So I woke up at the crack of dawn and went for a swim in Biloxi Beach. What a treat to be able to park on the pier and walk out the beach for a run and swim before I head out. Yeah, there were swimming advisories of high bacteria in Gulfport, but there was several miles away.
After drying up, and shaking all the sand off my feet, I was ready to roll. When I turned the ignition on, she tried to roll over but wouldn’t start. I kept on trying, but no longer than 15 seconds to not overheat the starter.
Oh my goodness. I checked the fuel water separator and noticed that there was no fuel. Thankfully I carried just enough fuel in my jerrican which I poured into an empty Gatorade bottle and poured it into my fuel water separator. I felt a sense of achievement, but the truck still refused to start. I called around for a wrecker service and local Mom & Pop shops. Everyone told me that they were booked for at least two weeks. By now I had started to accept the fact that I would be in Biloxi Beach for an extended period of time. I then walked over to Treasure Bay and took a dip in their cool, blue swimming pool. If I can’t get on the road, might as well, enjoy my stay.
But I wouldn’t stay long. I decided to call one more mechanic, expecting him to tell me the same thing.
“Hey did you prime the pump? You need to get air out of the system.”
All of a sudden the light bulb came on. “That’s exactly what I need to do!” So I returned to my truck and said a little prayer.
It took me 15 minutes to find the pump – it was well hidden and all the way back where I had difficulty reaching. I pumped that darn thing 20 times and would have pumped it 20 more.
It took over 10 seconds and me stepping on the fuel pedal, but I was finally able to get her to start. Oh my goodness, I couldn’t believe it! The first person I called was my broker. She wanted to know if I could deliver in Dallas tomorrow. I definitely had the time in my clock, but should I head straight there or should I play it safe?
I drove to the nearest truck stop, the Flying J in Gulfport, Miss to fuel up and to add more diesel into my trusty jerrican, just in case I needed to do this again. Thankfully, this Pilot had a shop, Goodyear Tires that also did repairs. I stopped in and told them my problem.
“Bring her into Door 3,” said the knowledgeable mechanic.
Jamie and Matt checked my fuel water separator and didn’t see any issues. They told me that since I was able to drive it here, I was probably good to get back on the road.
“So what caused the fuel water separator to lose all the fuel?” I asked.
“Dunno, it could be a bad seal with the O Ring.”
“Well I don’t want this to happen again.”
“Ok, then let’s play it safe and change out both filters.”
“Remember, when you tighten the fuel filter, don’t over tighten it. You could break the O Ring.”
The total cost for the two filter and labor was only $116. I became an immediate fan of Goodyear Commercial Tire & Service Centers.
