Casper4104's first family trip report
Fun fun,
Took a small gaggle of teenagers to the rock&roll hall of fame in cleveland this past saturday. It's a good time - worth the $20 at the door. I kinda wish I was from Detroit and could sing, since every single Motown act (plus Barry Gordy) is in the Hall of Fame. If you're a Bob Dylan fan this is the time to go, the top 3 floors of the museum is devoted to him right now. Look here: http://www.rockhall.com/
No problems going up - bus ran well. Spent about 8 hours at the Hall of Fame and a few other Cleveland attractions.
When we came back out to the bus, we noticed a big puddle under the back end. ???
The pipe running from the water pump up to the top of the engine had cracked just above the water pump, and was weeping nicely. This is not happy news at 8:30pm on a saturday.
I pulled the pipe out (losing a lot more coolant) and cleaned everything up. I found that the last guy that had this apart used Permatex blue instead of a gasket, and he was from the "More is better" school of Permatex application. The crack went about halfway around the pipe just above where it met the water pump.
I covered the crack with black elec tape and a hose clamp, cut new gaskets from stiff cardboard (it looked like Garlock to me), filled her back up with water and brought her 3 hours home, staring at the water temp gage all the way. It dripped a little, and I checked the level regularly and topped off as necessary.
I'm planning to have a pal at work TIG the crack up for me when I get back to the shop Tuesday.
I love this old thing - it's like working on farm equipment. Our first family trip in the bus was a qualified success. Everybody had a good time, and we all agree that driving along, taking a nap, watching tube, playing Playstation2, making a sammitch, using the head as necessary - has got riding on my old sedan beat all up and down. Now we're looking forward to the big run to Tidewater area Virginia for July 4th.
Casper4104
I am glad to hear that the trip went nicely, not withstanding the water issue, but it was good that she made it home. I can't wait to make my first trip in my little machine, If i can work up the nerve for anything more than 100 miles...lol
shawn
Casper,
I'm glad you had such little trouble on the journey.
It could have been a lot worse... West bound I70 in Colorado when it let go. You'll find that many people think tha RTV is the cure for everything..... NOT!
When I picked up my 4103 The pipe that went from the water manifold to the surge tank had a rust hole in it. Some bright person decided to fill the hole with Red RTV which lasted as long as the engine was cold.
I ended up parked next to a Box auto parts store and out of desperation bought some JB Weld just to make it the 450 miles home.
I put the stuff on after cleaning the hole out and removing the extra rust and we went to dinner.
When we came back, obviously it wasn't cured but was more solid than the RTV.
We decided to go on to the truck stop about 10 miles away. I too kept an eagle eye on the temp guage. (It didn't work, but I didn't know that).
Got to the truckstop, stayed the night, fixed some wiring so at least I had lights, woke up the next morning, had breakfast, came out, checked and filled the surge tank, and that patch has been there for the last 3 years.
As soon as I can, I'll change the pipe to a piece of brass a friend can make for me, but, hey, I can't holler.
By the Way, If you get to Virginia, stop at Smithfield and test the ham they make there. Excellent stuff.
Blue crabs are great too, but I think you'll be too early for the soft shells.
On the way back, drive an extra couple of hundred miles and stop to see us in South Carolina. Maybe we can get an extra couple of GMC's together and tell some lies.
Drive safely!
Dallas
Hey Shawn,
Prep the best you can, pack some spares and tools, and go man. Just remember that it ain't a new Toyota and you gotta keep an eye on it. Cleveland is only 3 hours from Marietta OH where I live, so we thought it would be a good shakedown. Is there some neato attraction not far from home? Far enough to be interesting, but close enough to call in the cavalry if necessary? Get out there and have some fun with that young'n while you can. Mine are 16 and 17 now, and we're trying for some good times while we can. It happens fast so don't blink or you might miss it.
Hey Dallas, that JB is good stuff, no?
I did a cracked motorcycle engine case with it and rode that bike for years.
Actually I'm a native of Poquoson VA, a small "fishing village" just NE of Newport News - so I'm familiar with all the salty goodies down there. I spent my Xmas breaks when I was a kid culling oysters, and a lot of summertime pulling crab pots. I never acquired the taste for the peelers, but everyone else in my family loves them.
My mom is remarried and lives in Ivor VA, right next to Smithfield. She's actually next door to a 3000 sow hog farm, so you don't want to be there when the wind comes out of the west. We used to slaughter a dozen hogs every new years - which was really pretty stupid of you think about it. Party 'til 2:00am on new years eve, then get up at 5 to go butcher. It was the one day a year when you could be pretty sure it's gonna be cold enough to do it, and everyone's off work.
Where in SoCar? I don't think we'll make it this trip, but we'll keep the invite in mind for the future. We have to get another trip in this summer (Chicago - wifes 20 year class reunion) so we have to save the vacation days.
Thanks for the replies, this ain't just a hobby, it's an adventure.
Casper
hi casper
our first trip in our 4104 was a sucess also,after we returned home i found 2 bad rear tires. we wevt about 700 mi around fla. good luch with your 4104
Bernie newcomb
Congrats Casper,
After you have done the "once over"
The only way you can iron out the bugs in these things is to drive them.
Every trip out I have to deal with a little something, but it gets less and less as I get my "Ole Gal" back in shape.
And when everything s working great, its SWEET! ;D
Cliff
Casper,
We had a really bunch of "Adventures" on our first 4104 trip which was 4300 miles. I think we had one a day for the first four days and a really good one at our destination (Replaced the complete drive shaft and universals). We spent three nights in truck repair yards!!
The good part was that we seemed to always be in the right place when we had a problem and never had to use road service. I think I replaced/cleaned the fuel filters at least five times.
Our last trip which ended 13 May and was 6300 miles was uneventful bus wise but had one small probem with a failed refrigerator igniter.
This is as much fun as it gets!
Congrats !! ;D