Well it wasn’t the fuel filters….(to make a short story long)

[Rich W.]

Can you educate the community here with pictures, what the CAC is, what it's purpose is, what to look for, suggested preventative maintenance, etc.?

Absolutely but not until Monday when the shop opens up. Today we went up to Dalton NE for their Fall Festival Antique Tractor Pulls then a trip south through the corn fields to Coloraska and back. Makin the best of it.

 

[Rich W.]

Can you educate the community here with pictures, what the CAC is, what it's purpose is, what to look for, suggested preventative maintenance, etc.?

No progress yet other than parts are ordered and I’m trying not to go stir crazy here.

A couple quick notes to address the questions on the CAC.

The charge air cooler is what we all used to call an intercooler and it is basically just a big radiator used to cool the compressed air coming out of the turbo before it goes into the intake improving performance by making the air charge more dense.

Mine is said to have failed from metal fatigue (still not confirmed) but they are somewhat vulnerable to physical damage as well from the frame twisting or, less likely, road hazards. Apparently a lot of trucks, Kenworth specifically, suffer from failed CACs due to twisting.

They can be tested and trucks are sometimes on an annual test schedule. To test a CAC they disconnect the intake pipes, pressurize the plumbing and CAC and measure the pressure loss over time. 5 psi in 30 seconds is said to be acceptable, but it shouldn’t leak at all.

My intake aystem is losing 15psi in 30 seconds. The CAC still in the rig behind the radiator so I haven’t had a chance to visualize it. When I do I’ll have a better idea of what happened and post some pics. The mechanic suspects metal fatigue although I have another theory but I’ll sit on that for now.

That’s about it - there are no moving parts and there is no routine maintenance other than checking connections, cleaning (like a radiator), optional testing annually, and watching your boost, and knowing what is normal boost under given conditions. That is how I knew I had a problem but I didn’t suspect the CAC (suspected a boot or clamp) and I didn’t realize it could lead to more serious problems other than reduced power.

For those with a side radiator, inspection and maintenance would be a lot easier.

 

[Rich W.]

Well there’s more to the story now but I’m a little too irritated to go into it. More later I guess. But to shorten a long story, now that rear of the rig is completely torn apart, it turns out the CAC was not the source of the leak. Arrgghhh!

 

[Rich W.]

Im sure the shop is going to want me to pay for the needless labor and they might try to stick me with the special order CAC and shipping. They recommended a new CAC last week but I held off until the system was tested thinking (hoping) it was something less involved and less expensive. So until now I was thinking I cost myself a few days delaying the order, but now its obvious that I was right, it wasn't the problem, and now I’m sure the fight begins. Fortunately Floyds is not a one horse operation - they have nine locations and a main office and its family run, so maybe there’s hope.

 

[J&JD]

Im sure the shop is going to want me to pay for the needless labor and they might try to stick me with the special order CAC and shipping. They recommended a new CAC last week but I held off until the system was tested thinking (hoping) it was something less involved and less expensive. So until now I was thinking I cost myself a few days delaying the order, but now its obvious that I was right, it wasn't the problem, and now I’m sure the fight begins. Fortunately Floyds is not a one horse operation - they have nine locations and a main office and its family run, so maybe there’s hope.

So what the heck was it, a hose, a clamp? When our DS was only a couple of months old an over tightened CAC hose clamp snapped leaving us stranded 60 miles from the nearest Freightliner dealer. Under warranty Freightliner towed us the 60 miles and replaced the $3 clamp the next morning. Total pain but not nearly as bad as your current situation.

 

[Sand-dog]

Wow Rich - what a great read and thank you for the education. See what happens when you’re stuck in a motel longer than you want to be…….

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Dang!!!! I can't wait to hear the rest of the story!

 

[Rich W.]

Dang!!!! I can't wait to hear the rest of the story!

I don’t know it yet but I should later today. When I’m ready to write about it is another story. But we’ll see.

 

[Rustycoach]

This is why I hate having to rely on “experts”! A truck repair outfit working on what is a very common engine configuration should have the competence to get a diagnosis right the first time. I would be more forgiving if you were asking them to diagnose and repair your Lamborghini which they most certainly would know nothing about!
I hope they will work out a fair and equitable deal for you especially if it cost you several days unnecessarily.

 

[Rich W.]

Well they got it all back together and cut the labor down to what was necessary, and I’m headed east, so far so good. I have an appointment at the Freightliner shop in Lincoln this morning to have them check the intake and exhaust systems, try to answer some unanswered questions, and also check all the work the other shop did. Its worth a couple more hours of shop time at this point to try to regain my confidence in this rig.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

. . . . . I hope they will work out a fair and equitable deal for you especially if it cost you several days unnecessarily.

My definition of "equitable" might differ from others. My intent would be to pay only for what parts and labor would be required for the repair to be done correctly from the get go minus the extra time & trouble I incurred due to someone else learning and not knowing. The $$ they didn't receive from me for work that shouldn't have been done & for the time & trouble that waste generated for me would be an incurred expense their accountant could put under the heading "training" as at face value, they were clearly in need of more.

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

I certainly understand the regaining of the confidence factor. I hope it all checks out at your next stop.

 

[Rich W.]

Here it is just about exactly as I suspected - glad I took it to another shop. I’ll reserve my opinion(s) - just glad it will be buttoned up right.


JOB #1 EA
COMPLAINT
CAUSE CORRECTION
EXPRESS ASSESSMENT
CUSTOMER STATES THEY HAD UNIT AT FLOYD'S - THEY REPLACED EXH MANIFOLD BUT STILL HAS A LEAK NEAR THE INTAKE.
1851 40051 CHECKED CODES AND THERE WERE NO CODES PRESENT. MONITORED SENSORS WITH KEY ON ENGINE OFF AND THEY WERE READING IN SPEC. VISUALLY INSPECTED FOR INTAKE LEAKS AND FOUND THE AIR COMPRESSOR INLET PIPE WAS NOT HOOKED UP TO THE AIR COMPRESSOR CAUSING A LARGE BOOST LEAK. WILL NEED TO REPLACE 90 DEGREE AIR COMPRESSOR INLET HOSE AND CLAMPS AND THEN SECURE THE COMPRESSOR INLET PIPE WITH P CLAMPS AT THE COMPRESSOR AND ENGINE. CURRENTLY THE PIPE IS NOT SECURED. CHECKED OVER FROM PREVIOUS REPAIRS AND FOUND AN EXHAUST LEAK AT THE TURBO OUTLET FLANGE RIGHT AT THE OUTLET OF THE TURBO, THE TURBO INLET CLAMP NEEDS REPOSITIONED, THERES A LOOSE CLAMP AT THE AIR FILTER INLET, THERES A LOOSE BOLT AT THE LEFT HAND RADIATOR SUPPORT AND THE LOWER RADIATOR HOSE IS RUBBING ON THE FRAME AND WILL NEED REPOSITIONED.

Interesting reading to say the least….

 

[Rich W.]

JOB #3 100
COMPLAINT
CAUSE CORRECTION
SERVICE ORDER: RA108024866 ESTIMATE: ES108020897
DESCRIPTION
EST PER EA - REPLACE AIR COMPRESSOR HOSE/CLAMPS AND TURBO OUTLET FLANGE CLAMP/GASKETS - SECURE INLET PIPE, REPOSITION CLAMP AT TURBO INLET AND HOSE AT LOWER RADIATOR - TIGHTEN CLAMP AT AIR FILTER INLET AND BOLT AT LH RADIATOR SUPPORT REPLACE AIR COMPRESSOR HOSE/CLAMPS AND TURBO OUTLET FLANGE CLAMP/GASKETS - SECURE INLET PIPE, REPOSITION CLAMP AT TURBO INLET AND HOSE AT LOWER RADIATOR - TIGHTEN CLAMP AT AIR FILTER INLET AND BOLT AT LH RADIATOR SUPPORT 1,110.00
108D/DDE A4722005052
LINE COOLANT SUPPLY ONE CYL AI 22.65
108D/TCX AMS012
GASKET-4 INCH SPHERICAL W/TABS 17.14
108D/TCX T130130349AC2
CLAMP-V BAND 4 HDEP SPHERICAL 24.67
***EST SHOP SUPPLIES*** 166.50
16.75
Parts: $64.46 Labor: $1,110.00
Misc: $166.50
$1,340.96

Plus of course $370 for the initial assessment and a few bucks for supplies and tax. But what’s another $1,800 at this point….Any yes, I will be talking to the management at Floyds. Might not get me anywhere, but I will certainly have the conversation.

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Floyds would be owing me some money or at least a fantastic explanation as to why they don't.
There is a form someplace on the FCC website to report dealer experiences and from what I understand, FTL takes these reports seriously.