Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Spring Buds And An M3

There really hasn't been much going on the last few days here at The Daily Rant. Well, except for some pretty little buds on the trees as spring is approaching.

Ed and I have been recuperating from our whirlwind weekend at the truck show, with all the walking around and late nights, both of us are exceptionally wiped out for some reason.


Today we took our truck in for a 300,000 mile service. It's what Freightliner calls an M3 Maintenance Interval Operation. The M3 incorporates everything in the M1 and M2 operations, plus extras.

The M1 covers things like fifth wheel and suspension lubrication, driveline lubrication, knuckle pin and tie rod lubrication, fan clutch check, driveline inspection, fifth wheel inspection, etc.

The M2 covers all of M1 plus things like engine noise panel inspection, alternator, battery and starter check, tie rod inspection, wheel nut and rim nut check, air dryer inspection, slack adjuster lubrication, fuel filter replacement, checking the air conditioner, door seals, latches and hinges, cab suspension, etc. There are way too many things to list.

The M3 covers all the M1 and M2 stuff (several pages worth of checks and balances), and then additional things like radiator pressure-flushing and coolant change, transmission fluid change, axle lubricant and filter change, power steering fluid and filter change, air dryer desiccant replacement and more.

Just typing all of that stuff made my head hurt. And it's hard to write when my eyes have glazed over. They pretty much check
everything.

I know these things are crucial and Ed doesn't play around when it's time to get them done. In fact, I'm sure he was crying inside a little because we were a smidge over 300,000 miles when he took it in today. He's such a perfectionist when it comes to the maintenance of our truck. Which is great, because if it were me, we'd be driving around with sludge in the oil pan and a filter so thick with gunk, you'd be able to ring it out and cause an oil spill in an ocean.

The whole process was supposed to take about five hours, but instead....it took TEN. Yes, ten. And the entire time, we have to hang out in the driver's lounge because we're not allowed to be inside the sleeper of the truck while it's in the shop. I brought a book, a bunch of magazines, my iPhone, a notepad and snacks. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, so I also napped. But now we're done and ready to get back to work (I think?). We're start looking for a load out tomorrow. Gotta stay busy over the weekend!

Hopefully something interesting will happen, if not I'll be back with some photos to fill the days!

Until then...
keep on truckin'!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1 YEAR AGO: International Relations
2 YEARS AGO: Waiting For The Storm In Ohio
3 YEARS AGO:
Sprawl
4 YEARS AGO:
Moonlighting
5 YEARS AGO:
Spring Breath Escapes Through Two Lips

4 comments:

The Daily Rant said...

As I lay in bed reading this on my iPhone, I realize that not only do I have typos, but several of my sentences don't make sense. I'm too tired to fix it now, but will do it in the morning. In the meantime, please pretend this post is perfect. :)

Gil said...

What a coincidence, I just took my wife's S-60 Volvo in for a 30,000 mile service. Didn't notice anything wrong.

Dual Mom said...

Salena, Mike took the truck in for an oil change. An oil change quickly turned into major repairs. Besides sleeping at a motel he's spent the last 60 hours at the shop waiting for repairs. I don't know how you guys do it, I'd be climbing the walls!

Post made perfect sense to me! :-)

ELH said...

just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed all your articles from the truck show...wish I could have gone myself, but your insights were very informative and fun...
any idea what's up with the hags?