Ups and Downs of old truck ownership, real story.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I had just finished correcting 3 long time problems that I lived with all year because of how crazy busy I have been working.
The starter has been intermittent and became non-op when hot so I got a new solenoid and fixed the loose and crappy wiring EXCEPT they wanted $30+ for a battery-to-starter cable, so I just wrapped the old one with electrical tape and reinstalled it. Worked great!!! Finally! No "click...click...click every time I needed to start and I was working in an orchard where it's pretty hard to push start this 5300 Lb truck by myself.
Then I "fixed" the electrical gremlin that was causing it to backfire and shut off for a few seconds at a time. Was the wire that goes into the HEI, there is no snap-in connector, just a force fit that gravity finally made to come loose.
THEN I somehow "fixed" the leaking gas at the sender opening and also got the gauge working again!!!! Must have been a bad ground there and the o-ring was not sealing properly.

So I was going through my wallet and left my "lucky" $2 bill on my desk. (Huge mistake hehe). Proceeded to break a big piece off of a back tooth eating crunchy bacon. Go in my truck and was on my way to a distant job and I was so happy to have all of these things "fixed" that I actually shouted out a sort of "YEEHAAAAA!" as I drove along the 134.

2 miles later the engine dies totally and I was lucky to find a spot to park on a surface street just off the freeway. The battery-to-starter cable had grounded against the ex-manifold I guess and was smoking. I went to move it and it snapped like a twig (4Gauge wire!) . Battery was toast and after pushing this rig 4 times I couldn't get it to start and there were no lights or anything working. AAA towed it home 10 miles+ and I took the battery back to COSTCO and they replaced it for $2 even though it was 2 years old! I wasn't going to argue. Then I got a cable next door down at a Pep Boys auto parts for $8. Now working again and I feel good once more. Until the next thing breaks that is. -BA

[Palf70Step]

Yep I seem to be having days like that lately with the trucks too. Glad you are back running again.

[special-K]

Your story line seems all too familiar. I will say, these old trucks will do their best to limp back home. Ever notice that? Very few things have left me dead on the road.

My '95 Suburban is my newer truck I use year round. On the next to last day of a whole house vinyl siding replacement job we loaded the 5x10 trailer with all the old siding and new scrap and ran it to the only place that recycles it, which wasn't that far from the job. That's because the job was farther away than normal. Not so much in miles, but way east and deeper into metropolis than I normally go, the OTHER side of I-95 right smack between Baltimore and DC near BWI Airport... Yuck! So anyway, go to leave scrap yard and steering pump is making new whir sound, shut down, look, fluid full, close hood. On the way back sounds get worse and lose power steering. Well, that means hardly any brakes (hydroboost). Good thing that little trailer has them. I made it, with great caution, through all that muck at rush hour and made it back home without losing the belt or pump grenading, about 40 miles!

Next day I take the '72 with ladder racks (& good p/s pump) to finish details on this job and haul everything out. Done with all the pump jack poles and walkboards, we get loading all that out of the way first thing. It's all the odds & ends left button it up time, so I'm all over the place and end up last thing hanging a piece of new gutter off a step ladder off the deck... except the far left where steps drop you to the lower deck. I used an ext ladder on that end. Packing up and I decide to toss a ladder (not mine) back up real quick to sight the gutter again, didn't look right. It looked fine, but next thing I'm looking at is the deck coming at me. I had set the cheesy ladder carelessly and paid for it with broken ribs. I'm glad all we had everything loaded already.

So now I can't fix my Suburban for a while. Have to climb up into the '72 to go anywhere, and that was not fun. About two weeks later I manage to, very slowly, change the pump. Seriously, I think it took three days working a short time each day. I never did a pump with serpentine belt before, so watched YouTubes on it. Much easier than old pumps once you know how...and have that puller/installer. It all seems good, but wasn't sure pulley was seated right. Checked videos and nothing about 'how far', just 'install pulley' (cuz he already knows). One did say 'flush with shaft' and mine was 'sort of flush' but as gawl darn far on there I was able to get it. I beared down as best I could with the hurt ribs and I guess I needed to put more on it. Sighting the pulleys and with the new belt on everything looked ok. I go down to do a super easy bit of left over work on a job on the close side of suburbia. Get down I-70 and once on the local road I lose power steering & brakes. Got to a good spot to pull over and temp was climbing. Chewed up belt, dead in the water. At first I wonder if there wasn't another issue but had a hunch on the pulley I already doubted. I call the local NAPA (a good topic for another thread) to buy a belt and puller/installer. Call my friend at his shop, he sends his guy for part. I stick belt on and take chance driving about 5 miles to his house, shutting it down at lights. Got it fixed at his home shop and learned my lesson on that job.

Once that was all good, still recuperating, and one of the next times I drive it I see a Dextron spot behind the passenger front tire? It's all wet along that side. Sprayed brakleen and water pressure to clean. Turns out there is a short little piece of rubber hose joining steel line leaking. Not a big deal normally, but these repairs were major deals for me. No fun crawling under, scoochin', reaching, leaning, turning, lifting, and all the others.

It runs so good between breakdowns I just can't get rid of it

[WorkinLonghorn]

Yeah, when they are running good and you are going down the road making music, life is good.

I've had a bruised rib once when a ladder played a trick on me, I'd hate to even think about broken ones. -BA