Nortrux Parking Lot, Edmonton, Alberta

August 17 2009 by Darrin.

Monday, August 17, 2009, 1031, Nortrux Fuso Dealer, Edmonton, Alberta

Spent the night in the Nortrux parking lot in Edmonton.  Actually, it wasn’t too bad!  No toilets (that they know of), but no problem.  ;-p

Here’s the scoop…  They can’t find anything wrong so far.  The oil level is increasing, and the fuel mileage is horrible, but there’s nothing that they can see or diagnose.  There are no trouble codes on the engine.

I just spoke with the Fuso rep I met in Colorado a few weeks ago.  He thinks that there might be an injection issue, but diagnosing it is pretty impossible on these new computerized nightmares, when the computer says “no faults”.  Today ain’t the first time I’ve heard a similar comment (from a tech here)…  “A diesel should have a battery just in case you’re not parked on a hill.  After she’s running, there’s no need for electricity, eh!  Just when you get it all figured out, they f*** it up again.”

So we’re sitting and waiting for news from MFTA in New Jersey.  It is possible that MFTA authorizes a new set of injectors.  At least that will rule them out.  The guys here can’t change out any parts without authorization, because the computer shows nothing wrong.  Even though it’s getting 60% of the mileage it should be getting (and dropping), and even though it’s got an increasing oil level, protocol seems to dictate that if it’s not diagnosable through the ECU service port, it’s fine.  Let me state here that I understand this.  I’d do it the same way were I in their shoes.  Unfortunately, we’re on the other end of the stick right now.  I know that there’s something wrong, and serious engine damage could result, if it hasn’t been done already.  At the least, a cylinder liner could wash out.  At the worst, well, I don’t even want to think about it.

Anna and I are trying to make a plan, depending on how this all plays out.  If MFTA authorizes nothing, we’re heading home – likely through Jasper, Banff, and Glacier NP in Montana.  There’s NO WAY we’re going away from the MFTA network, or heading up the Dalton with a potentially catastrophic problem.  Breaking down in Alaska with an engine failure would be a serious issue so far from any warranty service center.

If we get a set of injectors (two days away by air), we’ll be heading to Jasper as planned on our alternative course.  We’ll check the mileage, and make a plan from there.  At that point, we’ll be two days behind schedule.  That will mean we have to completely miss Denali, or scrap the Dalton, so we can make the ferry.  The problem with the ferry is that one leg is the only one per month that is a short trip for the dog (9 hours), who must stay in the camper while on board.

Considering that, I’d give it a 70% chance at this point that our trip north is off.  If we scrap it, we’ll likely do the following route home…

Now you have the facts.  Want my feelings?  I am “generally pissed” like you can’t believe.  I used to build on Unimogs, but they were at least 25 years old to be imported into the USA.  It’s a tough sell – hell, it’s tough to trust a 25 year old vehicle on a long journey.  I moved to Fuso because I could use a brand new chassis.  Dealer support, new vehicle, current technology.  And here we sit, at a dealer that at this point can’t do anything.  For a chassis that is 2300 miles old (really, 10% less than that), this is friggin’ ridiculous.  I am soured on this whole business at this particular moment.

To make matters worse, I can’t in good conscience even sell this thing to a customer.  It should be getting around ten.  My last customer is getting a around eight mpg TOWING HIS JEEP!  And we’re getting 6 – 7 mpg towing nothing.   (We just drove 400 km from Calgary to Edmonton on slow range and township roads.  And we used likely around 40 gallons, from the gauge.  That’s 240 miles on 40 gallons, or right at 6 mpg.)

Can I sell a camper to someone, telling them they’re supposed to “drive it until it breaks so it can be repaired”?  Sure, there’s an engine warranty until July of 2014, and the real problem will surely surface by then.  The Fuso rep I met in Colorado told me this morning, “I wouldn’t worry about it.  There are more trucks than you know running around with bad injectors.”  Boy, that sure gives me faith.  Holy crap.

Again, I stress…  I have NO PROBLEMS with Nortrux.  They’re doing all they can.  It’s in MFTA’s hands now, and so far, they haven’t called back in hours.  (Turns out the guy we were waiting for was on a flight.  Good reason!)

Oh well, so much for now.  I’ll shut the PC off, and maybe later we can find some WiFi and post some of this crap.

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