Houston’s nice, but.......

So we drove to Dallas on two of the last three days.  A shop up there took our exhaust (basically from turbo to tailpipe, which we were hand delivering) and cut it apart, welded flanges so it could be serviced in the future, then cleaned the catalytic regeneration unit and the particulate filter.  Dodge’s solution is to sell you a new one (quotes up to $7,000).  Many are just yanking the whole thing out and replacing it with a delete kit (around $1,500).  But then you are illegal, and all diesels will be required to have particulate filters by 2012.  Texas is one of the states where you will be stopped if a cop notices your truck smoking.  It is easy enough to look under the truck and see if you have the required filter, if not you get a ticket.  Don’t know the fine, but whatever they are, they’ll be getting larger in the future.

So now we have a nice new, clean and legal exhaust.  This allows further diagnosis.  The technician took it for a drive with the computer hooked up and it seems like we have fuel pressure issues, beginning with the supply pump (located, naturally, inside the fuel tank).  So we are installing a new pump and then another test drive.

This process will eventually get us to the injectors but there are lots of expensive parts in between.  The manager at the shop has been real good about keeping us informed and moving the process along.  I don’t want to think about going through this at a dealer.

Hard pressed to provide any photos.  Did see an enormous white guy just outside of Houston.

Sam Houston, just north of Houston on I 45

Sam is hard to catch at 70 MPH out the drivers side window

And there was this steep bridge approach just as you get to beautiful down town Lake Charles, LA.  I knew there was a reason I never went there during the time I was stationed at Ft Polk.

Today Teri and I washed the trailer (got tired looking at the black streaks down the sides) and now are catching up on paperwork while watching Man U vs Marseille in the UEFA Champions League. 

Stay tuned.

Maybe we’ll stay in Houston a while after all

We last left our storied travelers making a early morning dash from Houston to San Antonio.  Hoping to salvage an afternoon and evening on the river walk before moving on to Carlsbad in time to meet up with the Hatches and resume the original schedule.

Well the dash made it three signals until it stalled.  It restarted but with smoke and an engine warning light;  a few more miles later it started missing again.  It seemed that we’d better let the shop have it for a few days.  We had been asking them to give it a quick miracle cure with only a description of symptoms.  The mechanic knows his stuff but we weren’t letting him take the time for a complete diagnosis.   So we started to adjust our plans again.

Since there was a national stock show and rodeo going on and spring break beginning, we had to go over 20 miles north to find a decent RV park that could keep us for as long as we might need.  So we are giving them whatever it takes and probably a nice chunk of change before we try again.

Houston is actually quite nice this time of year; it just has all these Texans living here.

Pictures soon, really.

Take time to smell Spring, it’s in the air ya know.