Day 3 Wednesday October 1, 2014 TRUCK IN TROUBLE.

Day 3 October 1, 2014-TRUCK IN TROUBLE

  (I'll add the pictures when I get faster internet.)

   It started at 2:40 PM on Friday September 26, 2014, when I took theToyota Tundra, into the shop to get its regular maintenance of a lubrication and oil change. Ruth and I were heading west to Iowa with the trailer and I wanted to make sure that the truck was in ship shape and ready to go.  Having completed the lub and oil change, I brought the truck home and parked it in the usual place in front of the trailer (in the drive) and partially under a huge and beautiful pine tree.  Now the pine tree does drip sap occasionally  but never does any other damage occur from the tree.

    The truck was there parked, until late Sunday afternoon (that’s 48 hours or so)  when I started to put some things in it as we were to leave on Monday AM at about 9:00 AM. I had put the hitch on and some things I keep in the back of the truck to use for the hitch, the levelers as well as some gloves. Finishing putting the hitch on,  I went into a storage cabinet in the garage to get the rear view mirror extenders, and started putting them in place. I always secure the driver’s side first. I finished that one and was walking around the front of the truck, when I noticed that the hood was not closed tightly. (This is a small event that really turned out LARGE). Of course in order to close the hood securely, I had to open it wide . and when i did , what a surprise there was to see under the hood. In those 48 hours , the squirrels (I assume, as I did not see them!) had made a mess of the interior with pine cones, and grass stuffed in, around and into the cracks and crevices of the entire interior.  (See pictures). I was dumbfounded.

                                                                                         The full engine picture

   Now there is a problem, not only in getting the material out from under the hood, but to get  ALL of it out so that there is no residue left to possibly start a fire somewhere between Grand Rapids and Western Illinois  where we were to be the next night.

   

   So, carefully and manually I started to remove first the mass of grass as it was shoved into the corner of the fender well and was very difficult to remove over, under and around the wiring that was there.  Then came the pine cones as they were tucked and secured under the cover of the engine and over the manifold and engine block. These were the most difficult to remove as they were secured very tightly.  There were pieces of pine cones and seeds and the cones themselves in almost every part of the engine and assembly. 

                                                                There's that "nest" in th ecorner by the fender well

   

   Having satisfied myself that I had gotten most of the debris out, I now tried to think of ways to get the remainder that was stuck between the engine cover and the manifold intake as this is where the heat would combust quite quickly, I thought. At first I used my fingers and a screw driver, and then a long piece of coat hanger, and then Ruth’s hairdryer, but that didn’t seem to be strong enough to get down in those crevices.  I then borrowed my neighbor’s very strong leaf blower and that did get most of it out. But, there were still some chips left “down inside the cracks”.

                                                         
                                                   This was the most difficult area to get them out.They were "stuffed" in there

   

   I stopped that night (it was now almost dark) and decided it was probably good enough. But as I went to sleep that night, it kept gnawing at me and all I could think of were the possibilities if all the debris wasn’t out. 

    So, first thing in the morning I called the shop and asked if I could get someone to blow out the remaining chips and the entire engine area. I told them briefly the story and they put me in line to get the work done. As soon as the mechanic opened the hood he went directly to the air filter (on the passenger side, under the dashboard) and pulled out a completely stuffed air filter that would have never let any air through because it was filled with seeds, grass, pine chips and pieces. It actually was beginning to disintegrate. He then completed the cleaning of the engine and block area and I felt , now, that it was safe to travel with the truck.

   

   Quite a story, but it means that in the fall the squirrels are in a hurry to build a shelter and store food for the months ahead and they don’t really care where, when, or in whose vehicle they store it!.  

   

   We did make it safely to western Illinois and eventually to Western Iowa and all was well.

   

   There is a moral. Be sure to check under your vehicle hood every once in a while as you never know who may have claimed it for a new home. Especially if you park your vehicle outside someplace or, like me, under a great big, old pine tree.

Catch ya, tomorrow.  De Soto National Wildlife Reserve on the Missouri River.