Saturday, May 16, 2015

The Engine Rebuild Hits a Snag

First I will share something I have learned.  Jim knew this from flying airplanes, but I did not.  Perhaps this will be news to you, as well.  When you have a turbo charged engine, you must allow the turbo to cool down before turning off the engine.  Seven minutes at least, at idle.  People who get to the top of a long climb, pull off and turn off the engine are doing a great dis-service to the turbo.  This applies to diesel pickups as well.  Please make a note of this.

All parts were back in the engine compartment yesterday afternoon, loaded with brand new oil and red coolant.  We just had that oil changed when we left Tucson. 

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Not quite finished here, but it’s getting closer to the bottom of the closet floor.

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So what’s the snag?  It won’t start.  When the key is turned in the ignition, there is dead silence.  It’s electrical.  Somewhere there is a blown fuse, a bad solenoid or a bad ground.  This is very concerning because we’re not in a shop that specializes in RVs.  We called Erik in Oregon, who talked to Mike for the better part of an hour.  They both have Apple phones and were able to FaceTime each other.  Mike could show Erik what he was looking at.  They’re both convinced it will turn out to be not a big deal, it’s just finding the thing.  I am back on the edge of the slough of despond.  Of all the outcomes I would have predicted, this wasn’t on the list of things to worry about.

This is our current place for showers.  It’s really old.  They man who owns it is 81, and doesn’t really want to put any money in it.  Three new hotels are under construction in Kanab, and this place is not competitive with the new construction.  However, it’s really cheap and they do keep it clean. 

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And, they have no vacancies.  So it’s not all bad.  The neon and the chasing lights on the arrow still work.  It’s very retro.

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This was taken this morning.  It seems to be clearing a little.

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Today will be laundry and grocery shopping. 

4 comments:

  1. About the "shutting down a hot turbo" problem: wouldn't it be simple enough for these high-priced rigs (all of the turbos; not picking on your rig) to use a temperature sensor, timer, warning light, or interlock to prevent the driver from doing the wrong thing?

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    1. There are after market products which will keep the engine running until the turbo cools down, but to my knowledge they don't come that way from the factory. It would be nice if there were a temperature gauge for the turbo.

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  2. It is always something! Hope they are able to locate the problem quickly:) I quizzed John on the turbo shut down thing and he knew about it!!! Good luck:)

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