Tuesday

We woke up Tuesday morning outside the gate at the Premier Truck Group of Odessa, and got up and ready for when the workers would come at 8am. We had actually parked in front of the gate to the employee parking, so we needed to move the rig as soon as someone arrived who opened the gate for the access to service.  

One of the first folks to arrive was the shop manager. It turned out that the service writer that I had spoken to on Monday (when I was asking if there was a place where we could park overnight and who told me that we could park outside the gate once they were closed) had talked with him and one or two of the mechanics. While the service writer was uncertain that they would be able to diagnose the problem if we weren't getting a check engine light, the manager and mechanics had a couple of ideas about what the problem might be. So, almost immediately, we were feeling better because (1) the service writer had prepared folks to be able to work on our rig and (2) they had ideas about what might be the problem and how to find it.

When the mechanic, Jonathan, came to direct us to the bay where he would be working on Gracie, he assured us that he would find the problem. He said that he loves shooting difficult problems, and this would not be one that he would fail on! Wow! What a boost to our confidence that we had come to the right place!

The Jee-rage stayed parked out in front (and the bikes were cable locked to some pipes on the building just in front of the Jeep).

There were so many folks waiting for the parts department that the line was out the front door.

Gracie in the service bay

While we waited in the customer lounge.

I think that everyone was pretty sure that the problem was a leak in a hose, but Jonathan was not successful at finding the issue in the service bay. He did a lot of checking to make sure it wasn't any other issue, but finally decided that he needed the rig to go on a road test to see if he could hear it make the noise. He asked Carl if he would drive while Jonathan listened to the engine via the access panel which is at the back of our bedroom in the rig.

So, Carl and Jonathan went for a drive out from Odessa, trying to go up some hills (Odessa is rather flat, but Jonathan had a plan for a road that had a hill on it). They drove for a while (half hour or so) and finally he was able to hear the sound -- hurrah! (since we weren't hearing it all the time, we were worried that it may not make the sound while we were with the service center).

When he got Gracie back in the shop, he was able to find the hose that had a hole in it and the service manager brought it in to show us:

It was a hole about the size of a quarter, made by the hose rubbing on the mud flap. It turned out that, since the hole was against the mud flap, that would impact what sound we heard.

Our mechanic *inside* Gracie's engine compartment - it was like he put the engine on like a coat!

He was such a nice guy -- and his size definitely made him perfect for this particular problem!

This is the access panel in our bedroom -- it is 17" by...

... about 31".

Imagine, if you will, that the mechanic was laying on the floor at this access panel, listening as Carl drove. And... not only is the access panel space small, but it is under the edge of our bed... so not at all convenient! 

I asked Carl how they communicated while he was driving, and he said, "We didn't!" He said that initially, he yelled back to Jonathan, "Are you ok?" and heard nothing. The next time he got to a stop sign, he yelled louder, and still no answer. Finally, he stopped the rig and walked back -- he was concerned that Jonathan may have fallen out onto the engine or gotten hurt! But, he just couldn't hear over the roar of the engine.

We have now driven about 330 miles and stopped for the night at a Walmart in Las Cruces, NM -- no squealing, whistling, or any other strange noises from the engine.

We are thankful to God (since we prayed that the service center would be able to help us) and to Jonathan and the other folks in the service department who were so helpful to us!