[DML] It was the best of times...(long!)

[Jeff Wiltzius <wiltzius@xxxx>]

and the worst of times!

Hello fellow list readers- thought I'd trouble you again for some 
suggestions and relate my story from last night.

I unfortunately discovered 3 new problems yesterday- after getting 1 
fixed! Oh boy- this car is a lot of work isn't it, but it is worth 
it. Anyway- after getting my brake squeel tamed (at least for now) I 
picked up my car from the mechanic's where it had been sitting out in 
the sun all day. Jumped in and started it up but could NOT move the 
stick into 1st or 2nd gear! Puzzled, I wiggled the stick through 3rd, 
4th, and 5th and even R just fine but could not get the stick over 
to 1st and 2nd. Still more puzzled and a little frantic, I continued 
to try to massage the stick into gear and FINALLY, after a few 
minutes it slipped into 1st. Relieved, I pulled out and drove the car 
home with NO further problems. After letting the car cool down (I 
figured the heat had gotten to my plastic clutch cable) I thought I'd 
see if it behaved fine. No big deal- I was planning on getting a 
steel clutch cable soon anyway.

So I took the car out at night and it behaved the same way- except 
even worse! Can always get it easily into anything except 1st and 2nd 
gear. Once you get the car into 1st- it will easily slide into 2nd. 
And if you drive the car only in 1st and 2nd I don't think I'd run 
into the problem. When you move over to 3rd and up and then try to 
get back over to the left on the stick- it's like running into a 
wall! The stick just will NOT move. This is very frustrating.

One other tidbit that may help someone in offering me suggestions I 
can pass on to my mechanic: at one point I was frantic (approaching a 
red light) and used a little extra force to move the stick to the 
left- and it MOVED! However, although I could now move the stick to 
where 1st and 2nd gear should be- all I received in return was a 
HORRIBLE grinding noise from the transmission. So I could move the 
stick to 1st and 2nd, but even with the clutch fully depressed- 
grinding was all I got. What a horrible noise coming from such a 
beautiful car!

To make the night even worse- I noticed my fuel guage is now acting 
strange (time for a tankzilla upgrade) AND my key doesn't turn in the 
ignition very easily (insert key fine but it won't turn without a 
lot of wiggling). The ignition has always been touchy though...

So what helped balance all of this out a little?- well when I was 
limping around with my car that wouldn't shift into 1st and 2nd 
gears, with a gas guage that read empty even though I had around a 
quarter of a tank, I pulled into a gas station (thought I might as 
well fill it up anyway). I was approached by one person who asked 
about the car and offered me a job with an internet company (must 
have thought only hard-working, computer savvy people drive 
DeLoreans) and another gentleman pulled into the gas station while I 
was filling up, parked his car in the middle of the parking lot, 
jumped out and came running towards my car. After asking the 
obligatory 'what kind of car is that?!?!?' He realized what he was 
looking at and jumped up and down and said 'Back the Future car!!! Do 
the doors open like in the movie?!?' I just nodded my head....then 
he said he thought it looked like a Lamborghini or something and that 
it was a beautiful car. Sigh...if only it ran as good as it 
looked.... (smile)

My questions are:
1. Would replacing my plastic clutch line with the steel one fix my 
problems and is it the logical place to start?
2. I recall someone else having a problem like this on the list and 
mentioning something about a 'synchromesh'. I looked up that term and 
sort of understand what it is (supposed to keep the gears from 
clashing as you shift from one to another)- could this be the problem 
also?
3. Previous owner just had complete clutch rebuild a few years ago- 
so I'm assuming the clutch is OK? Or could this be some other problem 
with the clutch? (besides just plastic cable?)

Suggestions welcomed and any other stories- send them my way! I love 
to hear a good story about people admiring DeLoreans (always seems 
to happen at gas stations...)

Sincerely,
Jeff Wiltzius
Wisconsin DeLorean Owner
#6145 (in need of some major assistance right now!)