We were all packed and hooked up by 10 am on Friday morning without incident. We were just starting our travels down 1488 towards Magnolia when the fan clutch kept engaging and just kept roaring. The truck started to heat up so we turned around and came back. We put the trailer back in storage, plugged it in and took the truck to Gullo Ford. First, they had put a new water pump on; second, they had to put another new one on claiming the first new one failed and they changed out the thermostat. It was at Gullo the whole time we were on the cruise. So this was the third time we were taking the truck to Gullo for the same problem.
They called late on Friday to say it was ready. Our fan clutch was "weak" and they installed a new one. They did not ask for payment for the thermostat since that wasn't the problem and Ted refused to pay for the fan clutch until he knew the problem was fixed.
We canceled our night in Victoria but thought we could make Donna in one day if we left very early. So at 7 am Saturday morning we pulled out again and barely made it onto 1488 when it started again. So back we went for the fourth time to Gullo.
Ted rode with the mechanic who had the computer hooked up and he said there is definitely some restriction. No shi* Dick Tracy! We have pulled that trailer up and down the Rocky Mountains in August without incident. Everything worked fine until they put the water pump on. But this was a different mechanic and we're hoping he can figure out what wasn't done right when the new water pump was put on.
We have had a squeak in the rear that sounds like the shock absorber. No one had been able to diagnose that either. This mechanic said it might be a bearing on the drive shaft. If so, this could be another big job. Maybe God was keeping us from getting stuck with a broken drive shaft somewhere between here and the Rio Grande. We drive through a lot of "nothingness" on the way down.
I emptied everything out of the RV and we're just sitting tight. We will take the RV for a drive when we get the truck back without any expectations and with no destination in mind. Maybe early next week we'll be confident enough to load it back up and try again.
After spending time in the valley two years in a row, this is the third year in a row we have made plans to go to the valley and they have been thwarted for one reason or another. Let's hope we can make this "third time" charmed and actually get to go. Stay tuned!
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