Picked up a rebuilt injector from a place in Denver about 6 months ago because it was half the price of a new one. Sounded fine on the bench but once I got it in the truck it was misfiring like crazy. Spent 4 hours chasing wiring and grounds before I finally swapped it out for a new one. Anyone else burned by reman parts that looked good but failed right out of the box?
I was swapping injectors on a 6.7 Cummins yesterday afternoon in Modesto and everything was going smooth until I got to cylinder 5. That stupid copper washer got stuck in the bore and I didn't see it at first. Spent over 3 hours trying to fish it out with picks and magnets before I finally pulled the whole injector tube. Has anyone else had these washers weld themselves in there or am I just unlucky?
Was at a shop in Tampa last Tuesday and heard one of the younger mechanics say he leaves the block heater plugged in all summer to 'save wear on the starter.' Half the guys in the bay laughed at him, the other half said it actually helps with cold starts in humid weather. I've always figured block heaters are just for winter, but now I'm wondering if there's something to it in high-humidity areas. Anyone out there use them in warmer climates have a real opinion? Or is this just a waste of electricity and a good way to rot out a cord?
Last week I was troubleshooting a 2021 Freightliner with a bad sensor and it took me 3 hours just to find the right diagnostic code. I remember 10 years ago when I could pop the hood on a Detroit 60 series and have it figured out in 20 minutes with a wrench and a multimeter. My old mentor used to say 'if it has a computer, it has a headache' and he wasn't wrong. Even basic stuff like oil pressure checks now need a laptop and software updates. Don't get me wrong, I get why they add all this stuff for emissions and efficiency. But has anyone else found themselves spending more time fighting the computer than the actual mechanical problem?
Was chasing a whistle under load for 2 weeks, and the shop in Tulsa traced it to a warped seal from the aftermarket intake pulling too much hot air off the radiator. Has anyone else had better luck just keeping the factory setup on a daily driver?
I pulled a set last week and noticed the crush washers were totally flat - turns out I was cranking them to 80 ft-lbs instead of the 35 the manual says. Has anyone else had a stupid torque mistake that took way too long to catch?
I was dead on the side of I-84 with a miss so bad it shook the mirrors off alignment, so I pulled the injectors on the tailgate. Popped that nozzle open with a dental pick and sure enough a little black rock fell out, truck fired right up after reassembly. Has anyone else found random trash fouling their injectors, or am I just lucky?
I was working on this old freight truck from a local dairy, been in the shop before for the usual stuff. Last Tuesday it came in with a weird surging idle, I was about to swap the injectors. Turns out the gear train timing was off by 2 teeth, been like that for probably 100k miles. The old driver said it always ran rough but 'never quit' so they ignored it. Has anyone else found something like that where a simple timing check saved a ton of guesswork?
I was hauling a load of produce from Fresno to Bakersfield when the upper radiator hose clamp let go right near the Grapevine. Coolant sprayed everywhere and the temp gauge shot up before I could even pull over. I had to wait for a tow to the nearest shop since I didn't have a spare clamp in my truck. Anyone else carry extra clamps in their rig or am I just unlucky?
Bought a set of reman injectors off eBay for a 6.0 Powerstroke back in March. Seller had good ratings, price was half of new. Installed them, truck ran rough, had to pull them all back out and send them back. Two of them were bad out of the box. Lost a weekend and all that time. Anyone else stopped trusting reman parts from online unknowns?
I used to just crank them down with a wrench til it felt tight, been doing that since I started at a shop near Nashville in 2018. Then a Cummins rep came through last month and showed me the torque spec sheet I had been ignoring the whole time. Anyone else ever find out they been messing up a basic step for years?
Been working on these trucks for about 8 years now, and I keep seeing guys chasing after the latest 6.7L Powerstroke or Duramax with all their sensors and computers. Had a customer last month bring in a 2001 Dodge with a 5.9 12-valve that had 380,000 miles on it, still running on the original injectors. Meanwhile I just spent 3 days diagnosing a no-start on a 2015 Ford that ended up being a faulty ECM relay. You can't even replace a water pump on those newer rigs without a laptop and a subscription. Has anyone else noticed the older mechanical stuff just keeps running while the new trucks sit in the shop waiting on parts?
Last Tuesday I was in the middle of pulling an injector on an old Cummins ISX when the air compressor just died. No buildup, no noisy bearings, just stopped kicking on. I spent a solid hour chasing electrical gremlins before I noticed the unloader valve was stuck open on the tank. Blew some junk out of it with a pick, cycled it a few times, and it's been fine since. Made me realize how much I take that little $15 part for granted when I'm working. Has anyone else had a simple part like that turn a whole day into a headache?
Last Thursday I was rolling down I-5 near Bakersfield hauling a load of produce when my temperature gauge started climbing fast. I pulled over at a rest stop and popped the hood, found coolant spraying everywhere from where the filter housing cracked. Turns out that $12 aftermarket filter I grabbed from a parts store in Stockton two months ago had a weak seam. I swapped it with a NAPA Gold filter I keep as a spare and got back on the road, but it cost me a full hour and a half of downtime. Now I'm thinking I should just bite the bullet and stick with OEM filters even if they cost triple the price. Has anyone else had an economy filter fail on them like that?
I had a 2015 Peterbilt that kept losing power going up hills. I spent 2 hours chasing air in the lines, replaced a lift pump, even pulled the injectors to look for issues. Then a retired diesel mechanic named Gary from down the road stopped by my shop and asked if I checked the fuel filters. I told him they looked clean but he said to cut one open anyway. Sure enough the inside was full of algae slime from bad fuel. Popped in new filters and some biocide and the truck ran perfect. Now I always crack open a filter before doing anything else. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that save them a ton of time? I keep some spare Racor filters on hand now just in case.
I was changing oil on a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia last week when the foreman walked by and told a younger guy that messing with the ECU is a waste of time unless you're trying to win a drag race. I bit my tongue but I disagree. I've been tuning fleet trucks for fuel economy for over 3 years now and I've seen consistent gains of about 0.5 to 1 MPG by adjusting the torque curves and idle parameters. That adds up to real money when you're running a dozen trucks 100,000 miles a year. Has anyone else gotten pushback from older mechanics who think the ECM should be left untouched?
I was going through my maintenance records for our delivery trucks last week and I noticed 4 out of 6 trucks had injector issues within 2 months of each other. Turns out the DEF we were buying from a new supplier near Portland had way higher sediment levels than the spec allows, like 50 parts per million over the limit. Ran a simple test with a refractometer and it was obvious - has anyone else checked their bulk DEF supply for purity before it hits the tanks?
I was hauling a load of produce down I-5 about 15 miles south of Olympia when the temp gauge started climbing fast. Pulled over near a rest area and popped the hood to find coolant spraying out from a freeze plug that had corroded through. Had no spare plug that size in my toolbox, just a random assortment of bolts and washers. Ended up hammering a tapered brass plug from a plumbing kit I found at a gas station into the hole. It held just enough pressure to get me to a proper shop in Centralia where they replaced the whole set. Has anyone else used a sketchy roadside fix that actually worked longer than you expected?
I learned that one from a Cummins bulletin last week after pulling a injector that came loose at 150k miles, cost me a whole weekend of rework has anyone else run into torque spec confusion on newer common rail stuff?
Tried that fancy fuel injector cleaning kit from a Snap-On truck guy last month on a 6.7 Powerstroke that was running rough. Hooked it up, followed every step, and two days later the customer called saying the truck was smoking worse than before. What's your go to method when injectors are acting up without dropping a pile of cash?
Picked up one of those $5 test strips from AutoZone last month. Tested my coolant on my 6.7 Powerstroke and it said everything was fine. Two weeks later my truck started puking coolant on I-95 outside Richmond. Took it to my guy and he said the coolant was way too acidic, ate through the gasket. That little strip saved me nothing. Has anyone else had bad luck with those cheap test kits?
I was hauling a loaded trailer up I-35 near Waco when I heard a whistle turn into a scream. Pulled over fast but by then the turbo was already puking oil. Found out later my cheap oil filter from the auto parts store had a bad anti-drainback valve. Starved the turbo of oil on startup for months till it gave out. Anyone else had luck with a specific brand of oil filter for the 5.9 Cummins?
I keep seeing guys slap head bolts in without any lube on the threads or under the bolt head. Then they wonder why their torque readings are all over the place and the gasket blows six months later. I had a guy bring a 6.0 Powerstroke into my shop last Tuesday that had three bolts way under spec because the friction was all wrong. I told him to oil every thread and re-torque, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else run into this on a big inline 6 or am I the only one who noticed?
It was running hotter than usual for about a month, especially in traffic. Finally got a chance to pull the cooler off yesterday afternoon. The passages were about 70% clogged with soot and carbon. After a two-hour soak in a bucket of cleaner and a good blast with the pressure washer, it looked brand new. Put it all back together and let it idle in the driveway for 30 minutes. The gauge used to creep up to 210, now it sits steady at 195. Has anyone else seen that big of a drop just from cleaning one component?
He said it sounds like a giant grumpy robot, and I realized I'd stopped hearing the noise as anything but normal. What's a simple way you explain what we do to people who don't know the trade?