The truck has been performing beautifully on the first 4 hops of the TN6. But I still don’t trust it. As evidence of that mistrust, I took it into a GMC dealer in Alexandria VA yesterday in the hopes of diagnosing the troubling email that the truck sent to me at the end of Hop 1. My hope was that it was an aging crankshaft position sensor, which could be replaced fairly easily and cheaply.
But, as is so often the case with this truck, the fix was neither easy nor cheap. The root problem, it seems, were cracks in both the intake pipe to the turbocharger and in its outflow pipe. The hot gases escaping one of these cracks melted the plastic connector on the crankshaft position sensor, making the electrical connection tenuous. Estimated cost to fix those cracks: over $3000. The transmission would have to be removed to gain access to the pipes.
Worse, the parts might not even be available for a week. We need to be on our way north in 3 days. Fixing the pipes in VA is not an option. Fixing the problem at all may be throwing good money after bad.
If there was any “good” news in this it was the observation that the cracks appear to be old. The mechanic said that these pipes had probably been leaking for years. Which immediately raised the question in my mind: why, in all of the times I have had GMC dealers inspect the truck to make sure it was ready to tow, did they not discover these pretty obvious cracks in the turbocharger pipes?
Anyway, the plan is to replace the sensor and do anything else that can be done to “band aid” the problem, then try to get to MA as quickly as possible. I will look for a replacement truck when I get there.
The truck has been running beautifully. I hope it can continue to do so for another 500 miles. I will modify the TN6 itinerary to shorten the remaining trip.
I vaguely recall when traveling was fun.
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