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Thanks for reporting your fixes and glad to hear that you are back on the road. John

Hi all, it's been a long while but I think the issues are put to rest. Here's a summary for anyone else who may someday have similar symptoms. Water pump leak - fixed with replacement of water pump. Quick and easy. Thank you both Tractorman and Stanley for narrowing in on pump and its failure mode. At Stanley's suggestion, I took the alternator in to O'Reillys for testing, and it passed without issue. Reinstalled and no further voltage issues. Can't fully explain what happened but maybe something got splashed when the water pump failed, and that's why it was reading 0 V for a short period of time. Obviously, replacing the water pump did nothing for the starting issues. I followed the VP44 diagnostics guide from Blue Chip Diesel and found low voltage at Pin #7 (like 7ish volts), instead of the nominal battery voltage. Some googling suggested that battery cables are a common pain point on these trucks, so I made new battery & starter cables, and that greatly improved the voltage. While doing the re wiring, I found that the previous owner had installed a FASS DRP (drop in replacement lift pump installed in the stock pump location). The pump ran reliably as intended when the starter was activated and appears to be functioning normally. It still didn't want to start, and out of frustration I held the starter for a good long while (probably 15 - 20 seconds) and was surprised to hear it start to cough and eventually catch and run. After charging the batteries, this was repeatable. The truck would fire almost immediately upon hitting the starter, but it would die after about 5 seconds, and would take about 20 seconds of the starter to start again... and then it ran fine. My usual tendency is to try to avoid changing multiple things at once, but at a loss for ideas I followed Stanley's advice to replace the fuel filter. I found the filter cap O-ring was cracked in multiple places, and began to suspect in earnest that the real issue was an air leak in the fuel lines. After replacement of the fuel filter and O-ring, the truck seemed to start normally, but after sitting for more than an hour or so, would lose prime again. After some googling, I tried replacing the overflow valve but that didn't seem to make a change. Throughout this period, I would try bumping the starter to run the fuel pump before seriously trying to start the engine - this seemed to work intermittently. Sometimes the engine would stall out after 5 seconds, even if I ran the pump through 2x 30 second cycles - sometimes it wouldn't. Perhaps this was dependent on how long the truck sat after it was last ran? I took a closer look at the lift pump and noticed the fuel lines were cracked, all the way back to the tank. Some googling suggested this was also a common issue on these trucks. Of note, the fuel lines appear to have been from the FASS DRP pump kit - not original to the truck (and also therefore younger than the truck). Take that for what you will. After replacing the fuel lines from the tank to the lift pump and to the fuel filter housing, the truck now starts reliably after having been left to sit for several days. Working theory: The water pump shaft seal wore, leaked, and eventually failed. Leaking coolant splashed onto the alternator and momentarily shorted something, causing 0V and the associated CHECK GAGES dashboard indicator. During the drive home, without coolant, the engine approached redline temp. The heat in the engine bay was the last straw and hastened the demise of the already-degrading fuel lines, causing the onset of the loss-of-prime problem. The battery cables - and voltage sag to the VP44 - were probably unrelated to the issues, but apparently due for work anyways. The fuel overflow valve was probably irrelevant. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice.

Your First Rust Server: Hosting It on Your Home Server and Playing From Two PCsIf you've never set up a game server before, this is the beginner version — no anti-cheat rabbit holes, no plugin frameworks, just enough to get a private Rust server running on a Linux box at home and get two PCs connected to it so you can actually play. Once this works, you can grow into the more advanced stuff later. What you needA Linux machine on your home network to act as the server (this can be a spare PC, or a home server if you've already got one running) Two gaming PCs on the same local network, each with Rust installed through Steam That's it — for a small private server with just the two of you, you don't need anything fancy. A modest amount of RAM (8–16GB is plenty to start) and some free disk space will get you going. You can always upgrade later if the map feels sluggish. Step 1: Install SteamCMD on the serverSteamCMD is the tool that downloads and updates the actual Rust server files. On most Linux distributions you can install it from your package manager, or download it directly from Valve. Once it's installed, create a folder for your server, for example: mkdir -p ~/rustserver cd ~/rustserverStep 2: Download the Rust dedicated server filesFrom inside SteamCMD, you tell it to grab the Rust dedicated server app and install it into that folder: steamcmd +force_install_dir ~/rustserver +login anonymous +app_update 258550 +quitThat app ID (258550) is Rust's dedicated server on Steam — the anonymous login works fine since it's a public server download, no account needed. This step can take a while the first time since it's pulling down the full server package. Step 3: Write a simple start scriptYou don't need a complicated configuration for a first server. A small startup script with the basics is enough. Create a file called start.sh in your server folder: #!/bin/bash ./RustDedicated -batchmode +server.hostname "My First Rust Server" \ +server.port 28015 \ +server.level "Procedural Map" \ +server.seed 12345 \ +server.worldsize 3000 \ +server.maxplayers 10 \ +server.saveinterval 300 \ +server.secure 0A quick note on what matters here for a beginner: server.worldsize controls how big the map is (3000 is small and generates fast — good for testing), server.maxplayers is your player cap, and server.secure 0 turns off anti-cheat enforcement. That last one sounds scary, but for a private server with just you and one other person on your own network, it's completely fine — anti-cheat exists to stop strangers from cheating on public servers, which doesn't apply here. Make the script runnable and start it: chmod +x start.sh ./start.shThe first time it runs, it'll generate the map, which can take a few minutes depending on the world size. Once you see it settle and start printing regular status lines in the console, it's up and waiting for players. Step 4: Find your server's local IP addressSince both PCs are on the same home network, you just need the server machine's local IP — you don't need to mess with port forwarding on your router for this. On the server, run: ip addrand look for the address on your local network (usually something like 192.168.x.x). That, plus the port from your start script (28015), is what each PC will connect to. Step 5: Connect from each gaming PCOn each Windows PC, launch Rust through Steam like normal. Once you're at the main menu: Press F1 to open the console Type client.connect 192.168.x.x:28015, using your server's actual local IP Press Enter Do this on both PCs and you should both land in the same world. If a connection doesn't go through, double check that the server is actually up and printing normal console output, and that both machines are genuinely on the same local network (same router/subnet). A couple of things to expectWipes — nothing wipes your map automatically unless you tell it to. For a private server, you decide when to start fresh; just stop the server, delete the save files, and restart it. Performance — a small worldsize like 3000 with two players will run comfortably on modest hardware. If you later want a bigger map or more players, that's when RAM and CPU start to matter more. Plugins — none of this setup includes plugin support (Oxide/Carbon). That's a good next step once the basics feel comfortable, but it's not needed to just get two people playing together. That's genuinely all it takes to get a private Rust server running for two people on your own network. Once you're comfortable with this, the earlier post on the full production-style setup (hardware planning, LinuxGSM, plugin frameworks, and the EAC workaround for a public-facing server) is the natural next step.

Building RaymondRaymond is our local AI assistant — but it doesn't run on the server itself. It's Ollama split across two GPU gaming rigs, fronted by Open WebUI and a wake-on-demand dispatcher on the headless server that ties it all together. Here's how it's built and how it works. The hardwareAll three machines share the same board and CPU (ASUS ROG STRIX X870-A GAMING WIFI, Ryzen 5 7600X, 32GB DDR5, Intel I226-V networking) — the difference is what each one is for. Machine Role GPU Runs server Coordinator None — onboard AMD Radeon only Dispatcher + Open WebUI (Docker) michael-desktop Inference node RTX 5060 Ti, 16GB VRAM Ollama (set up first) suzanna-desktop Inference node RTX 5060 Ti, 16GB VRAM Ollama (identical build to michael) Why the server doesn't do the thinkingThe server has no dedicated GPU, so it was never a candidate for running inference itself. Both desktops have RTX 5060 Ti cards sitting idle most of the day, so the split is deliberate: inference happens on the workstations, and the server only coordinates — waking a workstation, routing the request to it, and serving the chat interface. Sharding one model across both GPUs as a single cluster was considered and passed over in favor of two fully independent Ollama instances, load-balanced by the dispatcher. Workstation use has no fixed schedule, so a wake-on-demand proxy fits better than any fixed sleep/wake timer. Architecture[ Browser ] --ask Raymond--> [ Open WebUI :3000 ] | v [ Dispatcher :11500 ] /michael /suzanna | | (WoL if asleep)| |(WoL if asleep) v v [ michael-desktop ] [ suzanna-desktop ] Ollama :11434 Ollama :11434 RTX 5060 Ti 16GB RTX 5060 Ti 16GBA request comes into Open WebUI, which is just the chat front end. It hands off to the dispatcher, which checks whether the target workstation is awake, sends a Wake-on-LAN magic packet if it isn't, and proxies the request through once it's up. Ports at a glancePort Service Host Notes 3000 Open WebUI server Chat UI, Docker container 11500 Dispatcher server /michael and /suzanna paths — wakes + proxies 11434 Ollama michael-desktop Bound to 0.0.0.0 via systemd override 11434 Ollama suzanna-desktop Same fix applied Build logOllama installed on michael-desktop — first workstation stood up, using its RTX 5060 Ti. Tested with qwen2.5:14b before anything else was wired up. Open WebUI deployed on the server — Docker container brought up at :3000, initially pointed straight at michael-desktop's Ollama instance. Fixed a network-binding snag — Open WebUI couldn't reach Ollama. Cause was Ollama listening on localhost only; fixed with OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0 via a systemd override. (ufw was checked and confirmed inactive — not the culprit.) Grew the model lineup — michael-desktop's Ollama now also carries qwen3.5:9b, qwen3.5:4b, and qwen3.5:2b alongside the original 14b. Confirmed suzanna-desktop as a matching second node — same RTX 5060 Ti, 16GB VRAM, built identically to michael-desktop. Built the dispatcher and load-balanced routing — the server got a dispatcher on :11500 exposing /michael and /suzanna, each waking that workstation over Wake-on-LAN if asleep and proxying to its Ollama instance. Named it — Raymond — voice replies go out through Open WebUI's built-in text-to-speech, using the browser's Web Speech API. Not built yetObsidian integration is still just an idea: either feed notes into Open WebUI's Knowledge/RAG feature, or use an Obsidian plugin that queries Ollama directly. No decision made yet on which way to go. Software usedOllama — local model runtime, loads and serves the models on each workstation's GPU. (source) Open WebUI — self-hosted chat front end for Raymond, running in Docker on the server; also drives the TTS voice. (docs / source) Docker — container runtime hosting Open WebUI. Wake-on-LAN — protocol + wakeonlan tool the dispatcher uses to wake a sleeping workstation. (Debian Wiki) systemd — used for the OLLAMA_HOST override that got Ollama listening on the network. UFW — firewall checked (and ruled out) while debugging the WebUI ↔ Ollama connection. Web Speech API — browser TTS engine behind Raymond's voice output. Build notes — will update this thread as the setup grows. Example run of Raymond while discussing my cancer story and creation of Titanium

Landslide Cleanup — Progress SummaryThe Slide (May 29, 2025, 8:15 AM)The first photo captures the immediate aftermath of the landslide that came down off the hillside behind the property. A section of the slope let go, taking several large pine and fir trees down with it — they're shown lying flattened across the debris field, still rooted at the base but toppled toward the yard. The slide plowed straight through the diesel shop, leaving it sheared apart and tipped at a steep angle, its wood siding torn open and insulation hanging out. In front of it, an old pickup truck sits crushed and half-buried under the debris pile. Scattered across the foreground is the material that had to be sorted afterward: broken cinderblock, sheets of pink foam insulation, coiled blue tubing, splintered lumber, a mattress, and general shop contents thrown clear by the slide. Bare dirt is exposed high on the hillside where the slope failed. The Site Today (September 8, 2026, 11:00 AM)The second photo, taken from an elevated spot on the property looking back over the same ground, shows how much has changed in the roughly fifteen months since. The debris field and the wrecked shop are gone — that whole section has been cleared, graded, and turned back into usable yard and driveway. Where the wreckage once sat, there's now a mounded dirt berm running along the base of the hill (likely holding back the remaining slide material), with a low stone retaining wall marking the edge of the driveway in the foreground. The driveway itself has been re-cut and is drivable, with a car parked partway up it. Off to the right, the property has clearly moved on to normal use again: a solar panel array is set up on a post, vehicles and a small tractor implement are parked near a shop-type building, and stacks of sorted rock and cinderblock sit staged nearby rather than scattered as rubble — material kept back for reuse. A dog sits in the yard, and the grass and fruit tree in the foreground show the place is lived-in and maintained again. What the Photos Show Getting DoneBetween the two shots, the work visible is: clearing the collapsed shop and downed trees, hauling out the debris pile, separating reusable material (stone/concrete) from junk, regrading and re-establishing the driveway, and rebuilding the yard's infrastructure (solar setup, parking area) on top of the cleared ground. What was a fresh disaster scene in May 2025 reads, by September 2026, as an active, functioning yard again — with a visible stockpile of salvaged stone/block still on hand, presumably for the next phase of work. Ongoing WorkThe cleanup isn't finished. Dirt from the slide is still being worked through — pulling remaining garbage and debris out of it — and the cleaned dirt is being moved to the back yard to level out the ground back there. So the front area shown in the September photo is largely squared away, but the back yard is now the active project, being built up and leveled with what's salvaged out of the slide dirt. There's also no shop or dry covered space to work out of the weather, so as fall turns toward winter, this work has to keep pushing forward as long as outdoor conditions allow before the weather shuts it down.

Upon a quick inspection it appears i have some wiring damage at my vp connection. Seems like a good place to start to me

just following up on this- i got the correct diode pack (first shipment was incorrect part pulled by warehouse staff). I was really planning on working on the truck when the wrong part came in so i went ahead and pulled the 2 wire alternator plug out, sprayed it with electrical contact cleaner and put some dieelectric grease in there, did the same with the charge wire where it connects to the battery terminal minus the grease, and the truck has improved significantly since. i can actually count on one hand how many times the torque converter has unlock/locked since that weekend. i never ended up pulling the alternator and still have the new diode pack in the box in my glove box for now, i'll get around to changing it eventually because when i was towing this 5th wheel it still did the unlock/lock under load. now i have new issues last week just one time i was in a drive thru and i normally turn the truck off to be kind the the people wearing the headsets and so i can hear them, when i went to restart it, it didnt start up right away. you get so used to holding the key down for a short time i thought maybe i didnt hold it down long enough but when i held it in the start position it took like 4 seconds to start (normally this thing barely finishes the first engine rotation and its running) now jump forward a couple days to earlier this week, i hop in to go to work and it does it again only this time it took closer to like 8 seconds to start. next day, little bit longer. now today when leaving work it took like 15 seconds or more to start, long enough that the dinger actually dinged at me a few seconds before it finally started. with all this, for the first few moments after it starts it has a rough idle but smooths out. i noticed yesterday leaving work that my quadzilla isnt being utilized, i connected to it today on my way back into work and noticed im not getting a fuel psi reading, map psi is frozen at 2psi, apps position is frozen at 8%, but other things like egt, iac, ect, timing, all seemed to be reading properly or at least gave that appearance of believable live numbers. so, leaving work i connected my actual scan tool to the obd port (its an autel ml629), and through the scanner i am getting an apps reading, i can see the map changing (31 inhg to 60+ inhg depending on throttle/load), and i have a new code, a p1689 its raining and i lack a covered location to work on it so hopefully tomorrow before it gets hot i'll get under the hood and see what i can see. after some searching it looks like a p1689 can be a few things so i'll try to check out anything i can

Fuel pressure is controlled by a spring and check ball in the return port of the Fass. AirDog does the same. Now if you can find the right size washer you can shim the spring too increase pressure if needed. As for stability there is a spring mod I do. FASS and Airdog are known to push the checkball into the coil of the spring. So if you bend the last coil over 90° through the center this prevents the check from pushing into the coil causing pressure drop. One project ive gotta do is replace Thor's pressure spring with the new one and modify it too.

Finally got back on this project last week. I lifted the bed, dropped the fuel tank and verified no restrictions of any kind in the tank or fleece unit. I put it all back together and ran the truck with no problems, pump worked flawlessly. 17 psi @ WOT, 19 psi idle and cruise. Ran for about 30 miles . Basically there was nothing fixed and I ts working as t is supposed to. I’m at a loss as what could have been or is the problem. Thanks for all the help, we’ll see how it goes

With all this apart I now need to figure out how to make my SLT trim harness work with the base model harness. This will be very tricky. The base model does not have abs* my wiring/modules do, the base model doesn't have power windows, locks, heat and I want them - my harness has them, overhead console/light, etc... I 'm thinking the only real hold up on just completely swapping harness's is the brake's. There is a brake module in the 1/2, has 2 plugs going to it and its not the same as what the 02 diesel had, obviously. So if I swap everything I'll just be left with a brake problem and now ill have a constant light in dash. I'm just now thinking of the speedo, maybe it's the same? Ill have to change info in the trucks computer so it doesn't think there's still 4.10s in the rear etc. Man this seems complicated now haha, am I overthinking this, how much computer stuff will I actually need to change overall..... I got some thinking and figuring out to do. If anyone has pointers or some advice I'm all ears!

I'm still needing info/advice on what I will need to swap the auto into the truck. Like what wiring harness/plugs, engine to trans cables etc... Anything that my manual truck does not have and autos have, I now need going forward with my 1/2 ton cummins. I hope that explains it enough lol.

Wiring anyone??? Entire truck wiring harness...

It sounds like you found a good shop to do the diagnosis and fix. Your issue could have turned out so much worse. I am sure that you have a new found respect for a "water in fuel" warning. Good job following the right path for repair and thank you for posting the solution. John

Update for others’ benefit: I finally bit the bullet and hauled the truck to a reputable diesel mechanic after siphoning 10 gallons of clean diesel out of the tank. They told me disposal for diesel had gone from $0.10/gal to over $4 so I was going to save what I could! Bracing myself for the worst, I was actually happy the bill was only $1200! The truck has a flatbed and what they found was that the idiot installers used radiator hose for the filler tube and the rubber inside had deteriorated and clogged the screen in the tank. There are also vents on the top of the tank that were missing and so rain water was coming in that way! Wasn’t an issue for the prior owner because he used it infrequently and kept it garaged. So the tank was dropped and cleaned out, hose replaced, vents corrected, and the new VCA replaced again. Thankfully injectors and CP3 ok. The mechanic had just finished working on a similar rig with the worst fuel contamination problem he’d ever encountered. Guy had an aftermarket oversized fuel tank that had an indentation where the fill hose goes in allowing water to collect and for some reason get in. CP3, injectors and fuel rail all needed replacing plus more, I’m sure. Over $3k for injectors alone…I’m feeling very lucky at this point! Thanks for the guidance here!

Interior is out now... If anyone needs special pics or curious whats behind the dash- hit me up... Wiring is coming out slowly. Still not exactly sure if every single harness will need swapped or if I'll just do it all to avoid confusion down the road. Might rebuild the hvac box again, found that Genos Garage has a ac/heater box seal kit for $55 I might try instead of just making my own with peel and stick foam tape-pita.... Found a 2003 1/2 ton disc brake axle for $300 I might get to change the rear over to disc's. You only have to move the spring perches in just a bit apparently, well see lol. Its coming along! Wish me luck! **Still needing insight on what else I'll need swapping over to auto from manual... surely wiring and more?

been a busy summer doing other things, but things are still moving forard...just slowly...