Hello everyone!

Thought you should know that I am now in California for a couple days after leaving Atlanta for my long trip to Alaska. I have put 4600 miles on my truck since I bought it about 2 weeks ago and I still have another 3000+ to go. I have taken plenty of pictures of my adventure and when I finally get settled down in Alaska I will be sure to post up a good long post with plenty of pics and details of my adventures.

I just love my lil 7.3. She towed like a champ, I managed to get her stuck in a big mud puddle just outside of the grand canyon (I am a moron) and with out any help she eventually got out of it. And beyond those incidents all is well. My mpg has been between 17 and 19 using cruise control almost all of the time with some windows down/ a/c on and thats been nice. In two weeks of owning her, we have towed, 4x4ed, hit two small animals, she has been snowed on, and even slept in several times. At 260k, she has has handled all these experiences with out missing a beat. Already had a couple people tell me that their miss theirs when im filling up at a gas station.

Either way while I am here in Cali for a couple of days I was going to change the oil at least since that is due. My next stop will be Saleem, OR and I hope to maybe change the trans fluid and diff fluid since I don't know when those have been done.

Either way I have a couple questions for yall.

Oil change, very basic and I have done them on many other cars but never a big diesel truck. Looking to buy 15 quarts of 15w40, I assume all brands are worthy? I already know the hammer and punch trick from what I have read on the forums but my question is do I need the truck up on ramps or should I leave it flat. If I recall correctly the drain plug is at the bottom of the pan so I would want the truck flat correct? Should I also get the oil out of the high pressure pump?


Other question, yesterday while on my last 500 miles of driving we got into some hills and I ended up needing the brakes a couple of times and I found that the truck has started pulling to the left pretty hard. It seemed to go away a little while later but at the time I was having to counter steer it.

I figured I may have gotten some mud and gunk jammed into the right front caliper after my little mud puddle experience. The water wasn't much higher then the hubs but I was flingin water and mud all over the place to get my truck unstuck.

Beyond pulling the caliper out and cleaning it up is there anything I should be aware of?

Also, I think I may have discovered why my front hubs won't auto engage.

My front left hub seems to have a black o-ring/rubber grommet sticking out of the hub which makes turning the hub somewhat difficult. I figured maybe this piece broke messing up the vacuum line on the hub end? Possibility?

This is probably something I will take apart in OR when I have a bit more time on my hands.

Thanks guys, hopefully when I get settled I can be around the forums more often.



Here is what she looked like after filling up in Phoenix. I probably won't wash her until I get to Alaska. I don't believe in cleaning a vehicle mid-road trip, its just not right.

 

There is a big thread about oil qualities on the org if your interested. There are a lot of us here in Ca. If your local I can help out with that. Where are you in Cal?

 

I am in Morgan Hill for about 2 more days. This afternoon is the only time I have to do anything truck related because the next two days the kids are out of school and I am on uncle duty big time.

 

For oil, go with Shell Rotella T or Delo for dino oil. Rotella T synth or Shaeffer's for synth. I wouldn't worry about the HPOP. Caliper could be hung, could be something else... just keep an eye on it. Don't know what to say on the 4x4 hub but that doesn't sound right...
Glad the trip has been (mostly) ineventful so far for you.

 

I had no clue as to where that is but I guessed norcal. Yeah only about 5hrs away. There are a lot of people near there that may be able to help or at the very least give you a good spot to wash the truck. It needs it, looks like it has gone through a good trip. 10k miles on the first month or so of owning it. Imagine what that will be after 2-3 yrs.

LOL

 

I would go for something synthetic being that far from anywhere familiar. I'd rather pay the extra dollars for the peace of mind.

From the sound of the trip looking forward to those pics.

 

I brought home 4 gallons of Delo 15w40 and bought a Napa filter as well. That should get me to Alaska and then by summer's end I will be changing the oil to a cold weather oil anyways.


I don't usually drive this much but having just finished college and also wanting to travel the country it could keep going like this!

Once I get to Alaska the mileage should slow down big time and I will start fixing all the little things that I want to work on like the hub, dash lights that are out, coolant, fixing the sticking locks, the over head dash etc etc.

Oh and yes, PMS will probably attack me mid summer.

 

The locks sticking is an easy fix. Usually dirty but other than that you have to replace the actuators.

 

Glad to see your well on your way. Looking foward to some more pics and if your not a member of the RHN, wouldn't be a bad idea, enjoy your trip..

 

Hey Alex, you are going to be passing right by Clay at Riff Raff Diesel, He is in Medford OR. He has a lot of connections and would propably enjoy getting to met another Southerner.
I am stepping out by saying this, but I think I have a pretty good read on Clay after spending 4 days with him last month, so If you need anything in that trip between Norcal, and Salem, give him a call. Also in that general area are Layson, and CSIPSD, then when you get up into WA you may be near Brent(powestrokedlariat), and Kwikkordead(Dan) plus about 20 other folks that I cant remember their screen names at the moment.

Stay safe my friend, and be careful.

 

Alex, you can change oil with the truck on the ground. You just need a large pan to hold all that oil. The cheap little ones will overflow. A good filter wrench or strap wrench gets the filter off, but hammering a large screwdriver through the filter (after poking a hole in the bottom and draining it) works, too.

I live about 20 miles west of Salem, so contact me if you need anything.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone, the support here is awesome.

Brandon, thanks for the heads up on Clay. He seems like a great guy and in fact he and I have been playing phone tag for quite some time now. Things on my end have been out of hand between the motorcycle accident and starting this trip, and of course on his end I am sure he is always busy.

I hope to meet up with him on my trip up there. I will probably try and give him a call again tomorrow.

Since I have this thread going, I wanted to bring something up which seemed really alarming to me.

I took off my right wheel to clean the brakes with some brake cleaner I had in my tool set. After taking off the wheel and spinning the brake rotor around a couple of times I realized that the entire hub/rotor assembly has about half an inch of play in all directions!?!?!?! Is this normal or is my wheel about to pop off? If both wheels are doing this then I would assume that this explains most of my steering play.

 

You came through Phx and didn't call the local members......bad boy. lol. Hope your able to meet up with other members on your trip and the rest of it is uneventful for you!!!

 

as for the pictuer all i can say is beautiful, looks like a good way to be to be driving the truck for a road trip. and for the wheel wobbling you are in the need for some new wheel bearings. i got a set on ebay for around 300 bucks. and they are not hard to change. they will help with the wandering.

 

Yeah, you need to take care of those wheel bearings now.. 300.00 on the internet, 375.00 at a local dealer.. Isnt Ed the FTE guy in Washington.. Maybe you can order and pick up.. Do it there in Washington before you move on..