December 2007
Stuck in the Nevada Desert
Monday, Nov 19th, I'm shopping in the local WalMart when I realize I didn't bring my trusty Leatherman PST II with me when I flew to Reno. Knowing I'd be traveling across the barren wastes of northern Nevada, I decided to pickup another Leatherman. Being a bit short on funds I decided on a Leatherman Kick, all the essential functions I thought I'd need in an emergency. The trip to Layton, UT in my son's brand-new 2008 F350 twin turbo diesel was uneventful. Whew!!! However, on the return trip on Nov. 24th things suddenly went to hell.
Fifteen miles west of Carlin, NV the truck suddenly gave off an enormous "bang" accompanied by a huge bump. We pulled off the road and did a quick under-hood scan, nothing looked out of the ordinary. However, we had no turbo boost and no engine power. We pulled off the road at a safer place and called the dealership where he'd purchased the truck and luckily found a service manager. Imagine that, on a Saturday afternoon after a major holiday. He recommended looking under the hood again and checking the tubing to the turbo, which may have been disturbed during a recent radiator change.
We looked again, and sure enough the tubing from the intercooler had separated at a rubber hose joint. I used the pliers portion of the Kick to loosen one clamp then, used the flat blade screwdriver to reseat the hose over the tubing. Once everything was in place I used the pliers to re-tighten the clamp. We jumped back in the truck, restarted the engine and "voila" we had turbo boost back. We quickly closed the hood and got back onto the road. Without the Kick we'd have been stuck there for several hours waiting on a tow assist. I'm never traveling without a Leatherman tool, again.
John O.
Concord, NC
OK, you voyeur, you. Enough of reading other people's stories. It's time you told your own tale of gripping heroism or even just neat DIY'ism. We know there's a Shakespeare in you somewhere. Don't make us use the Steens to find it.