Easy Update

You may remember the naming of Easy back on March 22, 2014.  Well, this is an updated picture of Easy in service at a Habitat For Humanity building project in Springfield, Missouri.

Easy at a Habitat For Humanity building project in Springfield, Missouri.

I made the trip from Jasper, GA to Springfield, MO in a record three days.  640 mile in three days might not seem like a record but let me tell you what happen.  I left Georgia Tuesday April 22, 2014 in good time.  I expected to arrive some time Tuesday night ready to work Wednesday morning.  Arriving in Missouri with only about two and a half hours remaining to my destination I stopped at the Flying J for a final fuel stop.  All fueled up and fed and ready to go I drove another 25 miles and Easy just quit.  I tried babying her.  Coaching her.  Encouraging her and everything else I could think of.  Nothing!  Nadda!  

Right away I sprang into my side street mechanic mode and began analyzing the situation.  I quickly determined it was a fuel problem.  There was no fuel getting to the carburetor at all.  Simple fix. Change the fuel filter.  Duh, NO!  Still no fuel coming up to the carburetor.  I could start it with starting fluid and it would run for a few minutes and then die again  Next thought, the fuel pump must not be pumping. So change the fuel pump.  Still nothing!  Alright, lets try an electric fuel pump.  Still nothing.  By this time it's almost midnight and I decided to bed down there on the side of the road.

Wednesday, a new morning, fresh thoughts and a new approach.  I figured I'd get this thing going in good time and be there for lunch.  Not happening.  Continuing to work the fuel system noting that some of these fuel lines were the original and were 26 years old, I decided to run new fuel lines.  Worked that whole system only for a repeat of the previous day.  Spent an entire day doing that.  By this time I was dirty and greasy and discouraged.  Bit the bullet and spent the night in a motel for rest and a shower.  I called Greg at "We Sell School Buses.com", where I bought the bus.  Great bunch of folks!  After explaining the entire dilemma to Greg he simplely said, "Sounds like you got bad gas".  How could that be.  I just filled up one of my two tanks with 50 gallons of premium gas.  $175.00 worth of Flying J's best.

Thursday morning I rechecked the fuel line, filters and pump.  Ended up putting the original pump back on.  Looked on the GPS, found the closest gas station was less than two miles away.  Got easy started and took off for the closest station.  Fortunately Easy has two fuel tanks so I filled the right tank at this gas station.  Left that gas station and went the remaining 180 miles without any problem.  My left tank still has about 40 gallons of 25 mile range gas in it that I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with yet.

Lesson for today:  If you have duel fuel tanks, NEVER fill both tanks at the same station.  One of the workers at Habitat also suggested, "Always refill at 1/2 tank.  That way you'll never have more than a 1/2 tank of bad gas".

I intend to write Flying J and relate my experience but doubt that I will get any response.  I'll be sure to let you know if I do.

Other that that, Easy took the trip very Easily!

Close up.