The Adventure North in Dora the Explorer

Thursday, Day 5

After the dogs are fed and walked it’s not long before they were snoring in unison in Room #114. Must be nice, I mused. Sleep was the farthest thing from my mind as I fret about the situation. It is time to talk to my spirit guides and ask them to spare Dora’s transmission. That may sound strange but when I was stranded in Mexico that’s exactly what I did and fifteen minutes later after waiting three long days, VeVe was repaired and ready to go. But this time I knew that was not going to be the case. My intuition told me that this was part of a process that was necessary at this particularly time. Perhaps I was preparing myself for what I already knew to be true? But, I could still hope.

At 7 AM we pull Dora into the bay at Brown’s Transmission in downtown Billings where I met Brian, my mechanic. He is a soft-spoken, handsome young man with a quiet confidence that allows me trust him immediately. I knew he was good at his job and would tell me the truth. He was okay with the dogs staying in the van while he hooked up Dora to the sensors. As he sat in the driver’s seat Zippy came up from behind and licked him on the neck, OMG!  When he turned around she jumped into his lap in a way only a DoDog can do. Girly you are such a flirt - I think she was hoping for a discount. . .

Brian pulled the dipstick and put it under his nose. . .burnt, just as I thought. The sensors said something like “stuck clutch” and when I asked what that meant he said it was the transmission. He explained to me how it worked and if something goes wrong it generally needs to be replaced, not repaired. Everything he said made perfect sense. The fluid and filter were fine. He wanted to test-drive her with me in the passenger’s seat so we drove Dora for about fifteen minutes before he made his diagnosis. Yes, the transmission definitely needs to be replaced. There it is, the dreaded statement that I had hoped would not be the case. I immediately see dollar signs - $1,000? $2,000? More? YIKES!

My first question was how long will it take, followed by how much will it cost, and can we get one at a junkyard? The answers would come once we returned to the shop. After making a few phone calls and calculating some costs, it was determined that:

a)            The 1997 transmission in Dora was exclusive to that year. That particular tranny was never built again. We called three junkyards and of course had no luck in finding a used one.

b)             Brown’s only have transmissions for 4-wheel drives in stock because well, this is snow country.

c)            A transmission will have to be built from the ground up.

d)            It will cost just under $2,600 to do so. The good news? It is guaranteed for three years or 36,000 miles, anywhere.

We discuss the logistics of getting the work done – after all it is Thursday and the shop is closed on weekends. If they start this morning, it may be possible to get the job finished before quitting time tomorrow, and we can continue on our way to Seattle. It will take at least a day to build it and several more hours to install and test it. I just have to give the okay for them to start the process.

I wonder if a 1997 van is worth this much money to repair. Brian said the engine sounds really strong, and I agree. Dora runs great! He put her up on the rack to have a look for any other obvious problems. While the dogs are rising up to new heights of at least 10 feet, we go underneath to look around. I can’t believe they let me in the garage because of insurance liability, but they did. I prefer learning about my cars when something goes wrong because I often drive older models and it’s important to recognize problems before they occur. I know quite a bit about vehicles from prior maintenance experiences, I even have friends that call me for advice when they have a problem but this is my first experience with a transmission. Brian shows me where probable leaks would be for the radiator, oil pan, and transmission fluid. There were none, Dora is clean.

Okay, the decision is made. Let’s do it, she’s worth it! Brian said if I could wait an hour he could open her up and get the appropriate measurements inside and then he would put Dora back together so we could drive to the motel until tomorrow when the new one was ready for installation. If we could be here at 7AM again (no sleeping in for us) they would begin the teardown while the new one is being finished. That way they can drop it in, test it out and we should be on the road by 2 PM Friday afternoon if everything goes according to plan. I am thrilled at the possibility of still making Seattle this weekend, and celebrating the big 50 with my special friend.

We continue to camp out at Motel 6 in Room #114 until the new transmission can be built, hopefully today and if we are lucky, installed tomorrow. If that doesn't happen we are stuck until Monday because the garage is closed for the weekend. We have two beds in the room - one for me and five dogs and the other one for ZipDog. She's such a bed hog!

If we do get on the road tomorrow (it's 900 miles to Seattle from here) we might make it by Saturday night. I can tip a few glasses with my friends before we will once again have to hit the road in order to be home by the 17th. I'm exhausted thinking about it. Maybe my trips will be confined to the west coast from now on.

Everything is definitely for a reason and we are still smiling even as our bank account shrinks down to almost nothing! Oh well, such is life. . .