10-4 Magazine March 2023

58 10-4 Magazine / March 2023 For me, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. When you drive a truck that is old enough to vote, you expect things to wear out. As you can guess, when I fixed one thing, it drew attention to other areas that normally you wouldn’t associate with it. Who would have guessed that by changing the oil cooler I would solve my clutch brake problem – two unrelated areas that have a common relation. It turns out the motor mount, when replaced, rotated the clutch arm back to its original position, and upon adjustment, I noticed the eye was worn out, thus throwing my clutch adjustment off. A quick five dollar fix that feels like a million bucks! While I was replacing the motor mount, I could see I had an oil pan gasket seeping, thus making an oily mess I had to work in. Replacing the pan gasket is not rocket science, but it gave me the chance to look at the lower end of the motor. Since I have a fair number of miles on the truck and the last rebuild was a long time ago, I wanted my engine guy to look up in the bottom end to see what condition my cylinders were in. The report was not as favorable as I had hoped. The prognosis was to prepare for a rebuild sometime soon. Now, skip forward 30 days, and I’m still having pressure issues with my cooling system. Nothing I could point to as the failure, but definitely something wasn’t right. True to trucking, if anything is going to break, it will when you least expect it or want it to. I was in the middle of South Dakota, well into the night, when the heater stopped working. Within just a couple minutes, I could smell antifreeze. Did I mention the outside temperature was in the lower single digits and there was a 20+ mph wind that night? I don’t remember what the wind chill temp was, but I do remember it was cold. Normally, when something like this happens, it indicates a head related issue, most likely a gasket failure. But, it can be a cracked head or injector issue, too. I was nursing it to the next fuel stop when the heater hose burst, leaving me dead on the side of the road. I must admit this was the first time in all my years of driving I was happy to see the South Dakota State Police light me up and pull in behind me. Thank you, Trooper Jason, for your assistance. I was five miles from the closest place to park. After diagnosing my trouble, he took me there and back to get enough supplies to make a temporary road repair. That is one time when I was blessed to have the support of that thin blue line. It wasn’t enough he helped me get supplies to fix the truck, but he stood out in the wind and held the light, while handing me bottles of antifreeze and water. After all that, he then followed me to a safe haven. I’m thinking he may have been my guardian angel, once again, saving me from myself. It was a cold night with no heat, but by the time the sun rose in the morning, I had made some phone calls to redirect my load and get a recovery truck headed in my direction. Some of you might wonder why I didn’t run to the nearest repair shop and drop it off. The answer is simple: that truck is my lifeline. It works when I do, it goes where I go, and I depend on it to do what I do. It is worth its weight in gold, and twice as valuable. That means only the best is good enough. No secondhand parts or workmanship. I will gamble a total meltdown before I’ll cut corners, even if it means a pricey tow bill from out of state. If you understand the workings of your equipment and its limitations, you can make decisions that will aid in its recovery. After collecting opinions from other operators and truck builders, I limped home 1,200 miles with a sick engine. I can’t stress enough on how important outside advice is when you are the one under pressure. It’s just as easy to make bad choices as it is to make good ones. Once my trailer was transferred to another truck, thanks again to Brian Holmberg, who dropped his Alaska load in Minnesota then made my turn to Washington state, before continuing on his way. Sometimes the best parts of the repair are the people who step up and help you. Quality parts or quality people, they are all worth their price, and it doesn’t matter what the cost! I’m still not back on the road yet, but my ride is a lot closer to healthy. At a later time, I will take our readers through the steps of rebuild and refurbishment of an older truck. But for now, I am thankful for the input and advice I have received from those who stepped up and helped me. Don’t ever think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, just don’t tell him he is an old dog! As for the tricks, the more a person understands about the functions of their machines, the better they can diagnose, treat, and repair it. Without much effort, a driver can throw fists full of dollars at a problem and never get it right. If they are lucky, and with the help of a few knowledgeable friends, they can turn a bucket of rust and broken parts into something usable again. And just because something is old, that doesn’t mean it’s not good as gold, and twice as valuable. As for now, I’m off on another parts run... with an ultimate destination set for Louisville, KY, 10-4! n