Last month I had a 6.0 Powerstroke in my bay with an injector that wouldn't budge, even after soaking it in penetrating oil for two days. I threaded a grade 8 bolt into the injector body, heated the head around it with a map gas torch, and popped it out with a slide hammer in under 10 minutes. Anybody got a better method for stuck injectors that doesn't risk snapping the bolt?
My 2006 Peterbilt 379 blew the turbo on I-5 near Portland. The shop quoted $3800 for a factory reman but I went with a $900 junkyard unit from a salvage yard in Salem. That thing has been smoking like a chimney since mile 50 and I'm kicking myself for being cheap. Anybody else roll the dice on used parts and regret it?
I was helping a buddy out last month on a 6.7 Cummins rebuild over in Anaheim. He had his torque wrench set to the final spec and was just running them down in one go. I had to stop him and explain the torque to yield procedure... you gotta hit the lower number first, then angle it. He looked at me like I was speaking a different language. Thing is I did the same exact thing for like 5 years until a old timer at a shop in Santa Fe Springs pulled me aside. He showed me a cracked block from someone skipping that initial step. A torque wrench can be off by 20 percent when you're trying to hit a high number cold. Has anyone else run into guys who skip the step or just go straight to final torque?
I tried saving $300 by buying reman injectors from a no-name shop online for my Cummins. Two of them failed in less than 6 months and the shop ghosted me. Anyone else had better luck with OEM or a specific reman brand?
Been using the old refractometer for years to check coolant freeze point. One of the guys brought in these test strips from Napa for like 15 bucks for a bottle of 50. I figured they'd be garbage but tried them on a 6.7 Powerstroke last Tuesday. Strips matched my refractometer reading exactly on three different trucks. Now I keep a bottle in my box for quick checks on fleet trucks, still use the refractometer for my own builds though. Anybody else found a tool they thought was junk that actually works?
Last month I was having the smoothest week ever at a job in Stockton. I did three complete injector replacements on Cummins ISX engines for a local fleet, and every single one fired up perfect on the first try. Then Friday morning the last one came back with a dead cylinder, turned out to be a bad valve seat that wasn't my work at all. Has anyone else had a streak of good work get ruined by something out of their control?
I was haulin' a load of farm equipment out to Yuma when the truck started surging and then just died at 70 mph. Coasted to the shoulder and found the pump had locked up solid from a tiny piece of debris in the fuel. Had to wait 5 hours for a tow and $3,200 later I'm wondering if anyone else swears by pre-filters over just the stock setup?
I had to pick up a part for a 3406B at a dealer in rural Iowa. Place hadn't been updated since the 80s maybe. No computer diagnostics in sight, just paper manuals stacked on a bench and a guy who could tell you the torque spec for any bolt off the top of his head. Made me wonder how many shops still run that way instead of plugging in a laptop. Anyone else miss the simplicity of those old shops?
I was heading southbound loaded with lumber last Tuesday when the engine started running away near exit 86. Shut it down quick and pulled the fuel line to the injector pump to kill the flow before she blew. Anybody else had to find a safe spot fast when a mechanical injector decides to give up?
Bought a no-name puller kit off Amazon to save money and ended up having to torch out a seized injector anyway after the slide hammer broke. Anyone else had better luck with a specific brand that won't break the bank?
I was waiting for a injector cup at the Freightliner dealer on River Road and this 20-something apprentice behind me said these old 60 series just aren't worth fixing anymore. It got me thinking about how we used to rebuild these things in the dirt with a crescent wrench and a prayer. Any of you still running mechanical engines or am I just the old guy yelling at clouds?
Was doing a final test run on a swap job and it started puking coolant everywhere. The block was decked wrong from the reman shop, has anyone else seen this kind of QC slip lately?
I had a 2003 Peterbilt 379 towed into my shop last Wednesday after it lost all air pressure on I-35 near Waco... The owner said it just dumped air suddenly. Turns out the air compressor had a frozen drain valve that backed up moisture into the system for months. I drained about 2 gallons of water out of the wet tank after replacing the valve. The compressor was shot too, a full rebuild kit ran $275 and two days of labor. Has anyone else seen this wreck a compressor before the valve gets caught?
Last month I was fighting a set of stuck glow plugs in a 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9L. Spent two hours with penetrating oil and a breaker bar getting nowhere. Then my buddy who works at a shop in Tulsa told me to heat the injector boss area with a propane torch for about 90 seconds before trying again. Popped right out after that never had an issue. Anyone else tried heating the block around stubborn plugs or do you use a different method?
Was working with a guy on a freightliner last week who idled for a solid 15 minutes after a tough climb. I told him the egr and turbo cooling systems handle that now on newer trucks. He argued until I pulled up the manual. Modern diesels cool down way faster through the oil system. Unless you were running it red hot for an hour straight you're just burning fuel. Has anyone else seen old school guys waste fuel on cool down?
He told me to listen for a 2-cycle rhythm in a 4-stroke engine and now I cannot unhear the difference between a bad injector and a worn piston, anyone else have a simple trick that totally changed how you diagnose something?
Made me realize how much we take the sound of a healthy engine for granted until somebody points it out, anyone else ever had a customer describe something simple that made you hear your own work differently?
I was on a quick call to grab fuel and top off DEF when the truck started misfiring hard. Pulled into a parking lot and found #3 injector had stuck open and washed the cylinder out. Cost me $1,200 in parts and a full weekend to fix it because I didn't have a spare set of injectors or a proper puller on hand. Now I keep a basic injector service kit and 2 spare injectors in my work truck at all times. Anyone else keep emergency spares for common failures or am I just paranoid now?
Had a guy in Nashville tell me to stop spraying starting fluid on a 7.3L Powerstroke back in 2018. Ignored him for two years until I cooked a set of glow plugs and a relay. Anyone else been told this bit of advice and wish they listened sooner?
I spent 6 hours with a multimeter tracing a short before giving up and ordering a new harness for $400, but at least the replacement only took 90 minutes to install and now I don't have to think about it again, anyone else get stuck in the pride trap of trying to fix the old stuff?
Bought a reman injector for my '96 International and thought, how hard could it be? Ended up snapping a hold-down bolt inside the bore on cylinder 4. That little mistake cost me two days with my truck down and a $60 trip to the machine shop in Gainesville to extract it. Anyone else learn a hard lesson trying to save a buck on a swap like this?
Used to spend 20 minutes with a oxy-acetylene torch just to free up one frozen bolt on a truck frame. Got a cheap induction heater off Amazon for about 150 bucks six months ago. Now I pop it on for 30 seconds, the bolt comes loose with a ratchet, no fire risk or burning up nearby wiring. Finally did a full exhaust swap on a F-250 yesterday in half the time I used to take. Anyone else make the switch or still sticking with the old way?
It was last Friday on a job in Denton, the line blew out at 3pm and we didn't have a spare, so the truck sat dead until Monday morning while we waited on a part from the dealer, has anyone else had a common part like that leave them stranded?
He showed me his timing light method vs my computer reading and now I always double check the harmonic balancer for slip before setting anything, anyone else find the computer lies sometimes?
Everyone told me the CP4 was a ticking time bomb for fuel system failure, but I found a good deal on a used one with low miles from a wrecked 2020 truck in Phoenix. 3 months and 8,000 miles later it's been running smooth with no issues, though I did add a secondary fuel filter kit just in case. Has anyone else had a CP4 last long term or am I just lucky so far?