Damage To My Cat 300 Hp Engine?

[ms_kitty]

I've made my first trip encountering mountains & get a check engine light even when I've downshifted going up 10% grades at a slow speed. Eventually the protect engine light might come on & everything seems to shut down. I drug out the manuals to discover neither error is described. I'm looking for advice. I have 22000 miles on it & I've driven it since it was brand new and it has had the prescribed preventive maintenance (including the 18,000 mile one) performed by a Freightliner dealer.

And one more question - as I read the manual, I discovered I've never let the engine cool before shutting it down. So what have I damaged & is there hope?

[wolfe10]

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

What are your engine temperatures running?

At 22,000 miles you certainly would need to have cleaned the AFTER-COOLER to reduce overheating.

The other routine maintenance item other than oil and filter is the fuel filter(s).

As far as stored engine codes, call the Caterpillar RV Hotline on Monday at 877 7773126. Have you engine serial number and the codes handy. They are VERY helpful.

Let us know what year and chassis you have and we can be of more help-- the above ASSUMES you have a rear radiator coach.

And cool down after running under load (highway or grades) you need to idle for 3-4 minutes.

BUT, if you drove slowly into down, idled into the CG and let it run for a minute or so, you are fine.

Damage by shutting down the engine after running under load with no idle time is overheating and coking of the oil in the turbo which can damage the turbo.

A Caterpillar Corporation document that makes great reading for SETTING REASONABLE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS IS:

Understanding Coach (RV) Performance

Starting on page 6 is an excellent discussion of HP demand for climbing a 6% grade. Helps set reasonable expectations.

BTW, this is excellent reading irrespective of engine brand or even engine type.

Brett Wolfe

[ms_kitty]

Thank you for your prompt & informative response. My engine is 2007 in a Freightliner chassis and is in the rear. None of the gauges on the dash indicate any problem, i.e., temperature, oil, water, battery all register in the ok zone.

By damaging the turbo - what does that mean & how can I tell?

There is no item in the maintenance checklist called after cooler, but the "charge air cooler" was inspected and cleaned at 18000 miles in June of this year. The Inline Fuel Strainer, Cummins ISB02 Engine was replaced at 12000 miles in July of last year. I did read in another posting that many times the wrong mesh fuel filter may be installed but I'm not sure how I can even tell if that were the case. Assuming there are now contaminants in my fuel, even with a filter change, how do I get that "stuff" out?

And keep in mind you're dealing with an acknowledged "dummy".

[wolfe10]

Yes, there are several terms all describing the same "device": CAC, Charge Air Cooler, After-Cooler and Inter-Cooler. Intake air exits the turbo under pressure with a LOT of added heat-- 300+ degrees F is not uncommon. The air then goes through this "device" which is basically an air to air radiator and exits a lot cooler-- usually within 10-20 degrees of ambient temperature. It then goes to the engine intake manifold. Because it is in FRONT of the radiator, dirt sucked up by your fan is deposited on the FRONT of the "device". This blocks air flow. To determine if this is a problem on your coach, access the top of the engine (from bedroom or closet). Shine a strong flashlight inside the fan shroud/between the fan blades. Insure that the PERIMETER of the "device" is as clean as the center (the blades "sling" the dirt to the perimeter).

The two most likely symptoms of a damaged turbo are significant loss of power (no boost) or burning oil (failed turbo seal).

Concerning the fuel filter, I am a bit confused. You said, "The Inline Fuel Strainer, Cummins ISB02 Engine was replaced". I am not sure what Cummins filter you would use on your Caterpillar engine. Freightliner build both SINGLE fuel filter (to save a few bucks) and TWO fuel filter chassis.

If you only have ONE fuel filter/water separator, per Caterpillar specs it must be have a 2 micron filter element. If you have (the much better) two filter arrangement, the PRIMARY filter/water seperator element can be 10 or 30 micron and the SECONDARY filter 2 micron.

So, you need to determine if you have ONE or TWO fuel filters. Then you need to call or look up on-line Freightliner (or whoever's fuel filter they used) and ask the micron rating of the filter element(s) they installed. Since 2,10 and 30 micron filters all appear externally the same/install the same, it is CRITICAL that the correct part number is used. It wouldn't do your engine any good to have a parts guy incorrectly sell you a 30 micron filter when your engine's fuel system requires a 2!

And, if you have the clear plastic bowl primary fuel filter, you can usually tell visually if you have a fuel contamination problem. If you see dirt or "black slimy stuff" in the primary filter, let us know and we can give further advice.

Remember, there is NO average life for fuel filters. If all they see is clean fuel, they could go 10's of thousands of miles. But one tank of contaminated fuel can clog several sets of filters. BOTTOM LINE: CARRY 2 SETS OF FUEL FILTERS. You (or most anyone else) can change fuel filters, but you will likely travel a number of places that will not have the correct filters in stock.

Brett Wolfe

[pete@waterworksconstruction.net]

Hi Mis Kitty - You can take it to any CAT On Road dealer and they can hook it to their computer to tell you if the engine has ever thown a trouble code, and what that code is, and the recommended fix. They didin't even charge to check ours - and we had NO CODES!! Whoo hoo!!

The reason to let the engine idle for 5 minutes or so after a drive is to allow the Turbo Charger to cool down. They get very hot, and just turning off the engine can cause them to cool too rapidly. Same suggestion as before - get the codes checked at a Cat On Road dealer.

Good Luck!!