Rough trip - stuff keeps breaking!

[skyskijason]

The starter died first. After first stop on trip, the starter just clicked when I went to re-start - but started 2nd try. After forgetting not to shut truck off , it clicked like 3 times before starting - but started. Then, I got to end of day and planned to sleep a few hours and did not want to leave it running... After an hour or so in the morning, I talked some DOT guys into giving me a pull-start with their truck! Lovin' that 6spd!!!

Drive to NAPA and replace starter. WOW! Is this how FAST starter is supposed to spin!!! Very cool.

A few hours down the road I changed lanes or something and the turn signal indicator seemed dim. I glance down and see I'm at 11v or so - damn. Now this alternator has been 'weak' forever, often only making 13v or so under way - but its always kept batts charged so.... Anyway, 11v turns to 10.5 and I'm lookin' for another auto parts. It was all the way down to 8v before I found one! The radio quit at abot 10v and the windows would no longer roll up, but she kept running! Park up the hill in parking lot at another NAPA and 15 min's later had a shiny new alt installed. Rolled down hill and let off the clutch, it fired right up. Cool, 14.1v rock solid (after batts got charged...).

Now, I have a coolant leak. Not from my hackwork though! It is leaking where coolant leaves block for heater core - the factory threaded part is weeping. It is also dripping on the starter (coincidence?). The hassle here is the Evans NPG+ coolant. I used my 2 gals 'extra' topping off after the body shop underfilled it and topping off after leak. Trying to find some more now, so if I spill some when I drain it to fix the leak - I can top it off again!!

The Evans runs at 0psi, which is why this was not evident sooner. Even at 0psi, this stuff doesn't boil until 375*F. (that's like 100* higher than antifreeze at 15psi) Very cool.

So, can I blame all this on my VO conversion? Just for fun, of course...

[Jack_Toepfer]

ouch man.

I was looking for a tree to crash into then my tranny was acting up...

[skyskijason]

A TREE! Come on man, a transmission is not the end of one of these trucks. I can assure you that your first ride in a BTS-equipped truck will change you forever. Hopefully, it will be in your truck - otherwise ya may not like driving yours again until ya get one!!!

I'm not complaining. At 270k, these items are fair game. Its been a loooong time since I had truck payments, so this is OK by me. I'm pretty sure I did not hit a single months payment on a 'newer' truck.

Oh yeah! The DOT guy says 'that truck is awfully new to need a starter'. hehehe, the 2007 cloning is very effective! :chuckles:

[Jack_Toepfer]

hehe...

It was just a thought... I don't want to get hit in the face with a 200mph pillow anymore than the next guy.

[Marv]

So what's the latest Jason? Were you able to get everything back together and working?

Good luck man!

[BruceM]

Damn and I thought I had bad luck on a trip from upstate NY down to GA, then down to Tampa, FL, to Cape Canaveral, to Clemson, SC to Nashville to Boston I did last year.

plugged pre-pump Racor 490 2micron filter kept me doing 30mph for 30-40 min till i found a Napa with the filter instock.

Then 500 miles later waterpump decided to go. limped to another Napa adding 4 gallons of water every 10 minutes.

Replaced waterpump in 1.5 hours in the parking lot of a hotel next morning after I got the proper tool for the fan clutch nut. It's called a pipe wrench, don't let anyone tell you to use anything different, except for perhaps a very very large adjustable crescent wrench. yes i had the rent a tool ford water pump fan kit from Autozone but the fan nut wrench in there is useless. Had to wait till moring to buy a pipe wrench which is now essential to my truck's traveling tools. Actually it's hiding buried at the bottom of my center console forever :-)

Back on the road, when I stop for some food at a Burger King on my way to Nashville. Transmission won't shift into 4th gear on nice flat highway :-( (now months later I find out it was quite possibly a broken spring in the accumulator body in my transmission, glad I opted for a transgo tugger kit)

That sucked and scared me till it started shifting right again. (mind you since day one of owning this truck it has shifted perfectly) Flushed the tranny at my Aunt's house in Nashville and 2 days later head out on my way, only to find out that my tranny was dripping ATF at a rate of about 1 qt every 4 hours of driving.

So 2 gallons or so of new ATF to get from nashville to boston to drop another car I picked up in FL (car and trailer were COATED in ATF) then on home to drop off the screwhaul trailer.

Get to screw haul and found that my hitch ball nut had broken the cotter pin and the nut was 3 turns from coming off. First and last time I trust Uhaul to install the bigger ball I needed for their damn trailer when I picked it up in NY before I left.

And to top it all off I got charged an extra day on the trailer, since I wasn't able to pick up the right sized one till nearly 3pm on the day I left (tried 2 smaller ones they had but the SUV I was taking to GA didn't fit between the fenders).


Thankfully I don't have to worry about my Alternator ever giving me a problem, since I have two of them and they were both replaced just before I bought the truck :-) Sounds like you had a really fun trip!!!

[skyskijason]

hehehe, not as bad as Bruce's trip - for sure!

I've been really spoiled with this truck. I've put 170k of the 270k miles on it and outside regular mainenance, very little has broken. In fact, the list is very short! Batteries, tires, brakes, a clutch, u-joints, belts, hoses, etc. - normal wear items. I've replaced HPOP (leaked), water pump, GP controller wiring harness and just now starter and alternator! (did I mention I love the 7.3 PSD! )

The way I figure it, I was due for another 'truck payment'. I haven't had a real truck payment for years, so a little one from time to time doesn't hurt so bad.