That Monday where everything that could break did break

Last Monday started with a guy bringing in a 2015 Cummins that was shaking like a washing machine. I figured it was a simple injector issue, but after pulling the valve cover I found a rocker arm that had snapped clean in half. Then the parts delivery showed up with the wrong oil filter for the next job, a Peterbilt 389 I had waiting. I had to send my helper across town to the Freightliner dealer in Spokane to grab the right one, which ate up an hour. While he was gone, I dropped a 15mm socket down into the intake manifold of the Cummins and had to fish it out with a magnetic stick. By 3 PM I was soaked in diesel and still hadn't even broken even for the day. Has anyone else had one of those days where you wonder if the truck is trying to tell you something?

2 comments

2 Comments

butler.finley6d ago

A 15mm socket down the intake? That's a special kind of Monday right there. You know it's bad when you start wondering if the truck is actually alive and has a personal grudge against you. The wrong oil filter from the parts house just rubs salt in the wound, makes you feel like the universe is conspiring against you. What's the bet that Cummins starts running perfect after you got the rocker arm replaced, just to spite you?

derek9946d ago

Had a day like that back in '17 with a 6.0 Powerstroke that threw a rod through the oil pan at 7 AM. Then the wrecker driver got his rig stuck in the mud trying to pull it onto the flatbed, and I had to call in another wrecker to pull him out. By the time we got the truck back to the shop I was already over my caffeine limit and my knuckles were chewed up. @butler.finley you're probably right about that Cummins running like a sewing machine now just to prove a point. Sometimes I swear these engines wait until you're having a bad week to show you exactly how creative they can get with their problems.