We were supposed to be in Saugerties NY today, on our way to Florida. Instead we are still in Phillipston MA, our planned trip delayed. Yup. Again.
Why? More truck problems. Yup. Again.
What kind of problem? A broken fuel line. Yup. Again.
This time the problem appeared Monday as we were on our way to UMASS Memorial Hospital in Worcester to get an MRI of Jett’s head. We were stopped at a light just two blocks from the hospital when we were hit with a very strong diesel fuel odor. There were a couple of trucks nearby and I couldn’t see anything leaking or smoking from my driver’s seat so we continued on, into the parking garage, hoping against hope that it was those trucks. When I shut the engine off and got out… fuel spewing from the engine. I dropped to my knees, cursing a blue streak. Any observer probably thought I was Job. I certainly felt like Job.
But no time to wail – had to get Jett to the MRI. So I got her to her appointment and then called a GMC dealer some 23 miles away to see if (1) they could undertake repairs quickly and (2) had a rental or loaner that I could have while they had my truck. They said “yes” to both. Then I called AAA. They told me that they could not transport the truck until the fire department said it was safe to do so. So, realizing the both the fire department and the tow truck would have great difficulty dealing with a truck parked on the top level of a parking garage, I decided I had to move it. I walked along the backside of the hospital, near the exit from the garage, and spotted a legal parking spot that would be perfect. Back to the hospital to pay the parking charge, then to the truck. Started it up and, as fast as possible, got out of the garage to the on-street parking space. The fuel continued to spew.
Then back into the hospital to collect Jett. Moved her to the sidewalk outside the hospital, to sit in the sun (a sunny day in the mid-70s). Then I called the fire department. A fire truck with 5 firemen arrived, lights flashing (but no siren, thankfully), about 10 minutes later. They opined that it was a minor leak and the truck could safely be transported. I called AAA and put the fireman in charge on the phone, to assure AAA that they could send a truck.
Back to Jett to check on her. She was doing fine. A call to the GMC dealer to tell them the truck was en route, than a call to sister-in-law Kim to see if she could give us a ride to the GMC dealer (the AAA driver was not allowed to take us due to the pandemic). She agreed to do so and was even pleased that the dealer was right on the way to the cabin in New Salem which is where she was headed after work.
Back to the truck, getting there just as the tow truck arrived. My truck was expeditiously winched onto the flatbed and was off to the GMC dealer after I paid $80 for the portion of the tow not covered by my AAA membership.
Back to Jett, just as Kim arrived. She drove us to the dealer where the tow driver was just unloading the truck. Signed the papers for the repairs and the loaner (a 2008 Cadillac with 132K miles – my first and last Cadillac ever). With a stop at KFC to pick up some comfort food, we were back at the RV by 5:30.
4.5 hours of pure misery.
You might ask why I didn’t take the truck back to Greg’s Garage as it is a reasonable assumption that their fuel line repair had failed for a second time. Two reasons: (1) they had already had 2 bites of this particularly bitter apple and I was not about to offer a third and (2) I needed alternate transportation and I didn’t think they could provide it. In addition to the MRI on Monday, Jett had an immunotherapy infusion on Tuesday and a CT scan on Wednesday. I needed a car. Going carless was not an option.
I got the truck back Wednesday after the CT scan. The description of the problem – both orally and in writing – was interesting. I asked the mechanic whether the fuel line that had failed was new (trying to see if it could be pinned on either Greg’s Garage or the GMC deal in Ft Myers who did the original extensive fuel line work in April). He said he wasn’t sure but didn’t think so because the line was “brittle.” I wasn’t sure what he meant, but it became clearer on the written summary of the work: “Found fuel leaking from broken fuel injector return hose at L/H injectors. Was able to extract broken pieces from injectors. Replaced fuel return hose.”
Broken pieces? Doesn’t sound like the “clip let loose” problem that Greg’s Garage found. Could there be two separate catastrophic fuel line failures two weeks apart? Seems unlikely, but anything is possible with this truck.
Maybe all fuel line components are programmed to fail at 16 years or 180,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Anyway, I am now $700 poorer but again ready(?) to go. We could have gotten underway with just one day lost, but decided to postpone the trip for 5 days to give us a full weekend with the kids in VA.
FYI, the MRI revealed that Jett’s brain lesions had shrunk even further. Very good news, especially as counterpoint to the truck problems. We don’t have CT scan results yet but the doctor says it would be rare for treatment to be successful in one area of the body and not in another.
I wish I had gotten a photo of the fire truck. But I only got the tow truck.
