Summer Vacation 2020 - Day 10 - The drive home

Usually the drive home is an anti-climatic event for any trip.  However, with the brake issue, some decisions had to be made.

Normally, I would have taken the top route through Okeechobee, FL 72 to FL 70 to FL710 (Beeline Hwy) and then I-95 from WPB).   Due to my desire to not use the brakes, I figured if we got an early start and took I-75, it would be easy and we would avoid rush hour in Ft. Lauderdale.

We did pretty well and got out of the campground around 10:00.   The drive to I-75 was fairly uneventful, although I did have to make a semi-hard stop as the light changed as we were coming up on it and no way it would have still been yellow.    It was a good test of what brakes I did have, and she stopped fairly well (I figure I had 5 out of 6 working now).

I pulled off before getting on the highway and checked the fluid level after the hard stop and as a precaution put in about 1/4 of an oz as I now had plenty to spare.  We got on the road and traffic was light heading south.  I figured we should make in about 4.5 hours with a gas/bathroom stop (vs. 3.5-4 going the other way).

Things went smoothly and while I had enough gas to make it across Alligator Alley, I figured I'd stop, top it off, check the brakes (although I hadn't used them once) and stretch for a couple min as we had been driving for 2 hours.

The brakes were still full and she took about half a tank of gas.   After about 10 min, I got back in to fire it up.  If you may recall, the engine in the coach was rebuilt a few years ago and probably has about 9K miles on it now.  It is not a stock engine and has some upgrades to it.  

This makes it a little hard to turn over when she is hot.   I get in position and hit the starter.  It groans and turns over slow.  Usually, I let off it and wait 10 seconds and hit it again and it fires right up.

Well my impatience costs me here as I don't let go and decide I will force it through.  It turns over more slowly then just as it is about to stop I hear a crack like sound and then some very nasty grinding noises.

This scares me and I look at the girls and wait 30 seconds or so thinking WTH was that?  I try it again and I can hear the starter motor spinning but it doesn't sound just right as there is a little grindy sound but its really faint.   It's lunch time so I send the girls over to Taco Bell while I sit and think about it (and let the engine cool down).   I try it once more while they are gone and talk to a guy at the next pump who hears it also.

We decide that it is probably either the starter solenoid not engaging or the bendix unit not pushing out the pinion gear to engage the flywheel.

A short instructional video of how an automotive starter functions.

My lunch comes back and I eat it even though I have no appetite at the moment.   I start googling auto parts stores nearby looking for a new starter.   No one has one for a 45 year old vehicle, but AutoZone has one at their store/distro center in Ft. Myers about 40 miles away.    

I call up Mark as he mentioned to let me know if I ran into any trouble on the way home and low and behold, the starter is just minutes from his home.   He is SUPER cool about picking it up and bringing it to us.

This was my view for the better part of Friday afternoon at the corner of SR 84 and Collier Blvd.

While I am waiting for Mark to arrive, I pull out the old starter.  Right when I get it out another man asks if I need a jump.  I say I could use your cables for a minute please and he hands them over.   The starter is still wired up put uses the engine block as the ground.  I attach one side to the starter housing and the other to the block where the starter mounts.  I lay there on the ground and have lucy hit the starter.  It works perfectly!  

I thank the nice man for aiding in my troubleshooting and then stick my fingers in the starter hole and feel that the starter broke off 3 teeth on the flywheel.  It is rounded out exactly the size of the pinion gear.

I quick call Mark back and tell him I also need a 1 1/8" or 1 1/4" (knew it was one or the other per a phone call to Jim from The Co-op) socket and it is not the starter.  I start to tell him not to pick up the starter and then figure, better safe than sorry and to grab it, I can return later.   Timing is everything as I called just as he is walking into the store to grab it.

Not knowing what will happen and the time (now 2PM) I also call Sirum GMC in Okeechobee to alert them I may be coming in on a tow truck.  I'm surprised to find out that from where I am in east Naples, it is just about the same distance from my house to their shop. As always he's super nice and offers up a local tow company to him that could get it done.

Mark arrives and I waste no time.   I grab the 1 1/8" first and it is the right one.  I use a stubby extension that he also picked up and use the breaker bar (30 inch) that I carry for the lugnuts.  I am surprised how easy it is to turn the engine by hand.   The big nut is on the pulley and connected to the crankshaft, so by turning it I am turning the crankshaft and the flywheel on the back of the engine.

I do a few for good measure and then finger probe and shine my flashlight in the starter hole.  All good teeth!  The starter was easy to take out by myself, but it weighs a good 30 lbs or at least feels that heavy so Mark puts the bolts in while I hold it up in place.

I decide to go use the bathroom as once I start it, I'm not turning it off until I'm in my driveway.  It fires up on the first try like butter.  I high-five Mark, and off we go!  It is now about 4:00 PM and we had been at the gas station for 4 hours.

We get right on the Alley and start heading east at about 60-65 mph.   People are going around me, but I'm also pacing some trailers in front so I have to keep letting up a bit as I don't want to be too close to them with my extended braking distance.  I call Jeff at Sirum back and let him know we are underway and didn't need a tow truck and not wonder what happened to us.  He thanks me for the courtesy call.

About half an hour later,  the phone rings (I had made several calls) and it is my yellow GMC twinsie Mike.   I let him know we are good and motoring happily.  As I'm talking with him, I see smoke ahead.  At first I think brush fire (it is the Everglades and rainy season which means lightning strikes).  Two miles later here come the brake lights

Smoke is now way too dark to be a brush fire.   As we slow you can see the Fire Truck on the other side of the road.  So yep, they shut the road down while working the fire.   I put the motorhome in park and let it idle as I was worried about turning it off, especially in the middle of the road.    

It took them about an hour to finish up and traffic start to flow again.  Amazingly, the fuel gauge made no noticeable move in that time, but I'm sure we spent a few gallons but I wasn't worried as the range on the coach is over 250 and we only had about 140 to go.

As we rolled by, Lucy took this shot.  Just to the right was two ladies, one holding a small child.  I was happy they got out without anyone being hurt.

So based on our late departure and now stoppage on the highway, we were hitting Broward County at the peak of Rush Hour.   One benefit of Covid is the reduction in traffic.   I still opted to use the Sawgrass Expressway to avoid downtown Ft. Laud and having to use the brakes.

It was smooth sailing and we arrived home around 6PM.  I left the coach running and played musical cars and then backed it up onto the lawn and shut it off.   An hour or so later we were done unloading. It fired right up and I put it away.  I had used about 1/3 of the reservoir of brake fluid.

EPILOGUE:

Approximately 1100 miles in 10 days, avg MPG was about 9.6 (did get 10 on one leg), 4 parks, 2 states, a couple hundred miles of new highways traveled, 1 car delivery, 3 nights of comet viewing, 3 major vehicle issues, 1 new Tiki bar visited, and priceless memories with family and friends.

Needed Repairs:

Fix the leaky brake lines

Reattach the sunvisor

The flywheel will wait as there are over 100 teeth on it, so I have a 99% chance of it starting.  I will carry the socket and breaker bar JIC and not try to start it hot for now.

Summer Vacation 2020 - Day 9 - Siesta Key

I don't recall what time I woke up this morning, but it wasn't too early or too late.  My buddy Mark from Fort Myers Beach (about 1.5 hours away) was coming up to hang out with us for the day.  He is also a gear head as we met through our mutual love of station wagons.  

In fact last year, he drove from Ft. Myers to my house, then to north of Tampa so I could buy my new wagon.  That's a solid friend!

Anway, up and at 'em, took a stroll down to the beach while I drank my coffee and Mark said he was on his way.   Of course, I'm thinking about the brakes, so I start going over everything again.

* Check the fluid level.   It held overnight, that's good not catastrophic leaks

* Check the combo valve on the frame rail and that checks out (had leaked before and was replaced)

* Think of pulling the vacuum line at the brake booster to see if it's getting sucked into the motor (a known issue on these),  Doesn't come off easy and I don't want to risk breaking it, as that's a show stopper, literally as no brakes if that happens 

*  Fire up the engine and do the 10 second brake test. Namely hold the pedal tight and see if it goes down while you hold it.   Crap, I feel it moving really slowly.

So that means I have a pressure leak (only leaks when pressing the pedal).   Ok, that's not the end of the world, I will just need to check the fluid level often.

Mark is taking awhile, so while I'm waiting, I'm checking around the rear brakes and now that it is dry, I see it.   On the passenger side rear wheel there is fluid drips on the inside sidewall.   I run my finger in it, smell it and feel the viscosity and yep, it's brake fluid.   I check the other three rear tires and they are all dry.

 Mark arrives in his color coordinated T-bird.  He had the top down but I snapped this after the rain started. This would make an excellent Towed for us, although it's only a 2 seater.

By now, I had the jack out and was lifting the back corner up and pulling the wheel.  I had guessed that it was the slave cylinder leaking (most common issue), but the bottom of the drum way dry.  I get the wheel off and as these rear wheels aren't on an axle they are mounted up differently than what I'm used too.  I figure out via google that I have to pull the castle nut to take the drum and the hub off as a single unit to get at the slave cylinder.

Mark throws out the good idea of testing the brakes with the wheel off before we do that.  So I jump in and fire it up and he watches. I press the brakes and he yells I see it.  I power down and he informs me that it is leaking from the fitting where the hard line attaches to the slave cylinder. 

I have Lucy start it up so I can see too.  Sure enough it's about 3 or 4 drops per second coming out when the brakes are applied.   Well at least I have 5 ish out of 6 brakes working.

I think it just may be loose and try to tighten it, but it's not budging, so I am assuming the flare on the line is cracked.  At least I know what I'm working with so Mark runs me down to the parts store and I buy way too much fluid (2 quarts).   Fast forward, I used about 4 ounces all the way home and had that much onboard.  Hey better safe than sorry!

I'm feeling alot better about this now and of course here comes the rain again just as I'm putting all the tools away.  We retreat inside and enjoy a nice cold beer or two and some snacks, and visited with Mark for a couple hours until it was time to head home.

The rain lets up and we go for a bike ride.   We end up at Point of Rocks Beach, which is supposed to be a good snorkeling beach as well as a surf spot.   Well as soon as I see the setup I can see the surf potential.   Ernie said he has gotten it good here in the past. 

Looking to the north.  off to the left the rocks jut out at and angle making a point.   I will go surf this place one day on a storm swell.

Never having been here before, I see Naya climb a seawall and disappear around the corner.

But before I can follow her and explore, Tommy pops out for photo shoot.  Be sure to check his instagram page...

Around the corner is really cool, with alot of limestone either exposed or in very shallow water.  It went on for quite a way. 

You can see the big tree is by the corner and the wave can wrap right down that point into the cove around the corner.  There were a TON of cool shells here and while I don't collect too many, I had to take my shirt off to carry them all.

We messed around until the sun was fading as it was about 10 min to the bikes and then a 20 min ride back to the campground.   We got there as it got dark.   As you can see above (proper angle for where the comet was) it wasn't looking good for us to see it again.

While we were cooking dinner, Charley came back over with the kids and they played cards at the table, while we were making dinner.   Seven people in the coach was pretty tight, but it was alright.

After dinner we went for a night time swim (well the kids and Charley), and then they started digging holes.  

Jesse started and got bored, so Naya took over the shovel duties.  I just noticed the lights in this picture It was a large family out looking for shells in the dark.   Not the way I would do it, but hey maybe they were vampires.

It was a pretty good size hole and she kept going.

Cora and her friend also wanted holes, so they went up the beach and dug two and got buried up to their necks.

Naya of course not wanting to be left out, pulled them out and asked to be buried too.  They were happy to comply.

Naya's hole was deeper and she couldn't get out herself, so they had to dig her out too.   It was a lot of fun for all of them and they probably left 35 lbs of sand at the beach shower afterwards.   It was late so they packed up and hit the road.

I started prepping for departure early the next morning, bu putting the bikes up and generally putting whatever we didn't need in the morning into storage.

Tomorrow, homeward bound!

Summer Vacation 2020 - Day 8 - Drive to Siesta Key

Today was our shortest drive of the trip.  Only 157 miles!   I figured on 4 hours to get there (spoiler, took almost 5).

Time wise, we could have headed right back over to I-75 and took that all the way down.  But as previously stated, I like staying OFF the interstate when an alternative is there.  Today we could get a solid third of the trip on US 41, and again a section of road I had not traveled before so that was the plan. 

We pulled out of the campground around 11ish as it wasn't a long drive, and check in was at 3, and we would avoid rush hour in Tampa.   Originally, today would be the day we were headed home, but we threw an extra 2 nights on the trip because I had the vacation time and well, why not?

After a quick stop for more gorilla tape and a bag of ice, we were off down US 41.  Was a nice drive and the closer we got to Brooksville, the hillier it got.  Fun for us Floridians the up and down and twists.  Of course this meant I was using my brakes more. 

We got to Brooksville and intersected US 98 and headed east to hook up with I-75 to motor through the Tampa metroplex.  As soon as we turned there was another black wall approaching (like the one the day before) but this one was even more menacing.  Good thing I bought more tape and applied it in Dunellon!

I had mentioned in earlier posts about topping off the brake fluid.  I had checked it in St. Augustine, and in Savannah, but I forgot about it at Rainbow this morning.  Up until this trip, I never had any issues with the brakes as they were all redone when I bought the coach.

Well it was still pouring and I was on a long downgrade that wasn't real steep but it was down.  I saw the stale green light and let up a bit on the gas as I knew it would change.  It did and I hit the brakes.  UH-OH!  The pedal is really soft but it doesn't go all the way to the floor and I am slowing down.....just not fast enough.  I yell out no brakes and try pumping it.   I'm pressing as hard as I can and while I'm only going a couple of miles per hour I go out into the intersection. 

Luckily, due to the rain everyone is cautious and they saw me coming and I hit the plane of the intersection just as the light went red.  I get it stopped with about 3/4 of the coach over the line.  I look around, no one is moving so I hit the gas and continue (wasn't going to back up). 

My first thought is to stop but as you can see in the video it is not good outside weather.  I surmise that as long as I drive slow in the right lane, I won't need any brakes on I-75 so I get on and start going about 50.   Everyone is going around me in the rain and that's just fine.

We drive in the rain for a solid hour until about Riverview south of Tampa and it starts clearing.  I make it to Sarasota and get off a few exits early as I know there is a BJ's gas station.  I come down the off ramp and  test the brakes.  They are bad.  I slowly roll up to the light trying to time it.

There are enough brakes to hold it at the light and I gingerly pick my way to the gas station.   I start pumping gas and pop off the Master Cylinder cover.   It is dry for the rear brakes.  I get some fluid and fill it up.   I was only stopping with the two front brakes instead of 6. 

I pull out of the gas station and park.  The pedal is a lot firmer, but not right (air in the line probably).   I check all over and don't see a big leak anywhere, but everything is wet from the rain.  We are only about 10 miles from the campground, so instead of driving through town,  I get back on the interstate as in the whole 2 hours from Brooksville I hit the brakes only once coming down the off ramp.

We make it to Turtle Beach Campground on Siesta Key without incident.  In fact, I made almost every light on the way there.  They had called us earlier so it was contactless check in. Pulled in and went right to our site #12.  Curiously, site #13 next to us was empty the two nights we were there.

 While we were setting up, I noticed this walking stick on the windshield wiper.  I alerted science officer Lucy who commenced molestation activities on it.  It climbed up the side and I went and got the camera.

 We were in good company and this newly minted Airstream was looking pretty stylish.

 View at the end of the campground of the Gulf of Mexico.  There were small waves and Lucy and I took turns groveling for rides on the Boogie Board.  I did manage a couple of half decent ones given the conditions.

 The campground had a couple of grills and a few tables for the campers to use.  It is a Sarasota County park and there is a public beach and parking lot next door.  Lucy has a cousin that lives in town, so he came over and we grilled up some dinner.  The corn on the cob you see on the grill was from Skidaway, we never ate it as we went to the beach that day and a deer stole one of the ears so we only had 4 left, so this worked out perfectly.

It was a beautiful sunset, but alas no more comet as just about the time it was getting dark enough, big clouds rolled in and shut it down for us.

The only drawback at this campground was no fire pits, so we went back to the coach as the rain came and we played a few games with Charley until bedtime.  He went home and vowed to return with his kids the next evening.