Survey: type 44 break down frequency

[Zsolt]

I only had one break down on the road, and it happened recently when my
alternator went. Even then I could still drive the car for quite a bit
before the battery ran out of power. If I treated it more seriously, I
could have easily drove to a garage, or some place to repair the car and
wouldn't have got stuck.

Cheers,
  Zsolt

Wallace White wrote:

> How many times have you wound up stuck on the side of the road in your
> type 44 (5k, 100/200, V8)?
>
> As you might surmise, I just chalked up another one. In my four years of
> 5k ownership, I've had four (hurray for towing coverage):
>
> (1) Clutch throw-out bearing, June '98.
> Some of you will remember this one--I'm still thankful for the quick
> help from the list! One day into a cross-country road trip. Took five
> days to get the clutch replaced in Albuquerque. Lesson learned: don't
> buy a car and drive it on a 7000-mile trip the next week. (One might
> think I would've known that... ;) And don't be surprised if the clutch
> pedal breaks a week later!
>
> (2) Ignition switch, Jan. '99.
> Luckily this happened at home. Relatively painless, since I was biking
> and taking the train to work at the time. Lesson learned: replace the
> switch now if you have to turn the key hard before the starter engages.
>
> (3) Heater control valve, June '99.
> Created a nice big steam cloud but no apparent lasting problems.
> Happened with four people in the car. Lesson learned: use metal heater
> valves or replace regularly, and carry a Prestone flush-and-fill kit for
> emergency fixes.
>
> (4) Fuel pump, three days ago.
> Once again, four people in the car (family this time). Lost power while
> on the freeway, made it to the shoulder. Frustratingly, I pre-emptively
> replaced the pump two years ago with a noisy Bosch unit, probably Czech
> built... Embarassment compounded when our second car had problems the
> next day. Lesson learned: TBD.
>
> Looking back, I've done pretty well after the initial sorting-out. But
> with both of our cars breaking down over the weekend with family in
> town, and the 5k's recent A/C troubles when 300 miles away, it didn't
> take long to wonder if we need at least one car we can really count
> on... we're planning to go from here (SF area) to Utah in a few months
> and my confidence in the 5k is shaky. Even if I had a mechanic go over
> the car thoroughly, I doubt we'd catch things like this fuel pump.
>
> That said, I still enjoy driving and working on the car and being part
> of this list, and even with the recent bills for A/C, it's a cheap total
> cost of ownership compared to a new car. I spend less on parts than I'd
> pay just on insurance on a new WRX.
>
> I'm curious to hear how other folks' experiences and decisions have been
> in this regard.
>
> Thanks,
> Wallace
> '87 5kcstq 190k
>
>