CRETE - A Year in Review

Day two in the Indy shop. (well, 1.5 since op's took their #### sweet time telling me to re-t'call that late load back at the yard). Day one they rebuilt my bunk heater. Something in the system was bad. It is now quiet, but it ran great inside the 65 degree shop. Went to go to bed, the thing went through it's luke warm issue again. So, since I needed to idle anyway to charge the batteries...I just put my foot about 1/2 way to the floor and held the rpm's at 2000 for about 10 minutes...viola, engine heat. After my computer allowed it to charge the batteries for 90 minutes..it shut down, and I re-started the heater, and it worked better...not perfect, but better. It is much quieter in the cab, but outside the exhaust sounds like it's flooded and gargling. Today, they'll attempt to finish fixing that, and some of the other stuff that Ottawa screwed up. The day shift here is baffled by my claims that the front blower comes on when I use the 'no idle' system. They claim that there is a wiring issue, but night shift says it's suppose to blow warm air...someone missed a data bulletin. Plus, the yellow engine light has been on for almost 2 weeks, but since I didn't get the upside down triangle and the red engine light...I didn't worry about it. This shop says it's throwing a 'low pressure' EGR code...Not the EGR again...I just had that replaced earlier this year...where's the C4...I'll solve the problem, if I can find a vacant field somewhere so no one else by my truck gets hurt. They're saying that it might have to go to the dealer. I find it curious that a shop this size hasn't been issued an International 'in house' mechanic when many of the rest this size have one all but living there.

 

I think its time to call your good friend Tonn and ask for a Cascadia.

 

Just checked with the shop, the majority of stuff under the hood is off...so I guess the EGR is being replaced again...plus my truck had a fuel pump recall. So now they have to replace that. They said the heater worked fine when it was pulled in, so they say it may be the little plastic supply line losing too much heat and getting some minor geling, reducing the fuel supply.

 

Hey, Snackbar, I'm here in maintenance purgatory with you! (Wave wave wave) I'll be down till at last tomorrow evening, most likely Thursday.

 

Well, I finally got my medical card issued after getting all my CPAP stuff straightened out.

Any Crete/Shaffer drivers who use a CPAP not issued by Acklie will need to get their chip read before their DOT physical, or it'll cost you downtime. I figured I'd have to have it done, but thought about it one too many times without taking care of it. Got an unexpected load to Atlanta and figured I'd get it taken care of. Easier said then done.

If you fall into this category, look for a DME (Durable Medical Equipment) Supplier convenient to you. Call them and ask if they provide this service. When you do your DOT, the supplier will either need to have provided you with a copy of your chip data, or they can fax it to the clinic (I'd get a copy. Saves time and hassle). Turns out there is a DME 8 miles from our new home in SC, so I went there. It also opened up a line of communication between the DME and me for future supply purchases. I've been down since Friday morning, and just got things finalized late this afternoon. So, back at it tomorrow for what will be a short week. Then, I'm taking four days off around the 11th to close on and move into our new place.

THEN.....well, we'll see....

 

That's a very good reason. I hope things get better for you at Crete.

 

Looks like it'll be Thursday before I can get moving. What a circus! My wife says I should go to school and be a diesel mechanic. If only I were 20 years younger....

 

I am out of the shop. When I went in to check on it at 8 pm, it was had the same pile of parts off of it, and no one was working on it. At 10:30 pm, they were handing me my keys. Turns out, they didn't do the EGR again, just the fuel pump. These Maxxfarce engines have a cracking fuel pump issue now. They said one driver came in with a fuel leak/diesel smell, and his looked like a fountain. My heater ran fine last night, and my truck stayed at a comfy 72 inside with the fan in low. It was suppose to get down to 6 here in Indy last night. 1 thing I did do is start putting my window insulating pieces in that I usually only put in during the summer months. Made a world of difference. Here's hoping this thing holds together for a little while. Cheers!

 

yuuuck food poisoning! Just because all of the warehouse workers eat off the roach coach doesn't mean I should. Good Lord what an ab workout all this throwing up gives ya!

 

Gona put my repairs to my heater to the test. Picking up a t'called load off of the Lafayette yard headed back to the frozen north of Neenah, WI for tonight. Gona be 0 there tonight. They are confused today (more than normal) in Lincoln. When they sent me the pplan to this load, a 2nd msg came thru saying it was t'called in Indy, not Lafayette. Drove around the yard 3x, not here...turns out, it really is in Lafayette. Blonds...need I say more?