Mornin' crew! It's Friday!!!! I hope that means a day of rest tomorrow for some of you like it does for me. A day of work lies ahead, but I love this day. Some work I got done this morning ....


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It means a day of rest changing the oil and doing the hutch mod at long last. I ran the truck on low for the last couple days hoping to keep the fuel tank light, but going up over a steep incline it started sputtering. Yikes! Took about 5 miles on flat to get it to sound normal. I anticipate a light tank. I'm gonna try to clean it while it its down.

I got to drive a rental Ford Fusion hybrid for some 1200 miles one week, taking it from PA to Wilmington NC and Charlottte and even Atlanta last summer. I don't know how some Prius' work, but this car wasn't a full hybrid, in that the electric only option was at low speeds, generally under 15mph and even then only for a few miles as the battery would quickly go flat.

However, my take on the purpose of the car was to take a four cylinder engine with four cylinder power and mileage and give you V6 power when you goosed it. And this car would go!! It was a hoot to drive. On-ramps, passing, from a dead stop, it screamed! It was also quite entertaining to drive as efficiently as possible, watching the battery charge and power level, you can see just when you were on the verge of getting the engine to fire, and if you were so inclined, or the road / traffic allowed, you could back off and keep it in electric-mode only. After a week and 1200 miles, it didn't get old.

The best moment came when I was stopped as the lead car during construction over a nearly two mile bridge over the Potomac River. Two lanes, one lane closed, and it was a looong wait, 20-25 minutes. We had just crested to the top when we stopped, and only myself and the panel truck behind me could see the oncoming traffic and flagger - the opposing traffic lane was closed - and the other end of the closure was well over a mile away down at the bottom of the bridge. The gal behind me parked her truck and was reading a paper when we got the go ahead. I never actually parked the car, my engine had shut off automatically. But since I was going downhill, I gently pressed the pedal and quietly pulled away. I was at the other end before the flag waver finally got her attention!

Overall, I mostly drove it for best efficiency, but the overall mileage was about the same as I've seen in typical four bangers. Certainly the in-town mileage and fun factor was always much better, and it became a game to use as much electric driving as possible. Anyway, I'm just not convinced the premium for this tech is truly offset by the marginal fuel savings from the less expensive V6 car. And then how much more does the hybrid feature add to maintenance & repair costs? I certainly see the advantages for electric / hybrids for city and short trip use, but highway distance? I pass a lot of 55-60mph Teslas on the NJ turnpike on my frequent commutes to NYC.

Friday means and early arrival at work for an early departure so I can spend the afternoon/evening wrenching on the truck. It's been down for almost 3 months. I feel like I should have gotten a PNO at my last tag renewal in January!


Out here the hybrids/electrics are doing 80+ on the freeway (pass me like I'm standing still at 65-70mph). Many retail parking lots are starting to have free charging stations for plug-in hybrid/electric cars that are right in front of the parking lot. These spots are always full (lots more plug-ins running around these days) and many times I see people taking a nap in the front seat with a blanket and pillow (yes, I said blanket and pillow) getting a free "tank".

Haha..after posting this from getn off the pot, I thought of you, Tug..lol. I wondered what would come from you... Your exempt from this post, Tug.. We like Tugly here:-X22

My Friday will consist of bleeding a buddys brakes, since a 3rd hydroboost, 3rd master cylinder a power steering pump, didn't fix the brake pedal falling to the floor, while stopped...after that, get to drive the truck(no new fan clutch installed yet) and paint some facial boards.. Hey Chet, I'll be in your neck of woods(weirick,15)

Fridays are GREAT!!

Every Friday (with only rare exceptions), my wife and I have lunch together as a mini date, and it is one of the most looked forward to events of every week for both of us. We've been doing this for a couple of years, now, and it's really been a great boost in our marriage. We talk about "filter cover orders and scheduling" for a few minutes so I can classify it as a"business lunch", and that essentially pays for one lunch out of the month in reduced taxes, and that always gives me an extra degree of satisfaction in our lunch dates.

Also, the engineering firm I work with has us on a 940 schedule... 9 hours M-Th and 4 hours on Friday for a 40 hour work week. It's like getting a mini vacation every Friday afternoon!! If I happen to get into a travel routine like what's happening next week (flying back from a client's facility and arriving here at 9:30 PM Thursday evening), I don't even come in on Friday at all unless I'm behind on deadlines and have to work some OT. Then, even when I work OT it's a really nice because I get paid straight time for every hour of it -- as a consultant engineer, my time is the product being sold to the customer, so I get paid for every hour I work, even though I'm in a salaried staff position.

As for hybrids, I replaced my '03 Excursion 7.3 one year ago with a '10 Lexus RX450h hybrid, and we love it. Quiet. Smooth. Steady. Almost sporty. Reliable. Economical. Did I say "quiet" and "smooth"? I just recently replaced the 12V auxilliary battery "just because"... it was seven years old and performing perfectly, but I didn't want to take any chances of it going out unexpectedly on my wife (her vehicle), so I replaced it with one of those pure lead X2 Power AGM's which is made by Northstar.

It has taken some getting used to in regards to the engine cutting on and off the way it does, and the regenerative braking system is a little "grippy" on the first two stops when starting up in the mornings. Otherwise, it is really spoiling me when I get to occasionally drive it on Friday's and weekends.

Light Friday Morning Reading...
 

Came across this today...

The 5 Best Tuner For 7.3 Powerstroke In 2017 - Reviews & Buyer Guide

Looks like I made a mistake when I bought my Hydra! :-X04

You training the horse or the "cow"(can't tell if it's a bull, steer, heifer or cow).:-X04

Well, I have always been known to learn from others and make decisions based on my own thoughts and opinions. I have no heartache at all about the Hydra and GH tunes, neither does my truck...

WOW .

Everyday is Friday for me, I'm retired. Took a bit getting use to but loving it. I miss the concept of going to work everyday, however I don't miss the work. Got plenty to do but on my own schedule .. usually the wife's schedule though.

I couldn't resist! }>

And I couldn't keep a straight face when I typed the post either. ;) :D

It's Friday and my work week just started after a whole week with the family it was time to get back to work.

Leaving EL Paso TX. All the way to Snyder.

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Just getting set up in an RV park in Snyder TX.

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Truck had a problem with EGT's so I babied it trying to keep egts below 1200, so today I opened the hood and the dam O ring on the spider to turbo was blown out, fixed it and all is well.