Friday, November 4, 2022

I can't drive 55

 This morning, Yuma and got out of bed around 7:30 and took our walk.  I can tell it’s going to be a beautiful day in the valley.  Sun is out and there is just a slight refreshing chill in the air.

Today is the day to pick up the White Lion and give it a workout.  The motel was a nice and quiet place to stay and I enjoyed staying there.  We took off about 8:30 and drove the 15 miles to the CAT shop.  Now that the WL isn’t being junked quite yet, I needed their help with an RV air problem.


 When I had it towed the last time, I believe the tow man  put too much compressed air in the line to raise the airbags and it broke a check valve or something in the bay beneath the driver’s seat and it was leaking a lot of air causing my compressor to work all the time keeping the airbags filled.

I took this round cylinder thingy off that had blown its top and asked them if they could find a replacement.  At about 11:30, Sam came out with a brand new thingy and he even found out what it was for. 

He had gone to an RV salvage company and showed them what he had and they said it is used to control the air to the air horns.  I had never even thought of the air horns needing air.  They gave it to him for free and that was my cost.  I am really in awe of the service I received from everyone there.  The total shop bill was $547 which I thought was reasonable even if most of it was for advice.  They’ve given me hope and a little piece of mind.  I bought a number of quarts of Lucas Pure Synthetic Oil Stabilizer and two quarts of Lucas Diesel Injector Cleaner.  Put those in while waiting for the part.

It was around 1:30 when I hooked up the Jeep and drove the 26 miles across Phoenix to Apache Junction.  All of it on 6 lanes of car packed I-10 and hwy 60.  Didn’t hit anyone but it is action packed every time I change lanes.  Finally made it to Kay’s house and dropped off the Jeep.

Yuma and I took a time to rest and then headed out on a 36 mile drive south on hwy 60 to Florence, AZ and back.  I pushed the engine best I could, driving nearly 75 miles an hour whenever I could.  The WL ran beautifully, BUT: 

·       the engine still smokes quite a bit

·       the engine light went on and off the entire trip.  I am going to have to get resolved soon.

Went and bought a chicken dinner, again, but they are good.  Just as I was finishing dinner, Kay came out for a visit and we had a nice long conversation about everything.  It is certainly nice to have a friend like her.

It is now almost 9 o’clock and time for bed.  Thanks for stopping by.

11 comments:

  1. Hopefully all the additives and making the engine work a little harder will do the trick. Good luck Doug.

    Deb

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  2. So what's the name of this place again? Sounds like one I should keep in my phone. Glad they have been so nice. I'm curious to hear what the code reads ... and I LOVE those chicken dinners.

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    1. Empire Southwest CAT. Number is 602 333-6884 Bill Darlington, Service Manager. Specialize in CAT engines.

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  3. Do you have a code reader? It's always nice to know what you're up against. At least the WL is on the road again!

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    1. No, I don't. Taking back to CAT to scan codes and go from there.

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  4. It sounds like things are going as well as they can at the moment. Hopefully, that smoke will clear out. Kay has definitely been a good and generous friend. Good luck on your highway run today.

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    1. Thanks Dolly. Smoke does seem to be getting better, but now I need to get the check engine light checked out.

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  5. Maybe those additives me to work a little longer. Guess it's a good sign that it runs pretty good. Just have to keep driving and see how the WL does. Good luck!!

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    1. Probably so. Seems better today. Actually runs great. But now I need to check the codes for the engine light .

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  6. What a huge pile of stress all this is for you Doug. I sure hope you can get things resolved and enjoy the glorious southwest wonders surrounding you.

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