We are off the road for a spell.....

[TXiceman]

Well, we are residents of Knoxville, TN and our trip is on indefinite hold.

After clearing Knoxville this morning, the truck had something in the engine let go. Started ticking first and before I could get it shut down on the shoulder it was running rough and rattling. GS ERs got us towed in a timely manner to an RV park and the truck to a Ford shop.

They listened to it briefly and said it did not sound good would have to pull the pan and see what failed. Pretty sure this is a result of the damage from the 5 gallon bucket hitting the filter last week. The Progressive adjuster does want to listen to the engine himself, before the oil pan is dropped.

So now we wait to see what happens next and hope it does not wind up in a pissing contest with the insurance company wanting the cheapest way out rather than a proper fix.

Ford said a new crate engine was $13K to $14K when they can find one.

Ken

[RoyB]

A really good active Ham radio bunch around the area there. Good repeater up on the West Mtns around the Natl Park. Always liked camping inside the park there at ELKMONT and be able to carry the handheld around the camp site... 146.850Mhz I think is the repeater freq on the local mtns there...

Sorry for your troubles...

We have stayed in the log cabins a few time at RIVEREDGE RESORT on the East end of the main drag through Pigeon Forge on the road to Gatlinburg... Great camping areas all around the local towns there...

Townsend is the best area for us as the crowds along the strips there start getting to you after a while haha...

Roy Ken

[TXiceman]

I guess I should have demanded that the pan be dropped in the first place to check the bearings.

Now we wait until we can get it opened up and see what all happened.

Sure it will all work out. I have opened a claim with my insurance in case I have any problems. They will fix the truck, but I will be out my deductible. My insurance also has the information on the truck and claim and can lean on his insurance as well.

Since we are full time RVers, the truck is our only transportation plus we need it to move the house.

Ken

[brirene]

Sorry for your troubles, TX. Sounds like there's lots of places to spread the blame potentially. Hope it all works out in your favor.

[CavemanCharlie]

DSDP Don wrote:
Sorry for your troubles, but my faith in humanity has been renewed that someone would actually stop and take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for what they did. Doesn't happen to often anymore in this Country.

X2

[et2]

It's ironic your posting this confirmed a worry of mine years ago when looking at new dually pick-ups. The chevy's at the time had a filter that was easily seen at the bottom of the engine. I was concerned road debris could pose a problem and decided that was a problem. Ended up with the Dodge.

Hope it works out for you.

[TXiceman]

Oh, we know about football fanatics. We are pretty close to Texas Longhorn and Texas Aggie country.

Spent the lat week in Walland, TN and covered the quiet side of the mountains. The rental car is an unlimited mileage one and we will see more of this area and into NC. Need to get to Cherokee, NC for sure.

Keep telling myself when you got lemons, get some sugar and make lemonade.

Ken

[Merrykalia]

Well, Knoxville and the surrounding area is a good place to be at this time of year. Now, in another couple of months, it might not be too good of a place to be, but hopefully, you will be back on the road by then. Make the insurance get you a nice little rental car and travel to all the area sites.

If you can get tickets for a UT game, even if you are not a fan, it is definitely an experience!! A good number of their FANS (yes, fanatics!!) are just that!

Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, numerous TVA lakes, GSMNP and all that has to offer is within an hours drive and now that the leaves are beginning to change, it is absolutely breath-taking.

Hope you get it fixed by the insurance company and can be on your way speedily.

[DSDP_Don]

Sorry for your troubles, but my faith in humanity has been renewed that someone would actually stop and take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for what they did. Doesn't happen to often anymore in this Country.

[TXiceman]

The fellow that owned the bucket stopped and we got an accident report filed and a claim with his insurance. They paid for the initial repair of the filter and changing the remainder of the oil plus an oil analysis then and later at the 1500 mile mark. The claim was still open to see about hidden damage to the bearings.

The other person and Progressive are responsible. The truck was towed in Atlanta to a diesel shop and checked after the accident. Oil pressure was fine and it sounded OK, so we hung around Atlanta a couple of more days sight-seeing and driving the truck. We pulled the trailer from Atlanta to south of Knoxville and it did fine. We did some sight-seeing in the area and hooked up and headed over toward Asheville, NC. I have been monitoring the oil level and it was running fine and I heard a ticking start and headed to the shoulder. By the time we got to the shoulder, it was running rough and rattling like there was a garbage can full of rocks under the hood.

I did get an oil sample from the crankcase in Atlanta and still have not gotten the results.

At the time, the option was to open the engine and no one thought it was necessary. Anyway, the Progressive adjuster wants to hear it run before the pan is dropped to check for damage. So we wait until he gets his rear to the shop.

I guess there is truth in "S(you know what) happens. Just thankful that the fellow that dropped the bucket stopped and confirmed to the LEO that it was his bucket of soap.

As low as the filter hangs on the 6.7L Ford, my next project will be a skid plate like on the off-road package will be added.

Ken

[Tom_N]

Wow, hoping for an easy repair.

Damage to the filter is the reason I've never went to the 2 qt filter on my 8.1.

-Tom, W3TLN

[Old-Biscuit]

Sorry to hear of your woes!

What happened with the bucket/filter :H

Hope all goes smoothly........insurance and repairs.

At least you are in Knoxville and not 'Podunk USA'.
Relax, rent a car, go enjoy Knoxville and deal with issues IF they occur

[Francesca_Knowl]

et2 wrote:
Sorry to hear. What happened to the filter?

I saw the story over at IRV2, posted there by TX right after it happened- yikes!

I'll quote it here:

TXiceman wrote:
What a day...YUCK
What an adventure today. We left Stone Mountain Park about 9:30 AM and headed north to the Smokys. On I-285 at Norcross, GA, a pickup had a 5 gallon plastic bucket (full of a soap) come off the tailgate and land on the road. It was one lane to our left and as we slowed down and started to pass it, it roll in front of us. Wham it hit under the truck and the oil pressure alarm went off....beep...beep and the idiot light came on. Quickly head for the right shoulder with no one wanting to let me cross two lanes of traffic. Bullied my way over and shut down on the shoulder.
No oil on the dip stick, oil all over the bottom of the truck. The bucket hit the oil filter and ruined it, breaking the seal. The fellow that lost the bucket had pulled over right there by us. called 911 and the local LEO showed up in about 15 minutes. In the mean time called Good Sam ERS. It took them 4 hours to find someone to tow us and another hour to get to us and get us to a campground. Then the truck went on to Atlanta Diesel services and they got right to it. Filter housing is OK, replaced the filter, refilled with oil and it started up OK...no noise. Got an oil analysis kit from NAPA and sent off an oil sample to see if any apparent damage to the engine.
The other fellow has Progressive and will have to see how they handle it.
The truck stinks from the oil and the cleaner solution the shop used.
Atlanta Diesel Service handled the truck and had me back on the road to the RV park by 5:30PM. Nice folks.

More at this link

[et2]

Ron3rd wrote:
If your damage was road damage from the bucket hitting the filter as you say, your insurance might cover it.

Maybe not. If the damage was known, it's your responsibility to replace it. Not let it go until it fails causing damage. It all depends what was told to the insurance company. :W

[Ron3rd]

If your damage was road damage from the bucket hitting the filter as you say, your insurance might cover it.