The photos below are what we saw.
The
cylinder head was re-torqued to specification and then the
valves were adjusted to insure proper clearance.
The
adjustment for the valves can be seen in the photo above: the
shafts with the slot in them are the push rods and the
adjustment is the nut underneath.
While we
were in the shop, another Unimog came in for repairs. This
truck was an ex-BLM (no, not THAT BLM) fire truck that was used
on wild land fires.
We found
a seep in the coolant system and Rob traced it back to a
thin(er) flange on some plumbing. The newer version of the
flange was thicker, so he stole the flange from one of his other
OM352A motors and installed it on Thor.
While
the truck was on the lift, Rob spotted one of the rear tires
that had a huge sidewall crack. These tires are at the end
of their service life and were due to be replaced soon due to
overall wear. This observation will bring the timeline
forward. This tire is toast and was removed and replaced.
The
balance beads in the old tire were migrated to the new rubber.
After
the mechanical adjustments were completed, we headed out to log
some miles. Our first stop was a Colorado state park south
of Divide. We spent the night and upon our exit the
following morning, we noticed that a big portion of the cliff on
the other side of the highway was being removed. Plenty of
equipment was in use.
We
identified a number of issues during our multi-day, 500km
drive. The biggest issue was the throttle linkage
interference. The new exhaust manifold had a slightly
different shape and that small increase caused the throttle to
hit the actuator piston on the turbocharger waste gate.
The simple solution was to remove the waste gate and "lock" the
turbo into full-boost position. The waste gate actuator is
the piston in the photo above.
The
waste gate was replaced with a bit of threaded rod and some
nuts. The rod was tightened to keep the gate shut at all
times.
As we
were prepared to head out, the German couple returned with their
2535 truck. Their parts had arrived and it was time to get
them installed.
We were
told that the tarantulas were migrating so we kept our eyes open
and saw a number of them on the highway from La Junta to
Walsenburg.
West of
Walsenburg we got a nice view of Spanish Peaks.
Our path
took us west over Wolf Creek Pass. It was now late enough
in the fall for the Aspen trees to start turning color. It
was a bit early for the full effect, but most of the trees had
turned.
Wolf
Creek Pass is quite high (10,856) so it gives all vehicles a
good workout. The western slope is perhaps the worst as it
has both steep grades and sharp hairpin curves. Trucks are
limited to 25MPH on the downhill to prevent runaways. Note
that the map above shows the location of the two runaway truck
ramps on the western downgrade.
We
visited our friends Brad and Laura at their place north of
Durango. One of the trees in their yard was starting to
display fall colors.
The
neighbor to the north had a nice place with an outstanding view
of the surrounding cliffs.
After a
couple of pleasant days in Durango, we continued west past
Cortez, CO and Bluff, UT. To the west of Bluff we passed a
huge hogback with high sandstone cliffs.
A road
closure threw a wrench in our gears and we had to detour several
hundred miles to the south. We ascended the "Moki Dugway"
which is a steep dirt grade that takes you to the top of Cedar
Mesa. Part of the grade is visible in the left-center of
the photo above.
The Moki
Dugway was quite steep and narrow in a number of places.
We needed to be careful about overhanging rock and avoid a
collision with Thor's roof.
Almost
to the top of the Moki Dugway, looking south-west.
Looking
south from the top of the mesa.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2021, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.