Storage - 53 Years | Broke Down

We made it through the busy Dallas traffic and were eleven miles from home when all of a sudden we heard a noise that sounded like the air rushing out of a tire.

Broke Down - Tuesday March 10 2009

I drove to Oklahoma today to pick up Wanda. I somehow missed my turn coming back. I like taking 75 because it is the shortest route from Tulsa to Dallas, even with the few small towns it passes through. It runs along with 40 for a stretch, and I guess while I was busy talking with Wanda, I didn't see the exit. We were almost to Oklahoma City before I realized my mistake!

We took 35 into Texas and stopped at the welcome center for a map. When I shut the truck off, we heard a nasty noise coming from under the hood. I waited for it to cool down a little and then opened the hood and checked the water level in the reservoir. It was low, so we filled it. That didn't fix the noise, so I checked the oil. There was not a drop of oil on the dipstick! I knew there was a leak, but I had just had the oil changed in February. I couldn't believe it could all leak out so fast.

We walked to a service station down the road and got three quarts of oil. We are both so out of shape. We were huffing and puffing by the time we got back to the truck. After adding the oil, the noise was a little quieter, but still not gone. We drove to the nearest town and got two more quarts. I considered checking the dipstick, but thought I wouldn't be able to tell anything anyway because the engine was so hot. I looked in the hole where the oil goes and didn't see any oil at all, so I added the other two quarts. Needless to say, I seriously overfilled it.

My battery light had come on at the rest area, so we drove to Walmart in Denton and had the battery checked. The guy told me the alternator was going out. You could hear it spitting and crackling. I wondered if running it low on oil could have done that. It was starting to get dark and it was near closing time for them, so I asked if he thought we could make it the sixty miles home. He said it should make it that far without a problem, even if I used my lights.

We made it through the busy Dallas traffic and were eleven miles from home when all of a sudden we heard a noise that sounded like the air rushing out of a tire. As I was pulling over, the truck died. Luckily, it hadn't happened in the middle of the five and six lanes of downtown.

I was parked in the triangular area between the interstate and the exit. I called Joey (my son) to come help and as I was putting my flashers on, a police car on the side road hit us with a spotlight. We were so relieved to see him! It was dark by now and I didn't know how long my battery would last for my flashers. Now we would have bright flashing lights to warn oncoming traffic of our presence.

Wanda rolled down her window so I could yell to him that the truck had died and we were stuck. He asked if we had someone coming. I said yes and he said, "All right, then. Be careful." Then he drove off down the side road! We couldn't believe he had just left us there!

We didn't feel safe sitting in the truck, with traffic passing us on our left and exiting on our right. When there was a break in traffic, we got out and ran over to the side road to wait for Joey. We kept moving farther and farther from the truck, just in case it got hit and flipped up in the air. Every time we moved, I said it would be sad if we had moved to the exact spot the truck was going to land. Then we would move again. It was making Wanda crazy.

After quite a while, Joey phoned to ask where we were. He couldn't find us. I thought I knew exactly where we were and kept trying to explain. I couldn't understand why he didn't see the truck. He said we should hear his horn then, because he should be very close. We couldn't hear it. I told him the exit again and he said he would go down to the next one and come down the service road and surely he couldn't miss us.

Another police car pulled up behind the truck and we ran over to talk with him. I asked where we were exactly and when he told me, I realized we were at least three miles from where I had thought we were. I called Joey and within a few minutes, he had found us. He wasn't upset with me at all for the thirty minutes I had him driving around in the wrong area. I sure do love him! We transfered our stuff to his truck and left my truck there for the night.

Talking with my brother and Joey and Gary (Wanda's boyfriend), I was worried that I may have caused major damage by putting in so much oil. They were all concerned that I may have torn up my engine. I went online to read about it and sure enough--overfilling the oil can cause huge problems.

March 11 2009 - I had the truck towed home this morning. It was only eleven miles, but it cost a jaw-dropping $95.00! I let it sit for a long time and then checked the oil. Wow! It was really full. Joey and I drained about three quarts out of it and then hooked up jumper cables and started it. Smoke started pouring from the alternator, so we immediately shut off the engine. Other than that, it seemed to be running fine.

It is really cold and rainy and it isn't going to let up for about four days. We won't be able to fix it until then, so it looks like our trip is going to be a little delayed.

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