Back From Reno, Nevada

[Andy Coleman]

Dear Friends,

Returned home to NJ last week with my 83' bird. I flew back to Reno,
NV and drove it home. It spent 5 weeks in Reno after its 3208 blew a
head gasket.

Many of you provided me with much needed advice when I wrote to this
list 2 months ago in a panic! My bird was repaired at Sierra
Freightliner - a certified CAT dealership in Reno. They pulled the
motor and fixed the head gasket. With the motor out, I also had them
fix the other head gasket and send both heads out for a rebuild. Also
had them replace the rear main seal.

Many of you advised me to replace the entire engine with a new
rebuild. I would have done that if my bank account allowed. I took
the chance that the bottom end of the 3208 was fine - the engine only
has 105K miles now, never burned any oil made any unusual noises.
Also, an oil analysis I ran before my trip showed no coolant, and all
other parameters as normal.

The total cost came out to $9,300. Ouch! A new motor would have cost
me another $11,000 more.

Well, I'm happy to announce that the motor ran great for the 3K mile
journey home. Looks like Sierra Freightliner did a really good job
putting everything back together.

In total, I put 8,500 miles on my bird for this trip, taking me as far
away as British Columbia, Seattle and Portland. Had to fix many
things along the way, and learned a lot about my bird. This was its
first real roadtrip. I really enjoyed the experience - and have
finally lost my Wanderlodge virginity!

And of course, I now have many things to fix from the trip itself.
The generator does not slide back in, and it is leaking fuel. Drove
through 4 days of rain on the way home (I'll never drive the PA
Turnpike ever again) and discovered several leaks in the ceiling, and
my underbelly storage boxes were quite wet. Luckily, the coach is
home and I can work on it at my leasure, without paying somebody $95
per hour! Glad to be back on the list, and hope you guys don't mind
me throwing out a bunch more questions in the coming weeks...


Thanks again for all your advice and support when things got rough.
It definitely made it much easier!

Andy Coleman
83' FC-35, 250HP 3208
Spring Lake Heights, NJ