Totally not worried about the cost of a belt. Haven't run up to the part store for one yet. $125 was not outrageous, the local auto shops are at $110/hr. I'd get a better deal have the diesel mechanic come to the house than taking my truck in for service.
Speaking of auto service, my truck needed new rear brakes. Like all in my family I haven't taken a vehicle in for repair in decades, learn to do it all yourself. So after major open heart surgery 5 months ago, while I'm a whole lot better, I still don't have the energy I used to. I got the truck up on jacks and go to work changing the rear cylinders. I go to remove the flare nut and it shears the lines right off, the lines are that rusty. So I go get 2 new lines, assuming I will break the other side, as the inner flare nut on the right sheared off flush also. I can't work on my back or over my head for more than 5 minutes without headaches and nausea. I get the one line done and then it decides to rain for the nest week. I can't go anywhere, have no wheels other than an unregistered/uninsured bus. So I finally decide to bite the bullet and call a shop that did a lot of business at O'Reilly's when I worked there. I call them last Monday and request a tow to complete the brake job, she says he's out on a tow and will send him my way as soon as he gets back. I call 2 hours later and he tells me he's just eating his lunch and he'll be out right after. 2 hours later I call back and he starts with he's the only one in the office and it'll be an hour and a half before he can get out here. Day ends with no contact. I expect to be first on the list in morning but no call, no tow. I finally call and get the son on the phone and ask if there was something I said or did that made them not want my business? He says "no, Why" I say your Dads been jacking me around for 3 days on a tow. He says I'll send him back out there right now. He comes back on the phone and says his dad says I might want to go elsewhere, WTF. So I call some other shops in the area, I gave to have this done. I see a new name, Premier Auto Repair, give them a call and they say Berry's can tow and they will do the job for $130-$160. WTF, just changing pads that I supplied and changing a wheel cylinder and a line, should be under $100, since a normal brake deal around here is like $89.99 for rear job including pads. At this point I just need it done and money is not really an object. I call Berrys towing and while he is loading the truck he mentions that they do a bit of auto work at the shop, went in one ear and out the other, because I already had a place set up to do it. He drives off and then call me 10 minutes later asking the name of the place, he's 10 miles in the other direction and has never heard of Premier, nor had I. I google and realize by their address they are the Express Lube place directly across the street from the place that blew me off. Tow drops my truck and puts the keys in the drop box as instructed, shop said they would get on it first thing in the AM. Around 11 I start calling them and try for the next 3 hours and no one answers the phone. I get my neighbor to haul me up there to check on it and find it still parked out back. This shop was recently purchased by some Pakistani's or similar. I hate to be racist but it irks me when they buy up businesses and then jack the prices out the roof. So I get there and ask the kid about it while he speaks to his dad in their language, not good. He tells me it's a lot worse than I describe and will be considerably more money as they will need to replace the complete brake line system. Sorry, it needs "maybe" 1 line that I supplied and pads put on the right and a cylinder and pad change on the left. If you're not willing to do that I will just take it elsewhere. He tries to lay the liability trip on my, I say I will take it away. It's now after 2pm, I call Berry, who only charged me $55 for the tow, everyone else is $75, tell them I'm getting jerked around and to come get it if he wants to do the work. Says he will. I go back home and expect a call in the morning to pick it up. I get a call at 4:50pm saying my truck is ready. Now that's the kind of service I expect. They didn't even break the other brake line. I had a pair of new front pads on the front seat with the box of rear pads, they went to install them also, but realized when they took the first front wheel off that I have new pads on the fronts and the other set is a spare I got having to dick around with O'Reilly"s lifetime warranty on pads they no longer carry.
Berry's charged me $100, including the second tow and a replacement e-brake cable. I've been driving unboosted brakes for over a year.
why a bus if no travelling?
you should be able to drive any drivetrain to PA pretty easily.. take it easy in the mountains and you'll do just fine with it. be sure to change the oil though... that 444E uses oil for hydraulic flkuid so moist or dirty engine oil can ruin the injectors in pretty short order..
-Christopher
