids look for in 30 years, assuming we’re still driving on the ground.
Today is the last day of the USANA 2006 International Convention and we woke up to a light dusting of snow! Last Wednesday after the sessions I was laying around the pool at the hotel and it was about 29C, clear and sunny.
I attended the Denis Waitley breakout session this morning and it was excellent, very motivational and I think I’ve captured several good ideas that I’ll put into practice. This is the challenge with most things is doing what you’ve heard and know is good to do.
Well it’s been quite and up and down day. The first phone call from the SLC dealer indicates that yes indeed the axle seal is leaking but the problem is deeper. A bearing in the transmission is allowing “excessive” axle movement which may have damaged the seal causing the leak and their solution is a rebuilt transmission, for about $2,450 USD.
This was quite a shock. The SLC dealer doesn’t really offer too many options, actually none. They don’t feel that an axle seal repair will allow up to make it back to Winnipeg. At this point, I need to think about things and call Royal Dodge in Winnipeg to see if they can assist. They call SLC dealer and to make a long story short, they decide on the axle seal repair for about $180, which Winnipeg will reimburse. However, after the repair, the SLC dealer advises there is still a small leak. So, we’ll be armed with extra fluid, sticking to the Interstate routes, and monitoring the leak closely in an attempt to get the van back to the Winnipeg dealer for more servicing. Oh yeah, the other bit of news from the SLC dealer is that the seal they removed during the repair, the one that the Winnipeg dealer installed just about 1 week ago is damaged, and in their opinion, it was damaged at installation. There is a really nasty gouge out of the outer metal edge. It’s amazing how much trouble a $5 part can cause.
Car repairs are really never very welcome and usually extremely expensive. We’ve poured an excessive amount of money into our van this year and it’s been very frustrating. But, car trouble when you’re a long way from home is even more distressing. I’ve spent many hours over the last three days of what should have been an enjoyable drive and a vacation/conference dealing with and processing through this issue. I’m sure there is much to learn from this experience, and I’ll need some time to reflect on what has taken place. I know some of it I’ve handled very poorly and let anxiety and fear get way too far out of control. Thankfully, I’ve had Shirley and some good friends along for the ride and they have been an excellent support and comfort in dealing with the issue.
Even when things are so very far out of my control it’s been difficult for me to surrender it to God and let Him get involved. Now, as I begin to reflect on what has happened so far, I can see His provision in getting me to this point. I hope I can use this knowledge and plant it more firmly in my heart so that I can give all my concerns to Him for the rest of the trip home.
We’re at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City and Shirley and Debbie are standing outside just before the doors open for the 9:00am start. The day was wonderful and we started at 7am with a prayer meeting where over 500 associates came out. The sessions in the Delta Center were awesome and the presentations and presenters were excellent. The company introduced several new sales aids that were outstanding.
My day was a little conflicted as I spent a lot of time out of the meeting taking and making calls about the van’s transmission. Even with all the frustration over that situation, which I’ll cover in another post, the messages were still received loud and clear. USANA is a great company, this is an incredible business opportunity and we’re doing the right thing by being involved with this amazing team. We’re feeling the love.
Nine more pictures in the set, including Debbie on stage!
We start our day off at an area called The Gateway, where there is a Starbucks and enjoy the Olympic Snowflake Fountain. There are no events planned until 1pm so we have the morning off to relax and recover from yesterdays events. The girls go shopping and I take the van in for servicing.
After a shuttle ride back to the Salt Palace, I pick up my conference registration in 60 seconds flat. They have a very efficient system, and highly organized. I then wander around the USANA store and check out the new stuff. Afterwards, it’s off to the Thaifoon restaurant’s for lunch. In the afternoon I take in three sessions, two on technology and one on True Wealth.
After all the sessions are done I head back to the hotel and down to the pool to soak up some rays in the 28C sunshine and just relax. Then it’s off to dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen, and over to the kickoff concert event at the Salt Palace. Collin Raye is the performer and while he’s a well know country artist, I don’t recognize any of the songs. Must be good stuff as lots of people are getting into it. But before this they gave away two cars. Not just any cars, but a Porsche and a Cadillac. I might have picked the 350Z or the Audi but hey, they didn’t ask me.
The day ended with a night cap at, your guessed it, Starbucks.
Technorati Tags: USANA, Salt Lake City,Colin Raye
So, you’re wondering about yesterday’s post and the transmission trouble we had on day 2 of the trip? Here are some more details, for the record.
Day 1 of travel from Winnipeg to Billings Montana is uneventful. The van is running well and we make many stops and starts with no difficulty. However, after we check into the hotel and then are heading out to dinner, the van makes a bit of a rough shift from first to second. I notice it but don’t think too much about it as it only happens once.
The next morning, the van is slow to shift into first gear from park, but then seem to be OK. This should have been a sign to seek help, but hindsight is always 20/20. We press on to the Beartooth Highway which is 100 miles of twisty turny steep 25mph hairpin turns that wind up a mountain to an elevation of just under 11,000 feet. Things seem fine, but I’m getting more and more concerned.
The shifting is getting more and more labored and sometimes when I accelerate it revs up like you’re in neutral before switching gears. But now it’s all too late there is nothing around for 100 miles so we press on into Yellowstone Park. Normally, this is quite an enjoyable drive, but I’m fully pre-occupied with concern over weather or not we’ll make it out of the park to a place where we can get some help. Tension is spreading in the car, and the level of prayer is going right up with it.
Then the transmission refuses to leave first gear and the idiot light “Service Engine Soon” comes on. Why didn’t you tell me that yesterday when I could have got help in Billings? So, we’re stuck going about 60kph max at 3,000 rpm. Good thing the traffic in the park is slow anyway and the roads don’t permit you to go much faster. At one point, we pull over and try putting it in Park and then back into Drive to see if that will help anything. For a very long 60 seconds the transmission doesn’t engage at all and I think I’ve stranded us in the middle of nowhere. But, it does click in and we resume travel in 1st gear only.
In addition to transmission trouble, we need to find washroom facilities urgently, so we pull into a campground. Well, one problem solved, they have washrooms. At this point we discover the problem is a leaking transmission fluid. So, we ask the park staff for help and they turn up 1/2 quart of fluid, but we need more, a lot more. So, Keith and I start talking to all the large RV owners we can find in the campground to see if we can locate some more, no luck. Then we ask a guy is an old beater looking station wagon, and sure enough he has a 1 1/2 quarts of fluid and a paper funnel. What a blessing this gentleman turns out to be as he assists us with the problem. We now have some fluid on the dip stick and decide we’ll try and make it to the nearest location with a service station, West Yellowstone, some 14 miles away. We head out and the transmission is shifting properly, but still a little rough.
It’s a very quiet ride, and we make it to a Sinclair station where we meet Ted, the mechanic who turns out to be another huge blessing. Ted can look at the van in about 45 minutes and tells us to come back in about an hour and a half. So, we tour the town on foot and have some lunch. I can’t eat much, my stomach is in a knot.
When we talk to Ted he explains that the leak is in the driver side axle and will need to be replaced. This is the very same repair that Royal Dodge did only 6 days ago. Unfortunately, West Yellowstone is a small place and he doesn’t have the part and he’s have to order it in. His best estimate is that he could have it repaired by Friday. This would mean we’d miss a big part of the Convention. But, Ted has other options. He figure the leak is manageable and we could buy some fluid, and nurse the van to a larger town where we could get it repaired quicker, perhaps even to Salt Lake City. He even recommends getting the fluid at a near by auto parts store because it will be cheaper that he can sell it for. Ted also gives me advice on how to check the rate of the leak, where to make the first couple of stops so we’ll know how far to go between top ups, and cautions on the perils of over filling (very bad stuff happens here).
Idaho Falls is the nearest centre on our route to Salt Lake City that would have a Chrysler dealership, so we get the fluid and truck on. After a couple of stops, we determine we can go about 75kms before requiring a top up. We bought 6 quarts of fluid and calculate that we’ll have enough to get all the way to SLC and the shifting seems good, so we continue the journey, arriving in SLC at about 9:30 pm, much later than anticipate, but we’re all relieved to be here.
Today, the van is in a local SLC dealership and Royal Dodge has been contacted. The repair should be covered by warranty but Royal Dodge offers no apology, or “Gee, we’re sorry”, or any assistance in locating a dealer here in SLC. There advice, “look in the yellow pages”. Gee, thanks. I doubt if I’ll be buying another Chrysler/Dodge product or getting my Van service there any more.
It’s late and we made it to Salt Lake City after 15+ hours of travel, but there was some trouble along the way. The short version is that a repair to the left front axle seal that we had done just two days before leaving on the trip decided to start leaking while we were high in a mountain pass many miles from any form of service. After lots of praying, some kind help from some fellow travelers and a great garage mechanic, we nursed the van into SLC.
More tomorrow after I’ve had some rest and gained a little more perspective on the trials of the day. But, even with this trouble we laughed a lot of the way and are in good spirits tonight.
p.s. I’ve added more pictures to the flickr set. Some wildlife in Yellowstone.
Today was the first day of driving to Salt Lake City for the USANA 2006 Convention. The drive was quite pleasant and fairly uneventful. Keith and I split the driving and we made a few rest stops. One of course was at Medora, where I’ll be back in a few weeks to do some mountain biking on the Maah Daah Hey trail. At one of the next stops this sign was by the washrooms and I only noticed it after I’d roamed around all over the place off the sidewalk taking pictures.
We had dinner at the Outback in Billings and are back at the hotel, which surprisingly enough for an independent middle of the road has wireless Internet for free. Nice touch.
I suspect we’ll turn in very shortly as we’re starting out at 7am tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the drive through the Beartooth Highway and Yellowstone Park.
