Transmission's falling out

It's not really that I am avoiding the blog, more that I just don't have much to say. It must be that I haven't traveled in a while so things have slipped into a blissfully happy pace. This week were planning on tripping down to the in-laws to spend the end of spring break week. As usual, I made sure I procrastinated my going down to the local repair shop to two days before the trip so they could not possibly tell me it was anything worse than a loose fan belt. What was it that was concerning me? Recently, while driving out mini-van, I notice a clunk that sounded like the transmission was falling out, then every time I coasted down the hill, I heard a clicking on the front left side of the car. I was hoping that this would one of those stories with a happy ending where what I felt like was the transmission falling out was really something simple, like a rock in the wheel. Marty, my pusher from the garage, who talked me into more than $800 in repairs just 8 months ago on the same delinquent transmission, called to give me the bad news. He even said that. The differential that is tied into the transmission has a pin on it that sheared off and blew through the side of your transmission. Or something like that. All I heard, in retrospect, was $2000. A reoccurring nightmare that I am only too happy to relive again by buying those blankety-blank Chrysler vehicles. I think that I should be going into some kind of hall of shame somewhere after having replaced not one but two transmissions (two different cars). Most normal people would have never purchased another car by the same manufacturer. Me, I was sure that it was just a problem with the 92's. To add insult to injury, several people have kindly suggested that my new transmission is probably worth more than the van. Thanks, very comforting. Helps me sleep better. I am not sure how they envision me driving around a transmission. Ryan and Rachel, quit fighting over that third gear, one of you has to sit on the fourth. Doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe in todays thinking, a new car would really save on a new transmission. I don't think so, however. If you don't fix the car, it is worth nothing. And at 97000 miles, seems like it still have some miles left in her. At least enough to make get me to replace a third transmission.