The next day, while I was at work, I consulted the RMLCA mailing list for any guidance of where to start my diagnostics to get rid of the smoke. Several guys came back with the thought it could be timing. They suggested I advance the timing some and see what happens.
That night I did just that. I loosened the injector pump and rotated it toward the block (advancing the timing). I tried bleeding the fuel filter again and did get more air. I then tried to start it and she did fire but was still pumping tons of white smoke before dying again. So I went the other way with the timing and retarded it. Again, lotsa smoke and no long term stability idle-wise.
The next evening I was able to pick up my newly stretched and shrunk drive shafts (found a great new vendor here in Calgary BTW) so I could actually try and maybe drive the potential air out of the system. Really I just wanted to test the 5spd. So I started around the block with no issues other than hesitation and surging due to fuel. Then instead of turning left into the driveway I went right, to the highway. It seemed to be getting marginally better after a couple of kilometers so I turned around and went the other way on the divided hwy. If I drive past my turn off there is a hill and a turn around at the top. I figured I’d test the power on a hill before turning around and trying to set a land speed record on the way back down (I wanted to try 5th and couldn’t get there on level ground).
At the same time it was getting dark and I had apparently forgotten to plug my headlights back into the harness. So I stopped at the turn around and opened the hood to do that. She was idling quite nicely at first but as I plugged in the left turn signal she stumbled and stalled. Damn.
Let me back up the bus a second here. When I jumped in for the test drive I was kinda stoked. So stoked in fact that I did not grab a jacket. My garage was nice and toasty but the abient temp outside was -10°C. That’s ten degrees C below the freezing point of water for you ‘mericans. I also neglected to grab my cell phone. So here I was far enough away from warmth that I would not die of exposure but I would get damned cold without a hat if I walked back. I had no phone and a truck that may or may not start.
I neglected to mention above, one reason for it not starting just might have been the fuel gauge showing less than empty. Never mind fuel delivery, how about just having some.
I cranked it and it started, kinda. But it wouldn’t stay going. It felt and sounded like I had run out of fuel. Where I had stopped was between the East and West bound lanes of 22X, a divided highway with two lanes each way. This particular spot was a popular one for cyclist to park their cars before heading into the mountains to Bragg Creek and back, though not at this time of year. There were two cars in the small lot that were obviously parked there that day given the tracks in the snow. There was quite a bit of traffic in all directions but I was reluctant to give up hope. And I was reluctant to flag down a passing vehicle in the growing dark.
As I sat there contemplating my situation I noticed a car approaching from the West. The city was to the East of me and most traffic was coming from that direction so this one car caught my eye. As I watched it get closer it became a yellow VW bug. One of the new ones, not a classic. It slowed and turned into the road that linked the divided hwy and actually turned into the parking lot that I was partially blocking the entrance to. Great! They must have a phone I thought. I jumped out and as I rounded the back of the 42 I see there are two occupants and the passenger is holding what looks like a phone in what looks like the standard “taking a picture” position. She’s taking a picture of my truck!
I gave the driver a friendly little wave as I approached her window. She rolled it down and they began to explain that they had stopped to take a picture of my truck because the passenger was dating a guy that had one.
“He has a Swamp Donkey sticker on his too.” She said, referring to the club sticker Ratpuke gave me. “His name is Karl, he has a 40 Landcruiser.”
I immediately thought of Kroll who I thought was up in Edmonton. I had met him a while ago with Ratpuke.
“Do you know Charla?” she asked.
“Who doesn’t!” was my reply.
Anyway…. She was happy to lend me her phone so I could call my wife for a rescue but I am embarrassed to say I forgot her name. The girl in the car, not my wife.
Kinda cool to get help from a not-so-random passerby.
