Great trip, started (as was noted in a previous post) going to Wendover NV for the Bonneville 100 open road race, and then on to Banff Canada, trip was good but the weather was marginal, lots of rain and some snow/slush in the higher elevations. Spent two days in the Banff area and then on to Lake Louise for a day. Went to the Columbia Glacier Area the next night and toured the Glacier the following day. Took a leisurely drive up 93 to Jasper and spent two days there, with a side trip to Lake Maligne. We drove back down 93 toward Lake Louise and were SO surprised how different the same route looked going the other way, it took on a completely different look from the drive up. Saw things that we missed on the way and of course things we couldn't see looking over our shoulders. Got some great shot of bears, deer, mountain sheep etc.

Went toward Vancouver on Hwy 1 and stop in the Sicamous Area as recommended by Bill (THANKS) but did not go to Seymour Arms because of the rain and road was in bad shape!

Spent three days in Vancouver and then headed South with a stop in Klamath Falls OR. Words can't do justice to the beauty we saw all along the route, took well over 500 pictures.

Time away 16 days
Total trip length 3897 miles
Total fuel used 370.2 gallons
Average MPG 10.5
Average price/gal fuel US$3.09
no oil consumption

We leave again July 12 for Elko NV for the Gamblers Run open road race. Don't have anything else planned from there BUT--who knows.

Will be trying to get the cruise control replaced and a couple of other squawks fixed. The rear whine is getting worse but I think it will be OK until this winter when I will pull it for a re-build.

quote:

Originally posted by MWrench:
The rear whine is getting worse but I think it will be OK until this winter when I will pull it for a re-build.

Have you stuck a magnet in it?

Have you thought about a moly additive?

Yup, there is a magnet on both the drain and filler plug, I check the filler plug magnet when we arrived back and it had a fair amount of gray goo around it but the most disconcerting was the evidence of a small amount of tiny metal flakes. They looked like sharp chards, but quite small. My race cars used to give these up just before a bearing failure. Put moly based oil in before this trip, noise dropped a bit at first then returned, it is getting worse, before the noise was only under power now it has a ring at all times, just louder when under power.

I used a stethoscope and listened to the pinion bearing (axle was jacked up and on support blocks) and it is loudest there.

I had my differential re-bearinged about a year ago. No noise, but I got underneath & found a wiggly pinion shaft & a leaking seal. When they tore into it, the carrier bearing cups were scored, so I had them re-do the whole thing. Around $850. The mechanic opined that the bearing cups had gone dry from sitting too long, & had rusted.

Didn't happen on my watch, but who knows what happened before. I've found several flaws that evidenced neglectful inattention while parked too long.

You got to keep using them.

If you have metal flakes floating around in the diffy it's going to wear the ring & pinion excessively too, & will probably affect the carrier bearings as well. This may not ruin the gears, but odds are they'll be noisy after the bearings are repaired.

Been there, done that on an elderly Chrysler recently.

Glad you made it back without incident, Ed. Your voyage sounds like a great trip!

Nothing good can come of little metal flakes in the diffy lube - hopefully you can have the diffy rebuilt before the Elko trip.

I leave July 6 for a 3600 mile trip (probably more like 3900-4000 with side trips) - return around July 26.

I get about the same fuel economy (around 10.8)with 2K lbs. less, so that Cummins does really well. I envy the cruise control - I rarely use mine because it makes the 4L80E transmission unnecessarily very busy.

Rusty, we really have to make a trip where we can get together and share experiences and collaborations about the Barths, this winter will be about right for a trip East and South for us. Best wishes for you next trip.

I'd enjoy meeting you in person! I'll be home all winter except for the Christmas/New Year trip to my sister's and a local three-day star party in Feb.

Thanks for the good wishes for next week's trip, and I wish you the best for the crossing to Elko.