Found this in my pan during oil change

Update.

I just got done driving 826 mi straight thru. I did not log anything and never stopped in at any scales or inspection stations.

Thats because I was in a rental car and heading home to Fla.

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Sometimes I feel like no matter how hard I try to make the right choices,.. I am going to get bent over some where along the way. Even something simple as renting a car turned into chaotic mess. I called a cab to take me to Enterprise car rental. Its my fault for how things kicked off. I should have called ahead. Turned out because of all the flooding in Baton Rouge,.. all of the rental cars in Lake Charles were sent over there. So they had nothing for me at that store. They recommended going to the airport. Keep in mind,.. I have a taxi with the meter running the whole time. I get to the airport. All they have are some 15 passenger vans,. a Cadillac Escalade and some box trucks. I need a car for at least a week. I hate flying,.. and I'll fly home before I spend $1100 to rent an Escalade,.. and I didnt want to travel in a box truck either. So I call around,.. Avis has an Impala for $406 a week. So thats what I ended up with. Its a nice car,.. but all I really needed was something like Ford Focus or Hyundai Elantra.

Anyway,.. more on the Hurstmeister saga,.. as the drama continues.

I was supposed to get my truck back from CAT yesterday. I call in to get the status on my truck and she says she is the barer of bad news. The CAT guru found why my ECM fried. The wires from the OEM side of the wiring harness,.. the part that goes to everything else in the truck,.. is fried. Had some melted wires that ended up fusing other wires together. Its toast. CAT does not do Freightliner OEM stuff. All they wanted to work on was the engine from the firewall forward. Anything else needed to be done by Freightliner.

I asked why they waited until now to tell me this. Sorry was all she could say. So had to have the truck towed over to Freightliner,.. and if you dont know,.. you do now. I hate Freightliner. I have never gotten good service or a bill where they did not try to nickel and dime me to death and over charge me. I have always had to argue my bill with Freightliner. Not only that,.. but they are always busy,.. and can never get your truck in and start working on it so you can get back on the road in a timely manner.

So truck is now at Martin Automotive in Lake Charles, La,.. aka Freightliner. I had to go and explain to them what I needed done. CAT refused to talk with them,.. you would think they could help me out after sticking it to me with a $5300 bill,.. and they didnt even install the ECM,.. they left it on the driver seat. Freightliner wont be able to even look at my truck until Monday or Tuesday.

But wait,.. it gets better.

I had a decent rate at the hotel I was at. It was clean, had a kitchenette with microwave, fridge, sink etc. $65 a night trucker discount. I thought that was pretty decent. But that was the Mon - Thurs rate. Come weekend its $135 a night. So thats why I decided to rent a car home,.. and I've already explained the drama I went through just to rent a car. The hotel was in a bad location as well. No bar for adult beverages, no pool,.. and not in walking distance to any stores so I could stock up on drinks and food. Had it been in a better location I may have stayed. The hotels that did have good locations were all $100+ a night.

As I already stated. Do not get into this business with out a rainy day bankroll and the ability to refresh that bankroll in case you come into the same situation,.. and any one in this business knows,.. yes you will,.. eventually your truck will be down at some point and your money will be like a flooding river,.. going ever where you dont want it to go while you try to salvage what you can so you can continue life as normal once the flood waters retreat.

This is the only problem I have had with my truck since the inframe. And this is not a mechanical problem,.. which is what I originally thought it was thanks to Petro's antics to scam me. Strange coincidence indeed.

I'm probably looking at another $2500 with Freightliner,.. I still need 8 drive tires. Best estimate,.. I'm going to be out roughly $12k after all this is said and done. Thats trucking for you.

I dont see how guys with new trucks and payments could endure something like this. Sure they have a warranty,.. warranty wont cover everything,.. sure doesnt pay for hotels,.. and when your truck is down for 2 weeks,.. that warranty does not help pay any other bills. A truck in the shop is still a truck in the shop. New or Old,.. your going to pay one way or the other.

On the bright side,.. its one less thing to worry about on my truck when its finally all fixed. All in all its still been a very good reliable truck. Its paid for itself and things like this over and over again. I have more than enough to cover this and weather out the down time. You have to be smart enough to prepare for things like this. They will and do eventually come at you when you least expect it.

Back at home in Fla,.. I'm about to head out to WinnDixie and pick up some suds. Going to grill up some steaks and corn cobs on the grill. Wash it all down with some AmberBoch.

Be safe and have a good weekend fellas!

Hurst

 

Thats why I posted the additional pics with the nut next to a quarter so you guys could get a better idea of its actual size.

We know for a fact that Petro tried to scam me. That nut did not come out of my motor. I cant prove it,.. but I can use this as a learning experience and move on from it. I will never use TA or Petro to service or repair anything on my truck ever again. Twice I have been burned by them.

2 yrs ago I had TA do a PM service and the kid failed to tighten my fuel/water separator filter. I had stopped for the night about 8 mi from my delivery. Shut the truck off,.. fired up my generator. Set my alarm. The next morning my truck cranked over but refused to start. I had no idea what the problem was,.. so I called for a mobile service truck. He immediately figured it out. Tightened the filter,.. plunged the fuel and my truck started right up. I now carry that $30 wrench for that water separator in case I ever come across that problem again. Still cost me $320 and 4 hours late to my delivery, even though I was less than 10 mins away.

I dont know what is wrong with this industry. But it is so #### difficult to find a good reliable mechanic that actually knows WTF they are doing and wont try to rip you off. Trust is a big deal for me. I need to be able to trust the people who work on my equipment. I dont mind paying extra for the right service. I always tip a good mechanic with at least 1 Benjamin. They remember you and if you ever return,.. they will take good care of you.

Hurst