Update to my last

The shop that installed the new master cylinder barely 3 months ago stood behind their work.  They identified the problem as a defective master cylinder and said they would be charging it back to the manufacturer.  Sounds like something wasn't machined properly.

Anyway they honored their warranty and installed a new one at no cost.  They reset the two year warranty period and they didn't hesitate to cut us a check for the tow fee!

This is how it should be and this is why we used this shop in the first place.  The SCQueen handled the negotiations and they never tried to bamboozle her.

So our only "cost" was loss of use of the vehicle for the weekend + 1/2 Monday*.  Unfortnately the SCSon had to be at his $PARTTIMEJOB at 0600 two of those days.  Fortunately for me, the SCQueen is a morning person.  Have I mentioned I chose wisely? ;-)

Here's the unpaid plug:

Desert Car Care

95 North Dobson Road
Chandler, AZ 85224
(480) 726-6400

Good People!  I have a deeply rooted distrust of mechanics after finding a screwdriver left inside the timing chain housing of my engine, left behind by a mechanic).  They have treated the SCQuen well every time we've been there.

* I would not have been surprised if they would have covered a rental as well.  But we didn't push the issue.  They have offered a rental in the past.

Well that could've been awkward!

The SCSon's youth shotgun (SCTP) club held it's end of season event Friday PM.  The deal is a quick team event round of trap (SCTP youth + 1, preferably a relative or friend).  I took time off from the DayJob(tm) to shoot with the SCSon.

Just as we arrived at the event, a leak developed in the car's hydraulic clutch.  Driver first noticed an unresponsive pedal.  Opening the hood revealed the reservoir was empty.  Refilled the reservoir and tried again.  Nope, it's pumping out with every push on the pedal without any moving the pressure plate from the clutch..

More frustrating is that we had that system reworked barely 3 months ago!  Replaced both master and slave cylinders to the tune of nearly six bills.  We took it to the shop because the master cylinder is in an impossibly constricted area of the car between the shock tower & firewall.

Fortunately we have AAA and called for a tow, knowing it would likely be a couple hours before we were picked up.

Also, this is a large world class range with a public range, several pistol bays, 600 yd high power rifle range, small bore and shotgun (trap & sporting clays) ranges.  She called and said "I'm by the bathrooms".  I said "good" and gave further directions...  Then nothing.. so I headed up the hill (I didn't want her to abandon the call and leave us stranded).   Finally we heard the truck fire up right where we expected..  She later related "Oh, I took advantage of the restrooms!"  Cool, I'm glad they were there for you.

Now picture the scene... we've at a shooting club with a pair of shotguns.  We've shot about the most miserable round of trap ever (11's).  Now we have to have the car towed to the repair facility.  OK, we can lock the guns in the trunk for the tow (cased and unloaded), but now we have to make the last five miles home.  I've not dealt with Uber or Lyft but AFAIK, it's gun free zone.  And I really wouldn't want to leave the shotguns in the trunk even for an hour or so to get a ride home and come back for them.

Fortunately The SCQueen has been volunteering in the snack bar and had driven separately.  Thus we had a second car to load the guns.  Lacking that I think we could have either a) imposed upon others to transport them home, or b) asking the coach to lock them up on site with the club guns overnight.  And I don't like option B!

Hopefully the repair facility will find a simple fix and the car will be back in service quickly.

BTW, the tow truck driver was *awesome*.  She drove the ~3? ton  truck with the enthusiasm of teen in a Ferrari!  And she called me "hon" on the phone ;-)  I'd never address anyone serving me "hon" so the turnabout tickled my funny bone.  I asked her "what's under the hood "V-10 Hemi"  Dang!  That's doing an amazing job of turning fuel into noise!  Seriously, She did a fantastic job!    I'm glad we drew her.