| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
So...I bought a car that I've been looking for for 40 years (no joke). It's in FL. I'm in MD. I was going to go get it with my 2001 Cummins pickup, and 26' box trailer....until I did a test tow last night. The tow went fine, but the last 5 miles I started losing fuel pressure. Unhooked to go top off the tank, got a mile from home, and the truck died completely with zero fuel coming out of the pump. I'm going to drop the tank and troubleshoot the system starting tonight after work...but I'm wondering if anyone is in/near Florida, with the ability to carry (trailer) a 3500# car to Maryland? I know about uship, and other services, but figured I'd check "in the family" here on Badweb first. The car is in Gainesville now, but I can get it to St Augustine in a week for pickup. My hope is I'll figure out what's up with my truck by then...but my paranoia is at a peak right now, and even if I do get this issue fixed, the entire trip down and back I'll be wondering "what's next?". Having it die a mile from home is a pain; having it die between Florida and Maryland, with a car on a trailer hooked to it...would be a massive problem. | ||
| Aeholton |
Is the car drivable? If so, drive it from Gainesville to Sanford, load it on the Amtrak Auto Train to DC/Baltimore area. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I was just looking into that (yes, it's a driver). Not a bad option - they have a special going, and it'll be less than $400 one-way. $89 coach, and I want to say something like $209 for a single coupe, standard size. I'm still nervous about someone transporting MY new 1970 Charger, but... Worst case, it can sit in mom's garage in St Augustine until I sort out my truck business. The only hard deadline I have is Monday, when I have to meet the seller and claim my car. Between now and then I have to figure out how I'm getting myself physically down there - last-minute flight ($$$)? Or just drive my Jeep? I'd have to fly if I do autotrain... I dunno. I need to troubleshoot my truck further tonight. This is all extremely aggravating. It couldn't happen six months ago, when I didn't have a hard deadline / need to tow a car event coming up in a week... | ||
| Ourdee |
Run down and get a storage unit? | ||
| Court |
Hahahaha. . . . Someone is going to have a blast ! Congratulations ! ! | ||
| Ratbuell |
Mom has space in her garage, that's not a problem. I just want it HERE. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
I can not offer any advice, but I do want to say Congratulations on your long sought after car!!! | ||
| Ratbuell |
...it also pisses me off when my stuff is broken and I don't know why...I want answers. Turning this over and over in my head, I STILL can't place where the problem is in this fuel system. I BUILT the system on this truck, and the tank should have nothing but a sending unit in it, and a pickup tube. No external leaks - it does not leak diesel. Odometer says I should still have about a quarter tank left...and that's what my gauge shows, just under 1/4. The pump I put on 25k miles ago is rated for 500k miles plus - it is a heavy industrial pump mech, mated to CNC brackets made for the 5.9 engine. Tonight when I get home I'm going to unhook the pump and spin it with a drill, to see if it creates suction. If it does, the tank comes down so I can see a) what mechanical parts are in there (pickup tube? dead electric pump?), and b) if there is any fuel in there, or if my gauge is wrong all of a sudden. From there...I guess I'll get a fuel can, stuff the pickup hose into the can, unhook the outlet hose and see if it draws fuel that way, or if there's a problem with the fuel lines on the frame rail. Grr. I haven't "needed" the truck since COVID hit (it's my work truck for my sound company). I've been driving it regularly to keep things going (and I like driving it)...but it has to do this a week before I need to make a MD-FL-MD tow run. Naturally. | ||
| Pwnzor |
For $1.50 per mile plus fuel, I will fly down there and drive it up to MD for you. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Flights are cheap right now, my coworker just got round trip to Puerto Rico for a family of 5... $1300 including taxes | ||
| 1313 |
Slant 6, 3 on the tree? PM me if you don't want to reveal on a public forum... | ||
| Glitch |
Let's do a relay | ||
| Greg_e |
Rent a car one way, then get it on the train? Get insurance and plates and drive it back? Get insurance and temp plates there and drive it back? | ||
| Akbuell |
Alternate last minute plan might be to see your local UHaul place and rent something big enough to haul your trailer down there and back, or fly down and rent a UHaul truck and trailer and drive back. Would be an open trailer on the trip back, however, and not spectacular fuel efficiency from the rental truck . . . . | ||
| Griffmeister |
Uhaul, or any rental for that matter, is okay if you’re going a couple of towns over but gets pricey real fast for any kind of distance. They also won’t rent below a certain size if you’re towing. Sux to have to get a 24’ box truck just for that. I know you don’t want to do it, but you could probably hook up with a high end transport company and reserve a spot on an enclosed trailer for less money. Everybody’s going south this time of year, they might be begging for a return load. And it would be insured, too. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Well, I just mostly-degreased myself after 4 hours in the garage. Chased every inch of fuel line on my truck - feeds and returns. Checked filters. Checked both pumps. No damage, no visible leaks, pumps are creating suction and pressure when run standalone. Started to drop the fuel tank. Loosened one strap...tank didn't budge. Hm. It should be sagging, it says 1/4 tank on the gauge. 9 gal of diesel should weigh enough to get the thing to droop when a strap is off and only one is holding it up... Knock knock. Hm. Knock. Goddammit. Stuffed a piece of vacuum hose down the filler. 6' worth. Pulled it back out. Dry. Motherf.... Get 5 gal from the gas station, put it in the tank, fire the electric pump...it whines for a bit...and then it primes. Fuel pressure gauge comes up just like it should, 15 psi. Crank for 30 seconds. Bleed the injector lines to purge air. Crank. Bleed. Crank some more. Bleed. Crank even more. Bleed. Crank some MORE. (Diesels are a pain in the ASS when there's air in the lines...). Bleed. Hook to my minivan because both batteries are now dying. Crank. Cough. Stumble. Sputter. Rattle. Start. MOTHERf... Drive around the block, good pressure on the gauge, good power, no bad noises, good oil pressure...back to the garage, check for leaks, clean fuel residue off the injector fittings, make sure they're snug. Drive down to the gas station, fill it up (and the 5 gal can, which is going to live in the bed until I can put a new fuel sender in the tank). Drive home, good pressures all the way down and back (20 miles total). It's taking me to work every day this week for shakedown...but I think it's fixed. Well, not fixed. But I've identified the issue, and know how to work around it now. And the new math is: 1/4 tank on the gauge equals NO FUEL. I'll just drive it like a Buell - staring at the trip odometer! Grr. Maybe tonight I'll be able to sleep. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Been driving professionally my entire adult life. Never, ever trust a fuel gauge. Odometer is king. | ||
| 86129squids |
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| Ratbuell |
Ayuh. Been coddled by a working gauge for 264k miles - I got spoiled. Odometer it is, from here out! (Did I mention how much I hate priming a diesel?) | ||
| Griffmeister |
Ah, the old farmer pre-trip inspection. Put a stick in the tank and see if it comes out wet. | ||
| Zane |
"Never, ever trust a fuel gauge. Odometer is king." That is 100% true, Years ago I bought an Oldsmobile Omega. Old's version of a Nova. Loved that car except for one thing. When the tank was full, it read 1/4 of a tank. The entire range of the gauge was from 1/4 to empty. I only trusted the odometer. | ||
| Ourdee |
Odometer it is, from here out! (Did I mention how much I hate priming a diesel? I'll never forget the record breaking hot day in Illinois that I ignored the odometer in favor of the absence of a fuel light on Lil Red. Three mile push back up the interstate for fuel. My first jeep got 100 miles per tank. I never went over 100 miles and never ran out of fuel. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I almost ran out of fuel near Sasketchewan in my Peterbilt... back in the late 90's. Brand new truck with two separate fuel gauges, both of which were lying to me. I later found out that those gauges were capable of burying themselves well below the "E", long after their respective fuel lights came on. How was I to know? Ever since that day, I've always filled all my fuel tanks to the top and made it my business to know what kind of fuel mileage I actually get. Despite your tribulations, I'm glad to hear that your truck seems to have had a simple STSW Interface problem that is easily corrected. | ||
| Tootal |
Sorry for all your frustration but am glad to hear it's nothing major. Enjoy your new sled, sounds like fun! | ||
| Ratbuell |
I'm hoping it'll be fun. I'll post up once it's home - don't want to jinx anything (else) by posting before the deal's done-done!! Gonna drive the truck all week, every day, to and from work just to make sure. It's on today's schedule for an oil change, tire rotation, and overall check. | ||
| Hootowl |
Fly and drive or fly and rent a uhaul sounds best to me. Should be able to get a one-way from FL to DC metro cheap enough. DC to FL would be expensive. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Nah. I'm renting a lightweight open trailer here in MD, towing it round trip. Less wind resistance, 1k lb trailer instead of 5k lb box (empty)... Cheaper to rent local for 5 days than to rent in FL for a one-way. Like, by a couple hundred dollars. If it rains, the car will get wet. Woo. Hoo. Long as there's no salt on the roads yet, I'm good. | ||
| Greg_e |
Check for leaks too, just in case the empty tank was helped by a leak. Otherwise, hope you have an uneventful trip down and back. Hope the border shutdown people don't give you grief. | ||
| Ratbuell |
"Just drivin' through, sir..." |
