...and it's broken again! Crawling up from Camden to Hampstead at 20mph, with both front windows open in the heat, I heard a loud twittering/squeaking, as if a sparrow were somehow trapped under the bonnet. I was getting some very funny looks from pedestrians! It sounded as if the tyres were squealing against the inner wheel arches, and I thought it might somehow be the Wet & Black tyre dressing I tried out yesterday in a moment of madly narcissistic retail therapy. As if.
A couple of miles further home and the clutch began juddering and slipping. Halfway up a fairly steep hill I had to stop for a blind octogenarian who pulled out sharply in front of me, and suddenly the trapped bird noises turned into bits-of-metal-tinkling-and-graunching !!!
Fortunately I was able to limp up to the top of the hill and made it the last quarter of a mile home rolling in neutral. Pulling in to my off street parking spot it made the worst metallic knocking noises I've ever heard, worse even than when I once stripped a diff peeling out of a side road too enthusiastically. There's nothing underneath the car, neither shrapnel nor fluids, and no trail of debris.
Throw out bearing or clutch, I suppose. Yay!
I have one number to try tomorrow for a mechanic who was recommended to me by one of our great sages. However, if for whatever reason he is unable to help, I'm at a loss for who else to turn to. If anybody has any further recommendations for a competent mechanic in the North London area I would be very grateful.
I know this is like asking about the length of the proverbial piece of string, but how many hours does it take to change a dead clutch and/or replace a throwout bearing?
Snapshot of my car the last time I had transmission trouble, when I borked my BW35 the other year before my manual swap. The ADAC dude looks like me but with hi-vis!