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[femmefatale]

Hi folks,

I have a 95 Toyota Corolla Wagon.

I am almost clueless when it comes to cars. I am almost broke, too, so I take care of the things that could strand or kill me, and other things hafta slide...and please don't suggest a new/er car cuz I can't afford, plus all my cars get totalled (hurricane, Halloween fires, etc; and we won't discuss the moose incident) and besides, it's ONLY 189k...

It was starting to make a metal-metal sound, coming from rear, that sounded a lot like the metal-metal sound that came from the front in the summer before I got front brakes replaced...So I went in to get a quote on back brakes.

The shop said I do need brake shoes but the noise I was hearing was coming from
"right rear axle joint which is coming apart" and noticed that my drive belt
was also split, and that the transmission axle seals are leaking, and that the car
was unsafe to drive.

Well I can see the drive belt is split, and know that's bad, so I'm grounded.
GROUNDED! An off-season, prone-to-wandering national park ranger grounded! The devastation!

Anyway, as I ask questions and get quotes, I am qetting different stories, and that's
getting confusing and could use some clarification/advice

Some say the axle joint is really not that big a deal; then someone said but if it's the cv joint (which sounds the same) it is. So I need info about this.

I also have also been told--after first saying alignment, tires, wheels--and
me spending hundreds--that I need a rear lower motor mount. I was told that it wasn't
going to do any more damage so while annoying, not a safety hazard, but then someone
told me if one goes, the others will quickly deteriorate and the engine could fall out or something. (and you guys say we women are inconsistent?)

Also if anyone can give me an idea of parts costs, labor hours/costs, so I can know how much to sell the kids for, that would be good too.

I DO have a mechanic I trust--the one I used when working while working on the Blue Ridge Mts in Floyd VA, but that's three hours away from here in Raleigh. (He's
obsessive-compulsive, a good trait to have in a mechanic, and also less-tall
and cute, more good traits...) I'll call him tomorrow but knowing Leo, he
won't tell me much on the phone. And of course I know I have to at least get
the drive belt done before going there.

So docs, what are your opinions?

Thanks.

Carol in Raleigh