I cant believe this crap, rant/pitty party

[1-bad-burb]

I have extremly bad luck, no matter what I go to do something always mess's up, the other morning before work I went out to start my suburban, after a few seconds of cranking I was wondering why my old diesel wasnt starting up (it always fires right up, no matter what the temp outside) so I turned the key off and waited a couple seconds then cranked a little more, then I hear a pop and fluid hitting the ground, I jumped out to find a line going into my tranny cooler had slipped off and had sprayed ATF everywhere, so I cleaned up what I could and had my mother take me to work, I came home and opened the hood put the line back on and tightened it down, then topped off the ATF. I then noticed what I thought was an oil leak, after investigating I discovered it was diesel and it was running thrue alot of old grease and turned black making me think it was oil, so I started tracing the drips to find it was running down the bakc of the motor onto the bellhousing then on the drive shaft and finally into a big puddle in my driveway, I thought one of the old lines must have busted or came loose causing this, but no, its coming from the damn injector pump at a rate of about 1 drop every 3 seconds.


now for the great part, I am in so much debt with my parents ( I'm sixteen and work at a grocery store, so its already going to take me about a year to pay off what I owe them) and everything I owe them is either paying on my truck or parts that I've had to put into it to keep her going, so now with the IP crapping out (I guess, its leaking and I dont think its something that I can repair, maybe one of you guys have some insight on that?) I cannot afford to fix my truck because I know as soon as I do something else will need to be fixed and it will keep me going deeper and deeper into debt, I am pretty much forced to sell it for what I can, which wont be much (I have about 5K$ into it ) and I'm going to have to find a reliable car to drive untill I can get a better job and afford something nicer. this truck has been such a curse its almost unbelievable. I'm in such a bad situation right now, I almost cant take it anymore and to beat it all I was going to wash it today and get some pictures of it to list it on ebay, but its like 28 degrees outside and is spitting snow I'm gonna be listing all the extra stuff I have for sale on here and probrably on ebay, and I'm selling all my radio controlled stuff to help pay for something to drive, basically I'm selling everything I own thats worth something just to help pay for a "reliable" car I know I'm going to hate I just need a little encouragment, right now I'm seriously doubting that things will get better.

do you guys have any idea what could be leaking fuel out of the injector pump, its not a loose line or anything, its coming from where the throttle cable attaches, maybe I can get a picture of it.


thanks to whomever read all that

 

[echos]

I read it, sorry I dont know jack about diesels, but hang in there kid.

 

[2Dogs]

It's not bad luck, it's called life. I have experienced similar situations to some degree and sometimes it is hard to see through the crap. But keep after it Debt sucks but hopefully that gets better as you get better jobs and learn to manage money (do NOT get hooked on credit cards). Keep a good relationship with the parents as they will be some of your best resources (and maybe even friends) as you move through life.

Regarding your project - some are worth dumping the time and money into - if you are able to turn the corner on things breaking down then you will have a vehicle you know and trust. The alternative is to sell and start with something completely unknown. And even new(er) stuff is no guarentee on reliability

 

[GotBoykins]

Dude, sounds like you are having some bad luck. Dont worry, you are learning a valuable lesson......I dont know what it is but I am sure that you will think back on it later in life. As for the diesel, good luck.

 

[Greg72]

I know what it feels like.....I've been there.


Being a young kid and trying to keep a vehicle running is NOT easy. I didn't own my own car until I was a junior in college and it took all of my money to keep it running..... well not all of it, I paid my own tuition too.

It's hard to deal with the frustration in times like that. You never have enough money to get everything 100% fixed the way you want, and you cut corners out of necessity just to have a few bucks left over for a beer once in a while. Then when winter hits, and the car leaves you stranded there's nothing worse than having to lay in the snow with freezing knuckles trying to spin some wrenches and get things working again.

As I got older and finally graduated, I was able to buy a newer car and make "wrenching" a hobby for the first time. It makes a BIG difference when setbacks (like a leaking whatevers) don't keep you from getting to work on Monday morning....you just deal with it at your own pace, and on your own terms. Having a nice warm well-lit, garage with nice tools helps too.....but all that comes with time.

The bottom line is that the vehicle you love so much and are dumping all this cash into is probably NOT the vehicle you will have forever, so try to keep the frustration (and the cash you spend) in perspective. I think I dumped something like $12,000 into that old VW Bug of mine....and don't have a thing to show for it now except for a few nice pictures. Trust me, your priorities change over the course of time....and the things you are stressing out about now will seem trivial a dozen years from now.

 

[1-ton]

Your best bet is to put the truck hobby aside for now, and get yourself in College. That way you can get a job, which will allow you to afford a pricey hobby. I went through the same thing as you with Motocross racing because my parents would not pay for my racing like some of the other kids I raced with. It is a vicious circle that will never end because you do not have the earning power yet to do what you are interested in.

 

[Robert79K5]

I dont have any advice on your life but you might want to look at the small cover on the driver side of your injector pump. There is two screws that hold it on and a thin gasket that can develop leaks. Its nothing to fix. Also make sure its not one of the small rubber return lines either. Had one go on me before and did the same thing.

Youll also need to bleed your injector lines to get it running.

Good luck

 

[mayerichm]

Well, nobody wants to see someone leave the sport of offroading but sometimes there is nothing else to do. Although, I'd probably sell all the accessories but keep the truck itself because if you part with it, you'll always want it back. I've had the same problem with a Camaro I had, now I see it around town all ragged out and crappy, makes me want to cry.

Post up what you want to get rid of and I bet you'll get a good chunk of moola.

 

[diesel4me]

Some advice..and a similar life I'm living too..

First off,I'm no diesel expert--never had an injector pump off or apart on my 6.2,and I pray I never have too..but it sounds like its a seal on the throttle shaft thats leaking--it might be a simple "in the truck" fix someone with experience can fix..I would sell it only as a last resort..expect to get only its scrap value if it doesn't run,no matter how nice it is..A rebuilt pump is about 350 bucks ,and its probably not too difficult to install,though I'd probably pay someone to do it if it were me..

As for your bad luck--join my club..I'm 48,living in my elderly mom's house,unemployed,and she's slowly dying of emphasema..I'm forced to sell my 79 C10 ,which I've invested a few grand into --its on my front lawn for sale,and not one person has shown the slightest interest,I'll be lucky if I get a grand for it--most likely less...

I'm also trying to sell off the complete plow setup and blade off a 74 K20 I had to junk due to rust for 400 bucks...only 2 people E-mailed me off "craigslist"--neither have come to look at it..doubtfull anyone will buy it this late in the season..old trucks are scarce here,because its easy to buy 90's vehicles for 1500 or less around here now..

Everything else I own is up for sale,other than my 82 K20 plow truck and 95 Ford Contour...but nobody around here has any money either--everywhere I go there are cars,trucks,snowmobiles,etc,on peoples lawns with "for sale" signs on them(many late model ones too!)... I have about 200 bucks left in my life savings account,and I owe more than that to my mother!.. I have many health problems too,which are holding me back from full time employment,plus I have to be here to drive my mom to doctor appointments,and shopping,etc.,making keeping a job difficult if I do get one--no employer likes giving time off all the time,no matter what the reason...my life sucks too.. --

So don't be too discouraged--at least your 16,and have the rest of your life to only get better,and to look forward too..and you haven't wasted your life taking care of elderly parents who are going to leave everything to your siblings who haven't helped hardly at all,because of a grudge against you--leaving you broke and homeless,and stripped of the garage,property,and all the vehicles you worked so hard to get....you've got plenty of time to recover from your misfortunes--at least time is on your side!..I'm not so lucky.

Would not hurt to look skyward and fold your hands in prayer..its helped me keep from giving up..a few of my prayers have been answered..

I'd go looking in a junkyard for another injector pump if a diesel mechanic says the pump needs to be removed to fix it..might be cheaper that way..good luck..

 

[K30Blazer]

just want to say that you are doing the right thing. I know that sounds tough right now but too many kids are spoiled by their parents and they grow up to be pathetic individuals. You are going to the school of hard knocks right now and will be better off for it trust me. DON'T get seduced by credit cards. Keep working hard, pay off your debt to your parents, save what you can and buy a more dependable vehicle later on.

Kudos for you for sucking it up and getting it done. You will look back at times like this and appreciate them for making you the person you are. Trust me, I have been there.

 

[DieselDan]

Fuel leak could be from the throttle shaft like Diesel4Me pointed out. I haven't had to do it, but I've heard it's an easy fix. (Hell pulling the whole pump off isn't that big of a deal). Also could be one of the injector lines has loosened up. To do the bottom lines you'll need a 16mm or 11/16" crowsfoot (it's the only crowsfoot I own). Get it running, then put a FOR SALE on it. They'll be other trucks and toys.

 

[1-bad-burb]

so theres a chance the IP isnt fudged and it jsut needs to have a seal replaced? that would make my day, week, month, if that was the case, my friends dad is a diesel mechanic and I'm sure he could do the repair for me, does anyone know where I could find the seal for the throttle shaft at? even if I do get it fixed I'm still going to sell it, I'm to the point I HATE this truck and just want it GONE, its my daily driver/weekend wheeler, but everytime I turn around something is going bad/breaking, last time I drove it the power steering pump was groaning, its full of fluid so I guess its jsut about to take a crap on me, last time I went wheeling I one of my so called "premium" warn hubs broke in my 10 bolt front for no reason at all, every time I get it where it will start up easy I get another fuel leak and have to bleed the filter before I start it and now the threads on the bleeder screw have worn out so I cant do that anymore, I have to walk out to the truck every 10 hours or so and start it just so it will start the next time. I've learned a hard leason with this truck, I got SCREWED when I bought it and have learned not to trust anyone at all, actually I cant wait to get rid of it and have something that I can jsut drive anywhere with without worrying somethings gonna break and I end up killing someone.





thanks for all the post's guys, I realy apprecciate it