Iris blooming in Yarnell yard
I was too weirded out to take photos. My truck seemed to be moving at a snails pace up the pass on I40 east to Williams. What’s up with that? I have a Big Super turbo diesel that pulled the 5er like a dream last fall. I kept the peddle to the floor and watched the gauges. Come on sweetie, get us to Flagstaff. But not quite. Only two miles from town the gage pegged HOT. I pulled over put her in Park and white smoke blew out the tailpipe. So I shut her off. Things were burgling under the hood but I saw no leaks. Hell, you can barely see anything under this hood because it’s jammed so full. Can’t even take the radiator cap off.
Called Good Sam Road Service and after several 20 minuets on hold was told a tow truck was on the way. The first question I got, what’s your GPS location? Well, I’m still old fashioned about that and use a map, plus have turned it off on my phone. How hard can it be to find a big truck towing a big RV parked along the shoulder two miles west of Flagstaff on I40? Of course the local tow truck driver had no problem finding me.
He dropped the drive-shaft, lifted the front tires and with 5th-wheel in tow it looked like a train. (Really sorry I didn’t get a photo.) Dropped the RV off at Flagstaff KOA where I had a reservation then towed the truck to Ford. Will find out tomorrow what’s the problem.
Left Yarnell Monday at 10am for a three-hour drive and finally settled in for a shower at 4pm. Then out to dinner with friends FabGrandma and Grandpa.
Update from Ford shop: The EGR and engine oil cooler melted together. They’ve started the repairs and hopefully the Warranty I paid dearly for will cover some of the costs. Should be done sometime tomorrow.
Oh My! I hope it’s nothing serious! I am not the least bit mechanical at all, neither is Chuck…. but Chuck is a good diagnostician…. he might not be able to fix it, but he can usually correctly say what the problem is, which reduces the worry factor by about 90%! LOL Chuck is also a late sleeper! When he wakes up, I’ll show him your blog!
Hopefully it’s nothing serious or painfully expensive. I’m glad you arrived safe to your first destination.
Hoping they find a filter problem causing this. Were you over on your service. Sometimes that will not allow many RPMS (limp mode) and the grade caused the overheat. Good Luck.
oh, that does not sound like fun
but so glad it worked out
i also do not have a gps, or want one…..
my van is getting a mostly new engine right now… just in the nick of time for camping season!
wishing you well
safe and sound
fun and joy
I’m glad you had Good Sam–that tow would have been expensive otherwise. Sorry this happened, but glad we could cheer you up some.
I HATE a breakdown.. talk about facing your fears (as you were last time I popped by)! Thank goddess you have GS tow insurance. (We’ve been more than grateful for that more than once.) Good luck on the repairs (and bill)….and I’m glad at least that you were close to your planned destination.
Sorry to hear that you had problems on your trip. I hope the rest of the trip to the North Rim is uneventful.
When I was a kid we got broke down in or near Flagstaff so often I hated to go through it.
It never fails, does it? You’re on your way and then……steam, engine light, or flat tire to your destination. Hopefully it doesn’t cost a billion dollars. For now, I say enjoy the cool temps and breathe. I used to worry about not having a cell phone until I got that OnStar thing…..I still don’t have a cell:) It never fails….it’s hot, spring, and uphill…..and motor vehicles don’t like. As long as you are okay….AND it will all work out:) Maybe not the way you want it….but it will happen:) Hang in there. An adventure for sure:)
Oh Gaelyn, sending good thoughts for a minor incident! It is so frustrating to have our home/vehicles impaired…not to mention the cost! And thank you for always, always… posting on our updates. Really appreciate!
Fingers crossed that you’re back at it with a full wallet soon!
This is one of those things that you’ll talk about next year and it will make a good story. But today it’s a major bummer for you. At least you made it to your KOA site and had a place to stay, even if you did have to get there by tow truck! Sure hope the rest of your trip goes much, much smoother.
(Ms) Ernie
Simply irritating when these things happen. Lets hope that warranty covers it
No idea what an EGR is but I suppose if it had to melt with something, an engine air cooler was as good as anything. Best of luck with the repairs & hope no serious long lasting damage was done to the engine. Soon you will be in the serene quiet forests & this will all be behind you as a distant memory…..
Grrrrr… I do not have GPS coordinates for my location either; how things are changing, and I am not changing with them. Hoping repairs are minimal…
Don’t you hate that? I have a simple Magellan, but cannot identify new roads, guess I have to update it.
I hope the insurance covers the repairs.
I feel your pain. Broke down last Sept. just south of Sedona…not fun. GPS is on our list to purchase but still like using maps. Good luck
… And wasn’t I just groaning to you about the long grade going east to Williams! Maybe I was having a premonition. So sorry you went through all that. I found your experience with Good Sam’s interesting as that is my road service, too. You’re going to have to wait for any one of them. I’m glad that you’re on the road again!
Oh, no, Gaelyn! I hope all will be well with your truck! I HATE that kind of thing…very aggravating! Grrrrrrr!!!!!