A Breakdown Story...

So it looks like I'll be hanging out in Middletown, NY for at least a day or two...

I was coming up the grade on I-84 westbound, about 20 miles west of here, when I began to hear a high-pitched whining sound that got progressively louder over the course of a few minutes. Then, as I was approaching the summit, I heard and felt a loud bang, followed by a severe grinding noise.

I immediately pulled over, shut off the engine, put on the 4-ways and deployed the triangles. It was still about 3:30am in Missoula, so there wasn't really anyone I could contact, but I dug up our lead mechanic's home phone number and tried anyway. Surprisingly, he answered, but he basically said I would have to just sit tight until the guys got into the shop 4.5 hours later.

After a couple hours of waiting, I started the engine back up to see if the grinding noise was still there, but it was gone. So I figured I would try to limp along to the TA just past Middletown to avoid needing a tow truck. I collected my triangles and started to drive, but I didn't get very far; the transmission wouldn't go past 2nd gear. Well technically, it did shift into 3rd, it just didn't engage the gear. The engine just kept revving freely as if it was in neutral.

So a couple hundred feet down the road, on the opposite side of the summit, I stopped again and redeployed my triangles. I knew I wasn't going anywhere, and a short time later, a construction crew came up the highway behind me placing cones to block off the left lane. So now all the cars and trucks were coming over the peak into a one-lane situation with work trucks on their left and me on their right. I felt so bad for the several wide loads that had to squeeze through!

Anyway, long story short, I finally got a tow truck to take me to a repair shop, where they discovered that I had virtually zero transmission oil. Apparently as I was climbing that hill, a hose or fitting or something had failed, causing the oil to be pumped out rapidly until it was bone dry (that was probably the initial whining sound). They showed me the oil sprayed all over the undercarriage and the front of my fuel tanks, as well as some bits of metal they had pulled from the transmission (I guess from the bang/grinding).

I am now sitting in a hotel here in town, and I have no idea when my truck will be fixed. I missed my delivery appointment this morning, as well as my preplanned reload appointment this afternoon, so my whole week is looking shot at this point. And I just came off a 34-hour reset yesterday! Sigh...

So if anyone is driving along I-84 and passing through Middletown, NY in the next couple of days, feel free to stop by and say hi!

Sucks to hear man, hopefully they get it fixed quickly.

I'm in the shop/hotel for my transmission right now, didn't get to experience the catastrophic failure though. Mine has been slipping for awhile and is getting worse, I'm guessing clutch plate or something.

If I were you and was stuck there, I would find a balloon ride. They are listed as hot things to do in Middletown, NY.

Either that or have Brett come pick you up for a steak dinner.... LOL

So Brett lives around here? Hey Brett come pick me up for a steak dinner!!! Lol

So far about all I've done is lay in my nice big comfy bed, drink a couple of beers (I'm only doing this because I know it will be more than 24 hours before I'm back in the truck), watch the new Fantastic Four and Mad Max movies on TV, and enjoy being able to walk 10 feet to my own clean, private bathroom. This is the life!

I'll be finding out today more about the timeline. Right now all I know is they're gonna have to pull a whole bunch of things apart to even get to the transmission, then pull that assist and inspect it, then communicate with my shop about what to do from there. That will probably take most of today. It doesn't help that this shop is only open during normal office hours...

So Brett lives around here? Hey Brett come pick me up for a steak dinner!!! Lol

Unfortunately I live on the other side of the state in between Buffalo and Rochester.

Hey you guys can't expect a guy from Montana to understand the geography in New York! I'm not even sure the folks in New York City even consider the upstate crowd as being from the same country as them. You gotta love New York, it is as diverse as it gets.

It's not like New York state is that big

It's not like New York state is that big

... Says the guy from Montana lol. If you lived in Rhode Island, you would consider New York gigantic!

Still here... Grrrrrrr...

Talked to the shop today, they said they've pulled out the transmission and sent it to a "transmission shop" (not sure why I couldn't have just gone there first...), now they are pulling it apart to see if they can just repair it instead of replacing it.

It's looking like I'm gonna be here all weekend. At least.

I am going stir-crazy in this hotel room! I am SOOOOO ready to get back out on the road!

I forgot to update this when I left.

No less than TEN DAYS after initially breaking down, I was finally back on the road.

Grand total for the repairs? About $7500 plus like $500 for the tow. Ten days of revenue lost, $8000 paid out of pocket, and another $1100 for the hotel. All because of one little hose that burst.

Just kidding, that didn't come out of my pocket. I'm not an owner/op, but can you imagine if I was??? That could be devastating!!!

Instead, I got paid $100 per day to sit in a hotel room with all the premium channels and my own private bathroom (a surprisingly welcome luxury when you're constantly on the road) while the company covered all my expenses except for food.

Not that I'm happy about it, I mean it really stinks that my company took such a hit. I'm merely pointing out the advantage in this scenario of being a company driver...

The end.