Jemfest X 2010 Adventures (Part 3)
Who needs an alarm clock when you have James? Not me on the morning of Saturday June 19. It was for the best though, because we did want to get going and get back home asap. So we all got up, got dressed and packed, and got ready to head out. I also as an experiment, tried to recharge up my AC now that it had all cooled down. Thankfully, the car took it, and the AC was back on. THAT was a huge “phew” in itself. After getting the car packed up and checked out, we set out. The first stop was to be a Pep Boys just a few miles from the hotel, so I could get a new fuel filter. This seemed to be the issue, since bypassing it allowed the car to drive without crapping out.
So we set off to the Pep Boys, and upon arrival, it turns out it was a only a service center, not an actual parts store. We asked if there was a parts store nearby, and they said there was one a few miles down the road. Well, there was one and we found it, but it was a little further than expected. Whatever, we found it and we made it. Even better, they had the fuel filter in stock. Picked it up and some extra hose, and went out and installed it. It went in with no issue, and the car was still running. We went and got some food at Wendy’s and set off for the highway to head home.
Aside from the ridiculously asinine traffic (the norm for Florida), the trip back was starting off well. Then about maybe 30-40 miles or so in, the car crapped out again. UGH!!! So first I bypassed the fuel filter again with my original contraption. This got us going again, but a few miles later, died again. I basically tried every combination of bypassing, moving fuel lines around, and it would proceed in the car restarting, driving a few more miles and then dying back out.
I began to think that the fuel pump may be the culprit, despite the fact that I replaced it less than a year ago. I took apart stuff in my trunk to get to the cover and take it off, and left it off to try to get more airflow to the area. Again, this resulted in a few miles of driving, then dying. I even took apart the backseat figuring with the cover off AND inside cooler air flowing it may keep it from overheating (if in fact it was) but that didn’t work either.
Basically every attempt to fix was greeted with restarting, a few miles of driving, then dying again. I was able to determine that fuel was pumping constantly regardless of the car driving or not. This ruled out the fuel pump. But ultimately the motor wasn’t taking the fuel. I had tried to dismantle some of the other lines to see if there was maybe a clog or something.
For the record: NONE of this work is fun to do on the side of an interstate. Especially in Florida. In “record breaking heat”. When you live 1000 miles away. Just saying.
As I had spent a good amount of time trying to see if there was a clog and stuff, someone had pulled over to help. He had some tools and advice, but even still nothing. At this point the car wasn’t restarting like it had previously. I messed with some stuff, and basically the motor was just spitting back the fuel that was trying to go in. Finally, sputtery, it did restart, and we managed to get the car to the next exit, off the road and into the parking lot of a truck stop.
Status update: About 3 hours or so spent working on my car unsuccessfully on the side of the highway in the heat, so I’m drenched in sweat, smell like gas, and covered in grease = KILL ME…NOW!
We went inside, and I was able to slightly cool off. I bought some fuel system cleaner and starting fluid. This was my “plan”: If I could spray the starting fluid into the intake it would get the motor to temporarily rev up, and I could stick the fuel line hose into the fuel system cleaner bottle and possibly have the motor suck that through the fuel line, possibly getting it to blow out whatever was blocking it. Tried that, no luck. Tried running just the fuel system cleaner through the intake, nothing. Tried running straight gas into the intake, nothing. Then even starting fluid was doing nothing. Nothing would get this beast to kick over now.
At this point we’d already wasted most of the day. You know, the hot disgusting part. But now, there was no game plan. THAT part of it doesn’t bother me. I tend to like spontaneity and doing things unplanned on a whim. The difference here is that there was a problem that needed to be solved. Generally speaking, I’m the one people turn to when there is some weird problem that needs to be solved. Usually if I can’t fix something, I can at least steer people in the direction they need to go to solve it. But now, I was the one with the problem, and for a change I was the one out of ideas. I didn’t know what to do now. I was in a vehicular situation that was beyond my capability to diagnose and repair, and now I had to figure out what to do next. Tack on that we’re 1000 miles from home, and I’m mentally and physically drained, I kinda felt hopeless to say the least.
The Pilot truck stop we were at was only a gas/convenience store, but the TA truck stop across the street was a truck service station. We decided to go there to see if there were maybe any mechanics with ideas, clerks with ideas, anything. They were basically useless, stating that there wasn’t really anyplace nearby that would even work on cars, and that even if there was, they certainly wouldn’t be open now (6:30pm-ish). James offered to put me up in a hotel and have the car towed until I could devise some sort of plan. My opinion on that was that if towing was gonna be involved, the car should be towed to where it was going to be fixed, not towed somewhere just to be towed again.
My sister had the idea of even renting like a U-haul and a car dolly to at least get the car home. That was gonna run almost $1000, so no go there. James brought up the idea of asking my student Jon if he could help. He had come to our Jemfest show, he’s currently going to school in Orlando. I hadn’t even considered that. He was about 120 miles away, but that was a lot closer than most other alternatives. As it turned out, he was able and willing to come get me, and let me crash at his apartment until I got things squared away. Jon basically came and saved my ass!
At this time, since I had some semblance of a plan, we reorganized the inside and back of Jay’s truck to accommodate James so they could get on their way back home. Ultimately, there wasn’t much they could do to help at this point anyway, heck there wasn’t much I could do, and they all had regular jobs and such to get home to. I had things to take care of too, but nothing that couldn’t be accomplished with a cell phone. So around 7:30 I think, they headed back towards NJ.
My sister also gave me the advice to call 1-800-Pep-Boys, as they will come and tow your car to the nearest location, do the work, and include the towing with the repair bill. Also, my sister would be able to pay for it, despite not being there, and I could also likely get my Dad’s employee discount. Yay, solution! Sorta. The START of a solution at least.
I pretty much sat around in the interim catching up updating people what was going on and such, and trying to cool and wind down. It took a little bit for Jon to get there, but he still beat the tow truck by about an hour. He got there maybe around 10, and the tow truck arrived a little after 11. The nearest Pep Boys was about 30 miles north in Jacksonville. The Pep Boys had a hard time locating a tow truck that would come out because, as the tow truck driver informed me, I was at kind of a “black hole” location-wise. I was smack between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, kind of in the middle of nowhere, just far enough away from either city for no one to want to help, and for nothing to really be around.
My car was now en route to Pep Boys in south Jacksonville, and with the graciousness of my friend Jon, I was en route back to Orlando. After a stop for some food, we made it to his apartment, where he bestowed upon me access to a comfortable futon (oxymoron?) and the relief of central air. It was here where I passed out in exhaustion from a pretty nerve racking day…
So we set off to the Pep Boys, and upon arrival, it turns out it was a only a service center, not an actual parts store. We asked if there was a parts store nearby, and they said there was one a few miles down the road. Well, there was one and we found it, but it was a little further than expected. Whatever, we found it and we made it. Even better, they had the fuel filter in stock. Picked it up and some extra hose, and went out and installed it. It went in with no issue, and the car was still running. We went and got some food at Wendy’s and set off for the highway to head home.
Aside from the ridiculously asinine traffic (the norm for Florida), the trip back was starting off well. Then about maybe 30-40 miles or so in, the car crapped out again. UGH!!! So first I bypassed the fuel filter again with my original contraption. This got us going again, but a few miles later, died again. I basically tried every combination of bypassing, moving fuel lines around, and it would proceed in the car restarting, driving a few more miles and then dying back out.
I began to think that the fuel pump may be the culprit, despite the fact that I replaced it less than a year ago. I took apart stuff in my trunk to get to the cover and take it off, and left it off to try to get more airflow to the area. Again, this resulted in a few miles of driving, then dying. I even took apart the backseat figuring with the cover off AND inside cooler air flowing it may keep it from overheating (if in fact it was) but that didn’t work either.
Basically every attempt to fix was greeted with restarting, a few miles of driving, then dying again. I was able to determine that fuel was pumping constantly regardless of the car driving or not. This ruled out the fuel pump. But ultimately the motor wasn’t taking the fuel. I had tried to dismantle some of the other lines to see if there was maybe a clog or something.
For the record: NONE of this work is fun to do on the side of an interstate. Especially in Florida. In “record breaking heat”. When you live 1000 miles away. Just saying.
As I had spent a good amount of time trying to see if there was a clog and stuff, someone had pulled over to help. He had some tools and advice, but even still nothing. At this point the car wasn’t restarting like it had previously. I messed with some stuff, and basically the motor was just spitting back the fuel that was trying to go in. Finally, sputtery, it did restart, and we managed to get the car to the next exit, off the road and into the parking lot of a truck stop.
Status update: About 3 hours or so spent working on my car unsuccessfully on the side of the highway in the heat, so I’m drenched in sweat, smell like gas, and covered in grease = KILL ME…NOW!
We went inside, and I was able to slightly cool off. I bought some fuel system cleaner and starting fluid. This was my “plan”: If I could spray the starting fluid into the intake it would get the motor to temporarily rev up, and I could stick the fuel line hose into the fuel system cleaner bottle and possibly have the motor suck that through the fuel line, possibly getting it to blow out whatever was blocking it. Tried that, no luck. Tried running just the fuel system cleaner through the intake, nothing. Tried running straight gas into the intake, nothing. Then even starting fluid was doing nothing. Nothing would get this beast to kick over now.
At this point we’d already wasted most of the day. You know, the hot disgusting part. But now, there was no game plan. THAT part of it doesn’t bother me. I tend to like spontaneity and doing things unplanned on a whim. The difference here is that there was a problem that needed to be solved. Generally speaking, I’m the one people turn to when there is some weird problem that needs to be solved. Usually if I can’t fix something, I can at least steer people in the direction they need to go to solve it. But now, I was the one with the problem, and for a change I was the one out of ideas. I didn’t know what to do now. I was in a vehicular situation that was beyond my capability to diagnose and repair, and now I had to figure out what to do next. Tack on that we’re 1000 miles from home, and I’m mentally and physically drained, I kinda felt hopeless to say the least.
The Pilot truck stop we were at was only a gas/convenience store, but the TA truck stop across the street was a truck service station. We decided to go there to see if there were maybe any mechanics with ideas, clerks with ideas, anything. They were basically useless, stating that there wasn’t really anyplace nearby that would even work on cars, and that even if there was, they certainly wouldn’t be open now (6:30pm-ish). James offered to put me up in a hotel and have the car towed until I could devise some sort of plan. My opinion on that was that if towing was gonna be involved, the car should be towed to where it was going to be fixed, not towed somewhere just to be towed again.
My sister had the idea of even renting like a U-haul and a car dolly to at least get the car home. That was gonna run almost $1000, so no go there. James brought up the idea of asking my student Jon if he could help. He had come to our Jemfest show, he’s currently going to school in Orlando. I hadn’t even considered that. He was about 120 miles away, but that was a lot closer than most other alternatives. As it turned out, he was able and willing to come get me, and let me crash at his apartment until I got things squared away. Jon basically came and saved my ass!
At this time, since I had some semblance of a plan, we reorganized the inside and back of Jay’s truck to accommodate James so they could get on their way back home. Ultimately, there wasn’t much they could do to help at this point anyway, heck there wasn’t much I could do, and they all had regular jobs and such to get home to. I had things to take care of too, but nothing that couldn’t be accomplished with a cell phone. So around 7:30 I think, they headed back towards NJ.
My sister also gave me the advice to call 1-800-Pep-Boys, as they will come and tow your car to the nearest location, do the work, and include the towing with the repair bill. Also, my sister would be able to pay for it, despite not being there, and I could also likely get my Dad’s employee discount. Yay, solution! Sorta. The START of a solution at least.
I pretty much sat around in the interim catching up updating people what was going on and such, and trying to cool and wind down. It took a little bit for Jon to get there, but he still beat the tow truck by about an hour. He got there maybe around 10, and the tow truck arrived a little after 11. The nearest Pep Boys was about 30 miles north in Jacksonville. The Pep Boys had a hard time locating a tow truck that would come out because, as the tow truck driver informed me, I was at kind of a “black hole” location-wise. I was smack between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, kind of in the middle of nowhere, just far enough away from either city for no one to want to help, and for nothing to really be around.
My car was now en route to Pep Boys in south Jacksonville, and with the graciousness of my friend Jon, I was en route back to Orlando. After a stop for some food, we made it to his apartment, where he bestowed upon me access to a comfortable futon (oxymoron?) and the relief of central air. It was here where I passed out in exhaustion from a pretty nerve racking day…