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While visiting some cousins who were staying in Maggie Valley, NC this weekend....
Them: "We want to go to Asheville today to sightsee, shopping and visit a flea market"
Me: "You go ahead; I'm going to drive the Dragon today. See you for dinner!"
Had a great few hours on the Dragon Saturday afternoon, with not much traffic and some good LEO tracking. I was having a fun run chasing a Corvette from the overlook headed to the gravel lot on the Tennessee side, when I suddenly got a terrible, loud clacking/grinding noise from the engine and total loss of power. She shut down. Fortunately, I was in one of the rare straightaways that had room to pull off on the shoulder.
After checking a few things, I started her back up (again with the LOUD "clack"), but was running at idle with no noises or noticeable misfires. However, any amount of throttle produced the hated sound again, coming seemingly from inside the head. I'm afraid it's the valves. This, of course, is one of very few times I've ever been on the Dragon by myself, without Ron or any of my Carolina peeps. Figures.
SO...I limped on down (coasted, actually) to the gravel lot, where luckily there were 2 THP (both were writing up tickets). When one officer finished, I asked him if he would call a tow truck for me (no cell phone service up there), which he did. He turned out to be such a nice guy, and was very helpful; he sat with me until the tow truck came, which took about an hour. After I attached the tow ring, the driver secured her up nicely, using nylon straps on each of the wheels, so as not to damage my BRAND NEW wheels and tires. (Which handled beautifully on the Dragon, BTW).
We towed her through the Foothills Parkway to the Honda dealership in Alcoa, TN, where of course, the service department had already closed for the weekend. The people at the Honda dealership were also very friendly and offered to help in anyway they could. One of the salesmen drove me next door to the Knoxville airport and stayed with me at the rental car counter to make sure I could get a car. I rented the cheapest compact they had to drop it one-way to Charlotte. When I told the lady at the Hertz counter my sad story, she said, "Honey, you've had a hard day. You need something more fun to drive (than the Kia Sephia I had rented). Let me give you a Mustang for the same price."
So...in spite of the trouble (still haven't heard the verdict on the engine damage yet), I met some really nice people. I had the "interesting" experience of driving the rental Mustang back through the Dragon at sunset (had a fun time!) and then on down the HellBender in the pouring rain and dense fog (which was no fun at all.) At least I had a satellite radio to listen to for my drive back to Charlotte. I may have to get me one of those!
Here's hoping the extended warranty covers whatever needs fixing. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
A few pics:
Resting in the gavel lot; new wheels and tires
THP comes to my aid
On the tow truck; ready to roll
Interesting view from the passenger seat of the tow truck:
Sorry to hear it Sheila. Glad you got friendly help and made it home ok. Good luck with dealing with the warranty folks and getting her back on the road.
I'm so sorry to hear this Sheila... That motor of yours has given you a few fits for some time now. FWIW, I've basically been in your shoes before. Except I stayed with The Bruised Banana in Greensboro, NC (when my lower crank pulley sheer pin snapped & I bent a valve when the timing went outta whack).
Dunno how well you'll make out working things out with Alcoa's Service/Parts center, but if you can play the violin a little bit...I was able to get my parts price-matched with www.hardtopguy.com. Although only one valve was determined to be bent, I took the opportunity to replace everything since they were in there. I had Jeff price me out on valves, retainers, springs, etc....and then asked the service center if I could order the parts, have them shipped from hardtopguy, and then their service center do the install. Although I had every intention to buy from Jeff, the parts department in Greensboro just opted to price match Jeff and then got down to the business of getting me back on the road. Again...that was my own experience...but it could pay off by as much as 30-40% off on your parts if Alcoa is willing to work with you.
Also...don't let them skimp about the head. Any bent valve may have done damage to the head requiring it to be machined and/or replaced. I had the folks in Greensboro send the head to a nearby shop for analysis prior to parts refit. Shop gave the head a so I was good to go there. But FWIW...don't neglect this point with Alcoa.
Super-duper sorry for your plight! Although I'm not making it this year, get her back on the road before DBR08 for me!
Damn. Sorry to hear that, Sheila! If you want to bring the car back to the Carolinas for diagnosis or repair, just let me know. The BigTrailer ™ is standing by.
Dragon bit my engine!
I was having a fun run chasing a Corvette from the overlook headed to the gravel lot on the Tennessee side, when I suddenly got a terrible, loud clacking/grinding noise from the engine and total loss of power. She shut down. 
Fortunately, I was in one of the rare straightaways that had room to pull off on the shoulder. 
Figures. 
The people at the Honda dealership were also very friendly and offered to help in anyway they could. One of the salesmen drove me next door to the Knoxville airport and stayed with me at the rental car counter to make sure I could get a car. I rented the cheapest compact they had to drop it one-way to Charlotte. When I told the lady at the Hertz counter my sad story, she said, "Honey, you've had a hard day. You need something more fun to drive (than the Kia Sephia I had rented). Let me give you a Mustang for the same price." 
I'm so sorry to hear this Sheila... That motor of yours has given you a few fits for some time now. FWIW, I've basically been in your shoes before. Except I stayed with The Bruised Banana in Greensboro, NC (when my lower crank pulley sheer pin snapped & I bent a valve when the timing went outta whack). 
Although I'm not making it this year, get her back on the road before DBR08 for me! 
