People are interesting creatures. And the diesel realm has its fair share of the interesting ones.
I've learned some pretty valuable stuff on forums, and had people from across the continent post on threads that have gotten me out of jams with truck issues. And then there are the interesting creatures that pop up in forums. sometimes entertaining, sometimes annoying, but always a constant presence. You know what I'm talking about, where someone posts asking about how to remove a fuel pressure regulator on a Duramax LLY and about four posts later you get: dmax sux, shoulda got a power stroke. Then you wouldn't have this problem. Well, thanks for the insight, Yoda. If only you'd have been around when I was truck shopping. you could have prevented me from buying the truck whose fuel pressure regulator would fail 43,000 miles down the road.
And I guarantee each of you has been in a diesel performance shop parking lot and watched as random diesel trucks driving down the road suddenly rev up and speed past the shop with a black haze trailing them. I'm guessing it makes a statement of some sort. Haven't you noticed that? Well, maybe you've been in a random truck cruising down the road that suddenly accelerates and races past the local diesel shop. Please let me know what that statement is.
My all-time-favorite interesting encounter has to be this: About four or five summers ago, I was driving through town on my way back to the office. My built Duramax was easy to spot, which made it an easy target for someone wanting to show up the diesel mag guy. I turned onto a four-lane street and heard a gen-2 Cummins spool behind me. I was halfway to the stoplight already, so I figured I could get to the left-turn lane and be on my way without having to deal with someone revving their engine next to me. But the Cummins pulled into the left-turn lane behind me and immediately began spooling up at the red light, smoke going everywhere. I'm not into street racing, but I wanted no part of being behind this rattle box. The light turned green and I used the long left turn to bring the Dmax's turbo to life. The Cummins swung wide and hit the lane next to me. On the straight, my truck did its job and the smoke machine remained a mirror ornament for the 1/8th-mile section between lights. The next light turned green and I blended back in with traffic, but noticed the Dodge coasting to the side of the road behind me. I could have enjoyed that little gem and kept going on my way. And that's probably what the Cummins' occupants would have preferred. But that's not what I did.
Instead, I turned around and drove back to the Dodge, now with its hood up in the air. I wound up giving one of the guys a ride to Napa Auto Parts to get some starting fluid, which got the over-fueled engine back to breathing some air.
It was the right thing to do, right? Whatever. It was like the moment the guys on Ghost Hunters only dream about-a chance to actually meet a couple of diesel's interesting creatures in the middle of trying to make a statement.
But I still don't know what that was.