My Diesel Donor is Home!

[ThePIGSmith]

I made over to Raymond, IL to collect my Diesel Donor.
To recap, it is a 1993 GMC Vandura 3500 powered by a 6.2L Diesel and 4L80E.
The 4L80E is bad, so I took my 1981 J20 3/4ton 4x4 truck, a short UHaul trailer and most importantly, my Buddy, Side Kick, No1 Helper, my son Nathan, age 10.

The van's 6.2L Diesel starts easy and runs great.
When it starts, it the exhaust clouds up some, but clears out quickly.
I dunno if this typical diesel exhaust or valve seals, or what.
To me, it sounds healthy.
I'll make another posting about how to proceed, but for now, I wish to share with you the trip home.

Here's a short of the gauges of J20 early in the trip.
The oil pressure on the open road was about 22-24 pounds and the temperature stayed about 210° when running 65-70 MPH and rose to 220° at 75mph.
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorGauges.JPG
On the way home, we traveled at 35-40mph with a max of 45mph.
The oil pressure was 16-18psi and the temperature stayed at 220°

Here are loaded and ready to pull out for the very long trip home.
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorLoaded.JPG

The van was too short the trailer.
We got the van on the trailer, but that's a story in and of itself.
We were lucky the owner of the van operates a bodyshop and wrecker/towing service.
He used his wrecker to winch the van upon the trailer, with me at the wheel.
Then, he went around to the back and picked up the van and sat it on the trailer.

Once we pulled out, I KNEW this van was very heavy!
Anything above 40MPH, it wanted to fishtail bad.
35MPH was a comfortable speed and could sneak upon 40, but not over 40.
Nathan and I had 340 miles per the Interstate to travel, but at this speed, would be traffic hazard.
I took the 2 lane country roads from Raymond, IL to Fort Wayne, IL
We traveled up IL State Rte 48 to Decatur, a scary few miles on I-72 and then north on US-51 to Clinton where took IL State Rte 54 to Gilman, IL and US-24 back to Fort Wayne.
The trip back took 11 hours with included gas stops and dinner in Gilman.

Hey! That Van is tailgating us!
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorFollow1.JPG

Nathan's view of our Diesel Donor
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorFollow2.JPG

My son, Nathan.
FFSJE (Future Full Size Jeep Enthusiast) and assistant to the Chief Mechanic
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorNathan.JPG

After a long afternoon and early evening, we stopped a Gilman, IL for a bite to eat a truck stop.
During dinner, I wonder how much the van weighed, how much was a towing and how heavy it all had to be.
So after I dinner, I paid $8.50 to find out.

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorScales1.JPG

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorScales2.JPG

The results: My J20 weighs 5160 pounds and the trailer with the van weighs 7220 pounds.
Total Gross Weight: 12,400 pounds!
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_CatScale12400GVW.jpg

The important thing is that we took out time and operated our rig in a safe manner.
I am thankful that Nathan and I made it home safe and sound.
No issues to report and I am very okay with that!

[More Power]

Great story! Glad you made it home without a problem. I suspect the fishtailing was because the trailer was loaded a little too light on the tongue.

Jim

[JeepSJ]

Didn't I read this somewhere already...

[trbankii]

Nothing like a father-son outing to haul home equipment of some sort! :)

I've got some great childhood memories of riding shotgun in my grandfather's or uncle's truck hauling home a tractor, metalworking equipment, or some such hulk.

[ThePIGSmith]

Nothing like a father-son outing to haul home equipment of some sort! :)

I've got some great childhood memories of riding shotgun in my grandfather's or uncle's truck hauling home a tractor, metalworking equipment, or some such hulk.

My son, Nathan, goes with me on all these sorts of adventures.
He helps me very much when we are working on our projects.

I want to think he has a good time and do my best to make it pleasurable for him as I can.
I remember trips like this with my grandfather and with my father.
It's my desire to create some liftime experinces that he can look back on and call them "his good ol' times" and say,
"Yeah, I remember when I went with Dad to pick up this van...thought we will would never make it home!"
I love him very much.

[butch7]

My son, Nathan, goes with me on all these sorts of adventures.
He helps me very much when we are working on our projects.

I want to think he has a good time and do my best to make it pleasurable for him as I can.
I remember trips like this with my grandfather and with my father.
It's my desire to create some liftime experinces that he can look back on and call them "his good ol' times" and say,
"Yeah, I remember when I went with Dad to pick up this van...thought we will would never make it home!"
I love him very much.

bet he will too... they remember stuff vividly at this age. Good stuff