My time in the garage space I was renting went from an initial three months to more than two years as the owner’s plans to move their business into the building continually extended every couple of months. I was all to happy to keep expanding the scope of my conversion efforts and fill all the available time they were offering. In early 2024 though, they informed me that they would be starting renovations in the spring and asked that I be out of the space by April 1st. By that date I had cleaned up the work space and moved all my stored belongings elsewhere. I was stressed to the max trying to finish critical items I still needed to make the truck livable, but the last thing I wanted to do was have them feel I was dragging my feet. The cab was still mostly disassembled so I would have been sitting on a seat not bolted to the floor with no seatbelt and only half a dash, but I was committed to getting out on time. However, I think once they saw that I had made a considerable effort to clean up my workspace, take down the four different work benches I had built and clear out everything but the truck and a few small items, they took pity on me and offered to let me stay long enough to “tie up any loose ends”. I talked to them periodically over the ensuing weeks to make sure I wasn’t in the way and let them know that I could vacate within a day if needed. This continued until the end of April when they confirmed their start date was now May 16th. The extra six weeks I was provided was a huge stress reliever and I was able to complete my bunk and the galley, install the fridge and get the cab reassembled. I also finished securing the solar panels and a few other odds and ends on the various electrical upgrades I had done, about the last thing I did was install the new engine batteries and get the truck prepped for starting. It was at this point that I removed the EGR valve and also installed a rebuild kit on the air compressor, which would hopefully mean the truck could build air and release the parking brake. I knew all along that it was a 50/50 shot the engine would start after such a long period and I would be able to leave the garage under my own power, but until the final date was set, I think I was continually expecting more time.
As one might expect there are an endless number of things to check and verify before starting something that hasn’t run in two years. I certainly could have been starting it every few weeks during all that time, but I had dissected the entire battery drawer under the truck that would have to be rebuilt as well as dozens of connections to the ambulance system that I was still identifying. Part of my decision to put off starting it was because all along I was expecting to have to move out the garage within a month or two. Finally the 15th arrived and I scrambled to get things ready. By the time I did it was late afternoon when I finally turned the key and waited for the glow plug light to go out. The engine cranked mightily with the new batteries and the familiar alarms and warning lights all jumped to life, but it wouldn’t turn over. While the truck had been in climate controlled comfort for 2+ years I did have some concern that the diesel fuel in the tank might have gone bad so weeks earlier I had added some Lucas Cetane Booster (cetane is apparently to diesel what octane is to gasoline). The diesel otherwise looked good and didn’t exhibit any gelling or other contamination. Still, starting was a no go so I snapped into my backup plan. I called the dealership and was given the name of a mobile service company. As it was already after 5pm and I didn’t want to pay after-hours emergency rates, I decided to wait until the next morning, reasonably confident I could get someone there to diagnose and fix the problem. If onsite service sounds expensive, it is, and wildly so. On top of that the local GR techs were all out on service calls so if I didn’t want to wait until late afternoon, I would have to have one come over from Holland, about 30 miles away, including paying for the additional drive time and mileage. They charge from the moment they leave their business until the minute they get back, plus mileage. The mobile tech showed up and got to work. He replaced the fuel filter and cleaned the fuel screen just to be thorough, although neither was terribly dirty and he confirmed the fuel looked to be in good condition with no signs of water or bacterial contamination. There is apparently a type of bacteria which loves diesel fuel and will happily grow in it, turning it into a gel like algae. After a few tries he resorted to hooking his laptop up to the truck’s diagnostic port, which revealed extremely low ICP pressure. This is the high pressure oil pump that is supposed to run at 800-900 psi but was only showing 30 psi. In diesel engines, oil pressure is key to the fuel injectors working properly so this was obviously a problem. He then tried spraying ether directly into the air intake. This got us even closer to a start, or at least it sounded that way to me, and brought the ICP pressure back up to where it should be so the engine was firing, but it still would not turn over. He ultimately diagnosed it as bad fuel pump. At that point my options where wait for him to go get the part and pay him an even more absurd amount of money or call for a heavy tow. My only concern at that point was getting out of the garage space and the fastest option was to call Bud’s Heavy Wrecker Service, who showed up within 20 minutes.
The tow driver announced that there was only one small problem; his truck was too big to fit into the garage given the high boom and because of the position of my truck relative to the door, he couldn’t get his winch on it to pull it out. He continued to walk around the truck and look at it for some tense minutes before seeming to reach a solution and started pulling equipment out of his truck to add supplemental air to the air reservoir in order to release the parking brake. Bud’s motto is “Any vehicle, anywhere” and before I knew it, he was at the front bumper pushing the truck by hand, something I hadn’t even considered was possible given the Rig tips the scales at nearly 18,000 pounds. I quickly jumped in to help and we were somehow able to get it worked around the corner and lined up with the door. I figured at that point his winch would come to the rescue and pull the truck out the rest of the way so he could get the tow bar under it. Apparently though, we were doing so well, he just kept going and we ultimately pushed it completely out the door and partially out into the street where he could then get his truck lined up to lift it.
One thing I knew about the truck was that there were dire warnings to never tow it by the front as turning the transmission at speed without the engine running and circulating transmission oil would result in it’s rapid destruction. However, given the low hanging rear bumper which prevented easy access to the frame rails, the tow driver opted to tow from the front and just disconnect the drive shaft, which while disconcerting to observe, is apparently the most common technique (on the downside, this resulted in a $220 charge by the dealer to reconnect it.) By 1pm he was pulling away with the Rig in tow and I notified the owners that it was out of their building. Other than scrubbing the floor and some odds and ends to move out I was cleared out, which relieved a tremendous amount of stress I was feeling. They did allow me to come back a few days later as I had ordered the 13′ awning which was coming by freight carrier.
Looking back at this blog, I re-watched the video I posted of driving the truck into the garage some two-plus years earlier, which occurred during a blizzard. I would have liked to move it out under its own power, but at least it was out and I could move on figuratively and literally.
As far as what was wrong with it, that is going to require an entire post of it’s own.