Engine problem - pull over or make next exit?

After you find out the problem and it's repaired then you will know which was the right move. Before that it's a guess.

 

Believe it is called "a crap shoot."

 

There really isn't a "one-size-fits-all" answer, because whether I'd pull over immediately or try to limp up to the next exit depends entirely upon what the truck is doing, traffic & road conditions, how far it is to the next exit, etc... For example, when I blew my engine, I knocked it out of gear and coasted a mile up the road to a rest area rather than stopping on the shoulder. When an injector tip broke off, I shut it down immediately and pulled off onto the shoulder. Turbo blew, I limped it a few miles to a safe place to park. Driveshaft starts knocking, you better stop ASAP because if it comes apart before you do, it'll tear up a lot more than "just" a u-joint. Tire blows, I keep driving to a safe place...unless it's flinging rubber, then I stop & single it out before proceeding to a safe place.

Like I said, without knowing EXACTLY what the truck is doing, there's no way to tell you whether to limp or stop.

 

Depends on the situation. I once blew an upper rad hose on my 5 ton service truck, right at the crest of a steep hill. Very tiny shoulder. I nosed it off onto the shoulder as far as I could and popped the hood. Obviously standing on the passenger side in case I got hit. Based on the fact I was just over the crest of the hill and traffic was being stupid, I made the executive decision to close the hood and limp 3 kilometers to the next exit, where I proceeded to repair the truck out of harms way. Just gotta use some common sense.

 

Coming up I-85 in NC one afternoon,noticed a trail of smoke coming out of my exhaust behind me,slight engine miss.Gauges normal,went a few miles to the next exit,got off onto the on ramp.Shut the engine off,(N14),let the manifolds cool off.Started her back up,figured out the dead cylinder by the cold exhaust manifold port.Pulled the rocker cover off the bad cylinder,nothing broken mechanically I that could see,injector wiring all looked good,figured bad injector.(it was).Called one of my sons,had him stop at KW Richmond and bring me an injector.Put it in,problem solved.Always carried a spare injector in the sidebox after that.
Every situation is going to be different,common sense just has to prevail,but safety should be the most determining factor,imho.

 

Yep make you're delivery and get on to the next one until the thing just burns to the ground lol.

 

Can you pull over safely on the side of the road where you are? If not, and you can still drive, getting to the off ramp is looking real good.

But if the truck is going to be toast by then anyway, stop now and save further damage.

I was pulling a steep grade (Sexton pass) just after leaving the yard one night a couple of months ago, and all of a sudden I hear noises, and notice that I can no longer see the trucks behind me, because I am filling the freeway with a giant white cloud...

I was close to the summit, so backed off on the throttle but kept driving, hoping I would see the top soon...
My internal timer to destruction was counting down rapidly as the coolant continued to spew out (of a blown heater hose), and just as I was about to reach my limit and start worrying about engine damage, I saw a gravel shoulder I could just get off onto, pulled off, let the engine idle very briefly to save the turbo, then shut it down.

Did I prefer to get off the road, so it was a simple roadside repair, instead of a tow, and blocking the road? (the shoulder there is also the truck crawl lane)
Yes, but I would rather block the freeway than destroy the engine!

So you got to decide from the symptoms and noises if you can make it to a better place to stop, or just stop right where you are.

 

When I worked for Cummins we always joked how UPS would always break down next to a phone booth, regardless of the severity....this was pre-cell phone days obviously.

 

What's a phone booth? Haven't seen one of those in years.