Broke down in Tupelo MS

[garyp4951]

My Good Sam roadside came in handy, and towed the truck and 5er to a campground, and Ram dealer.
The water pump pulley broke, and lost the belt while in heavy one lane construction traffic on hey 45 on our way home from Gulf Shores AL, and I lost steering, and brakes immediately, but was able to get on the gravel shoulder using the trailer brake.
I could have repaired it myself if I was home, but now just sitting in the campground 100 miles from home waiting on word from the dealer.

[Grit_dog]

IdaD wrote:

garyp4951 wrote:
My Good Sam roadside came in handy, and towed the truck and 5er to a campground, and Ram dealer.
The water pump pulley broke, and lost the belt while in heavy one lane construction traffic on hey 45 on our way home from Gulf Shores AL, and I lost steering, and brakes immediately, but was able to get on the gravel shoulder using the trailer brake.
I could have repaired it myself if I was home, but now just sitting in the campground 100 miles from home waiting on word from the dealer.

Same thing happened to my 2015 a few weeks ago and left us high and dry on a sunny (nearly) 100 degree day. The worst part of it was a weekend in a dinky rural Oregon town so the part wasn't available for a few days. We were three hours from home so we had somebody come pick us up and then went back later in the week to pick up the truck and trailer. That was after a night in a local campground trying to figure things out.

Sucks but life goes on. I am stocking the camper with coolant and distilled water, and the truck now has a spare water pump and serpentine belt under the back seat just in case. The good news is that the fix is relatively easy so some roadside wrenching isn't out of the question if help can't be summoned easily.

I've reached the conclusion that water pumps on Cummins trucks are problematic. Certainly not the worst thing in the world from a repair standpoint but not ideal either. I'll probably swap mine out every 2-3 years going forward.

Reading the interweb drivel on a Cummins forum, the newer 4th gens seem to have an issue with early water pump failure.
Pre 2014 I don't believe it was an issue. Avg lifespan 150kmi plus.

Definitely something to consider in the spare parts bin on the newer trucks. Given the frequency it happens on the web, if I had a new ram I'd think hard about swapping it at about 50kmi.
Seems like a bad batch because I believe it's basically the same pump from back to the 12V and 24V engines.
Replaced mine at 140k last year and it was still good.....preventative maintenance.

[Dave_H_M]

ida I am not as dodge guy but on the water pump issue.

brand immaterial i always on an annual basis grab the pump shaft, fan blades whatever and rock it bsack and forth.. If it has play it is time for the change out.

Also i am sure your change out periodically will work also. But what if you get a bad one out of the box? :h

[IdaD]

garyp4951 wrote:
My Good Sam roadside came in handy, and towed the truck and 5er to a campground, and Ram dealer.
The water pump pulley broke, and lost the belt while in heavy one lane construction traffic on hey 45 on our way home from Gulf Shores AL, and I lost steering, and brakes immediately, but was able to get on the gravel shoulder using the trailer brake.
I could have repaired it myself if I was home, but now just sitting in the campground 100 miles from home waiting on word from the dealer.

Same thing happened to my 2015 a few weeks ago and left us high and dry on a sunny (nearly) 100 degree day. The worst part of it was a weekend in a dinky rural Oregon town so the part wasn't available for a few days. We were three hours from home so we had somebody come pick us up and then went back later in the week to pick up the truck and trailer. That was after a night in a local campground trying to figure things out.

Sucks but life goes on. I am stocking the camper with coolant and distilled water, and the truck now has a spare water pump and serpentine belt under the back seat just in case. The good news is that the fix is relatively easy so some roadside wrenching isn't out of the question if help can't be summoned easily.

I've reached the conclusion that water pumps on Cummins trucks are problematic. Certainly not the worst thing in the world from a repair standpoint but not ideal either. I'll probably swap mine out every 2-3 years going forward.

[Johno02]

Too bad Elvis is gone, your post sounds like a good country song... Another fun place to kill time is the Buffalo ranch and Zoo. Watch out for the food stealing giraffe.

[Johno02]

https://www.facebook.com › Places › Sherman, Mississippi › Seafood Restaurant

[Johno02]

Tupelo Honey is the gold standard by which all other honey varieties are measured. For two weeks every spring, White (Ogeche) Tupelo Trees in the Southeastern swamps bloom with fine sunburst-shaped flowers that glisten with nectar. Not Tupelo, MS...

[Johno02]

Find a good catfish place. Steele's Dive out on west Main Street. The Auto museum is a good place to visit. Do the Visitor Center on the Natchez trace. Might drive a bit north or south on the trace. Barne's Crossing up on uS45 for shopping, and eating places. Elvis Homeplace.

[mkirsch]

Don't know what else Tupelo has to see.

Van Morrison mentioned something about honey from that area. Maybe try to find a beekeeper that'll sell you some?

[1stgenfarmboy]

My aunt lives in Tupelo, she moved to town from Guntown, it's like going back to the 40's out in the country down there, houses you can see all the way through.

[FishOnOne]

That sux. At least you didn't end up in an accident

[RSD559]

Well, check out Elvis' birth home while you're there. Don't know what else Tupelo has to see. Make the most of a bad situation.

[garyp4951]

Thanks for the advice, and I did have a little brakes, and yes hydroboost will get checked out.
Yes the truck needed a break at 220k, and it might be getting a permanent one.
I've heard the 2017's are getting discounted, so I'm going looking at all brands in a 3500/350 model.

[ScottG]

996Pilot wrote:
Title of the Thread sounds like a country music song title 🙂

Why were the brakes lost with a pulley/belt break? 😮

Good questions...
Pulley probably was the result of a worn out water pump being allowed to run too long.
Why did the brakes fail? It would loose hydraulic assist when the belt failed but there should be a couple of brake actuations left in the accumulator to stop the truck.

I would fix everything and then in a safe place on a slight hill, turn off the engine and try to stop it in Neutral. You wont have power assist but you should be able to apply the service brakes and stop the vehicle. IIRC, you should be able to do this three times.
If not then you need to replace the brake accumulator which may require replacement of the entire hydroboost unit.
Don't ignore this if it's really bad!!

[996Pilot]

Title of the Thread sounds like a country music song title 🙂

Why were the brakes lost with a pulley/belt break? 😮

[Tyler0215]

It's good to hear the roadside service came through for you.