flagmanruss

This is not our first rodeo, though it has been quite a few years since we've been hit... and nothing approaching the record of 1938. Being as we primitive camp as well as the RV/camper, live in the country & are somewhat used to fending for ourselves... we are pretty well equiped. Did not have to buy a flashlight or batteries... well stocked on both. The new 1000 Honda generator started right up. Actually we are using up a lot of food from the freezer, so we don't need to keep it cold. We keep the vehicles pretty well fueled up... Fueled the lawn tractor & ATV... I had to wait in line 30 minutes to top up the truck with diesel & fill the gas cans we emptied. Grocery & convenience stores are selling out of food & bottled water. We are as ready as we can be.Russ

Storm is 700 miles wide... Where do you suggest hiding?

I'm in Rhode Island... about a mile from Ct line. It looks like the eye will miss us. There is no way the storm will miss us.We are high here, in the woods. Likely we'll lose power & communications. We are planning to spread our vehicles around, so no single tree fall can wipe out them all. The little generator I bought is running fine but my big Honda 6500 generator won't stay running. Too late now to get it serviced. We have the camper with it's gas appliances, a gas grill, a gas 2 burner hot plate. My cottage, rented to our niece, is a mile from the beach I have advised them to plan a sleep over someplace inland. I hope it is still standing after... there is a huge tree in the front yard, tiny lot... if it comes down, could wipe out the cottage &/or the house next door, or the utilities & block the street. I'll talk to you after...

Somewhere is his later years... my wife's horse's issues got the better of him. He was fine until you tried to ride him. It was litterally like sitting on a stick of dynamite with the fuse lit. You knew sooner or later he was going to blow!! & Blow he did. Sheila was a more experienced horsewoman than I ever was (horseman). She knew enough to get the heck off. Eventually we realized his infirmaties were too much to overcome & put him down, for safety sake. My horse was just HOT! Nick was bred as a quarter horse race horse, the year his sire came off the track. Nick proved to have the hot attitude but was more of a flash in the pan. If you kept him going slow to moderate he would work himself into a lather, jigging & jumping. If you let him out for 1/2 mile, he'd settle down to a pleasant lope. Unfortuneately there weren't always places (or the inclination) to let him out. One of Nick's endearing traits was he loved rendezvous camp, enjoyed being hobbled on a patch of grass and wasn't bothered much by gunfire. I shot 22LR - 58 round ball holding his reins & he didn't do more than bob his head. I had him eatting grass near a field piece & he was not troubled. He was never sick... until the last. We were packing for our annual 'vous trip... he needed his shots. I learned later that older horses sometimes have a bad reaction to getting all the shots at once, specifically the combo of rabbis & tetnus. He colliced. Despite the vet's best efforts, I lost him. Nick was 28 & I'd had him since he was 4.

My brother's train. It's the red thing in the back... LOL!! Power 6-71 Trans Detroit Problem: Reverser has gone out. It's gonna be a beach to get to... Advise? Where to get parts?

We presently own 2 anvils... having owned horses, we know farriers very well... doing reenacting, we count blacksmiths among our friends... Nobody I know is blowing up anvils!I do like the first guy who has the right idea... run like hell!The first lesson of artillery is don't stand behind the piece!R

Those of you who think those of us who play with artillery... are not playing with a full deck... I sumitt these guys are playing with only the couple of cards we are missing. Note the last!! http://www.parklandnews.com/anvil-shooting-gone-wrong.html

Besides my 01 CTD, I've been running TCW3 in my old JD 410 backhoe/loader. (410, no letters). I don't know if it will improve the mpg or gph but it has to be better than this ULS fuel in a high-sulpher machine. Years ago when I was in the boat business, I used to use MMO for fogging marine engines for winter storage (4000 over 20 years)... today I would use TCW3. I use it on my own gas lawn equipment off season.

I looked at the Q Mileage Max but ended up buying the XZT+. I'm glad I did. I run empty most of he time so I run in the econo mode which is a few more hp I think. I only flip to power up when towing the camper. It's easy to plug into the engine wiring. A bit of a nusance to reach the wires. The harnesses could be longer... mostly figure out how you want to run the wires to the big harness gromet through the firewall so as not to foul the brake cylinder & steering column. There is no good place to mount the box in the driver's foot well. Probably the best would be to velcro to the E-brake bracket. I chose to tuck the harness & the box under the very edge of the carpet & ran the toggle through the knee panel, so easy to reach. I really like that if need be, you can turn the XZT+ OFF and the truck reverts to stock. I think you'll outgrow the Mileage Max. Now the good side is I believe that Quad will somehow convert these for the same price as the XZT+. I also made up & installed an IAT Fooler... installed a switch next to the XZT. In summer I have it turned off but it helps mpgs in cold weather by fooling the sensors into thinking that the engine is warmed up. (Or switch it off, on hot days). Russ

Wish it would work with the idiots who keep calling us, over & over again... claiming to do a smoke detector survey. I can hear the boiler room background noise. They will not take NO for an answer and call back even after you tell them to take you off the list. The more you talk to them even telling them no, the more they go on. They must be paid by every minute they can keep someone on the phone. So now, after they say "Hello" (I recognize the background noise) I put the phone on the desk... walk away, get a coffee, what ever... When it starts beeping, I hang it up.

I have not tried it on the truck but my Cirrus is constructed similarly. I was able to get my hand in through the blower hole & clean out by hand (YUCK!!) mouse nest from the face of the AC unit, also got the shop vac end in with difficulty with the hose in an upside down J config sucked out the YUCK I'd freed up with fingers. The blower comes out with 3 screws... arkward for me with a bum hand but ordinarily no big deal. I've also found the blower cage a spinning Merry-Go-Round of lint which sure did not flow well. IF this proves to be the problem... get some SS steel wool (used pot scrubber) and stuff behind the hood hinges in the engine bay. It keeps mice out of the cowel area & thus out of the heater but still allows rain to drain out. (I did mine in 2002 & still going strong... I still get mice under the hood but none in the cab.)Test as follows: blower blows at all? Where? Defrost = diverter door NO, blower / duct obstructedTemp wrong / won't keep up = blend door servo/coupler The blend door is a PITA but can be done from the passenger's foot well. I can give more info if that proves to be the case.Let us know...

Try dropping the blower motor in the passenger's foot well. You may find the blower plugged. Despite "hearing the vacume door" it may be that the vacume pull is broke. The default setting is defrost. If the air only comes out the defrost, possibly this vacume diaphram is failed.

I saw on Chip's site that they tried insulating the VP and also cooling fans... "which did not work". Well, if I was in that hot environment I'd still want to try a muffin fan & ducting outside air to the VP to run after shut down. I posted previously about a overheat situation I found myself in after a long pull... and I idled the engine with the hood up for 15 minutes to bring everything down. Fortunately I had made it to my camping spot & used the time to set the camper.

Did you check with a code reader? I was stuck on the side of the road... no codes on the key but there were with a reader.

Anybody have OB I codes?

There is some type of (mostly intact) stiff treated cloth under the trailer. There is one torn up area behind a wheel (blow out according to previous owner) so the underneath is impossible to "seal". This underneath is probably great mouse habitat! The tanks are below it or push it up in those areas. The water fill on & heater in/out fittings may have similar generous holes in the inner wall... but these fitting are straight through, sealed on the outer skin. Since the camper construction should be wall on floor (deck) like a house, these should not connect to the outside (unless there are huge wiring holes.) It's helpful to realize that you can't keep the critters from everywhere. My castle wall is the camper floor. Pull up the drawbridge. I don't see any more holes... I'm going to finish the re-assembly of the bathtub. Oh, yeaah, put the bathroom door back on. Sheila will like that Clean the rig up & watch for mouse sign.

Wife's Subaru was in the shop... So she drove my Cirrus for several days. This morning I took her to get the Subaru back & the CEL is on in my car. She claims it wasn't on yesterday but I know she "frigged up my car!" (just joking, car has 104K miles) Checked the gas cap 2X, it's tight. Nothing obivious wrong. I did the key thingy... the CEL blinks. I ran it 3X & got the code 123155. I'm trying to find the chart for this... www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html Russ

Sheila insisted she could reach where I could not... spray foamed the wire hole into the wall under the counter. Spray foamed around fittings under the tub... anywhere there were cracks. She thinks she can see more holes in the wall behind the furnace and stove. I don't want to disconnect either. I can't get in to see any holes. I can see the inside corner of the plastic fender liner under the stove.I have had trouble keeping the small round electrical cord door closed. I have a wad of steel wool wrapped around the wire so no mouse (hopefully) can get in from the outside. I found a wingnut with built in flange like a washer. I ground a clearance in the flange & mounted with a through bolt & lock nut so that it holds the round door tightly closed unless the clearance is aligned.

I don't own one but wonder if I did... might immediately pull the plugs. Install the improved plugs after applying anti-sieze. Don't know if it would help. WHY?? make things this way? NOT a Better Idea!

Mike what is this view?

All I can say is WOW! I am not impressed. Somebody did not do their homework.

The "chip" would deal with the timing & fuel at the IP (Injection Pump). The "fuel pump" or LP (Lift Pump) must have adequate volume & pressure to the IP at all times & under all conditions. As I get it, your original OEM lift pump was relocated to the frame rail. My suggestion would be a Raptor pump which does not require additional fuel line mods. You might want to consider an additional filter / water seperator... and always use upgraded filter elements.You ought to be able to physically find the "chip". Either under the hood on the driver's side or under the dash on the driver's side. Have you looked through the glove box & console in case your ex stuck the instruction sheet in with the manual.

I'm pretty sure my 97 Cirrus is twist cable. Heat / AC

I have never understood why Dodge used the systems that it does to control the Heat / AC diverter door. The vacume devise is at best overly complex. I'm wondering why an old fashoned push/pull cable would not be better. Why not re-engineer it? "Choke cables" are cheap.

The mice seem to have taken the hint... If someone was trying to KILL you, you'd go someplace else to go too! But I don't know for sure how they were getting in & out, but I know they were, so the job's not done. The only other hole I can see is the wire passage into the wall under the kitchen. So I'm going to spray foam it.