air dryer

[Dualie]

Well, I have been put in charge of acquiring and installing an air dryer on the new to us 2001 379 daycab Pete trailking hauler. I don't know much about class 8 tractor stuff so I need some advice here. IM pretty sure the compressor discharge should feed directly into the air dryer then to wherever the compressor discharges to now. Am I correct in assuming this?

What brands are recommended? The only brands I have seen in my limited attention to them are bendix and haldex. is there anything in particular I should look for when selecting a unit? is it OK to purchase a used unit from the local truck wrecker? The compressor seems to be in damn good condition no white snot in any of the tanks and builds pressure quick.

Also is there any where I can get service manuals for the truck. Its an 01 Pete 379 dual stacks and breathers, powered by Cummins Celect 75% sure its an N14 haven't paid that much attention to it yet, with Jake's I believe 375 HP with a 10speed 40K rears 14k front 24.5's full alloys. With a 99 48' trail king beaver tail with a 22,000 lb. winch. I have pretty much been involuntarily put incharge of maintenance and repairs for this truck.

Just finished putting on the air cleaner lights and need to pick out a decent bangboard. and some other shineys. its a decent tractor need to upgrade to air windows soon though.

 

[PackRat]

Either one should be fine. For ease of service, I'd go for the AD-SP, as it has a spin on cartidge filter. The AD-9 works well, and last almost forever, but it has to be dissasembled, to change the filter.

You should be able to get manuals from Pete, printed, or CD-ROM. The printed ones are pricey, but extrememly thorough. Heven't had access to a CD-Rom version, yet. All you need is the VIN, to get the right one.

By bangboard, are you meaning bumper, or headache rack? For bumpers, Hendrickson is about the best, Mirriex is cheaper, and made by Hendrickson. For Headache racks, Merrit is supposed to be the best, but I've seen some shoddy workmanship on some of our recent units. Mounts not square, chain racks crooked, etc. The welds look great, so I'd guess the jig is screwed up or something.

If you do have a N-14, the first thing I would suggest is a new oilpan gasket. Keep a couple on hand, too. Even the Cummins rep admitted that the factory toolings are showing wear.

While you're getting shineys, see if you can sneak a drop visor past them. Sure gives them the old short glass look.

Another little time saver is oil drain valves. Beats the heck out of 10 gallons of oil running down your arm.

 

[Dualie]

Already has a nice stainless visor on it. fumoto valve is in route. by bang boards i mean cab guard or headache rack. the truck is currently skirting the DOT without one. driver has been keeping things down in the well as a BS excuse for now. its a 2001 would that be a candidate for a pan gasket eater? how big of a pain the ass are they to change out. its an old OTR truck with a tick under 400K on it. 220" aprox. WB pulled the sleeper off striped the weight put a PTO and wetkit and its out making money as I type.

Its a pretty nice unit. Triple black with fresh paint, ****** rubber all around, big Texas drop bumper and stainless visor, black air cleaners with polished hangers. Should be a real workhorse.

oh about how much should i expect to pay from Pete for a service manual. i need to go over to coast contuse Pete sometime this week and don't want to pass out on there parts counter when they tell me how much$$$

Oh and IM having a pit put in the new shop at the ranch to make service a breeze. Laying on my back under that thing is a pain in the ass let me tell you.

 

[Pacific]

With the air drier make sure you compressor is in good shape before you slap on a brandnew air drier. If the pump is slobbering it will clog up a brandnew air drier quick so replace the pump first. If you get a bunch of blackish slime out of the wet tank that is a indication the pump is blowing oil.

The two common brands I have seen is Bendix and Haldex I never serviced one so I don't know how they come apart. The two dump trucks I work on never had air drier problems.

As for servicing the truck I can imagine a highway truck being a pain in the *** with everything hanging low on it. One benefit it would be clean no big clumps of dirt falling into your face and oil dripping everywhere.

The trucks I work on get greased once a week if they are working alot if they are doing alot of loads then greased twice a week. The only thing that only gets greased every 3-6 months is the S Cam tubes,slacks and throw out bearing. I usually check the tranmission fluid level monthly because its hard to tell how much its leaking when its drooling everywhere.

A truck with spring suspension front and back is important to grease the spring pins regulary I do those the same time as I grease U joints etc. Everytime I grease the trucks get a visual inspection for loose bolts etc the lock tabs and bolts on the U joints is something you have to watch for.

PTO shafts are another thing to keep a eye on they have a nasty habit of breaking or coming loose and they flail around under the truck ready to punch a hole into something. Once you start working on a truck on a regular basis you notice new oil leaks or stuff that just doesn't look right.

As for a cab guard you should have one on the truck usually when there is Ritchie Bros auctions in Vancouver theres always cab guards in the parts yard I imagine its the same at the Cali auction sites. You definatly want to put a rack on the truck especially if your hauling lowbed,flat or end dump.

A depending on how the truck was spec'ed you may want to put sections in the frame to strengthen up the stress areas around the rear bogies. If your running a end dump that hoist puts alot of force downwards. If your running off road you will see more frame stress from the twisting.

Another thing you may want to be carefull of is if the truck only has 40 rears don't get into much soft stuff. If they are Super 40s then its not so bad they are a tougher rear axle less chance of blowing its guts. Having locks in both diffs are really nice if the truck come with them or even locker in the front or rear diff. You do have to run a better aggressive tire if you plan on going into the dirt like the Michelin XDY-2 Drives and XZY-2 Steers or if your on a budget Kelly Springfield KTM 1 drives.

Last thing about the service boot all I can say is good luck because anything to-do with Pete is like buying Caterpillar parts they have a defibrillator behind the parts counter to revive you when you pass out from the prices

 

[Duke]

I just did my air dryer last week. Used a "Meritor" brand (Arvin/Meritor) called a "System Saver". I paid $239 for a new unit, not a reman. I had no core.

It was easy. Here's what I did:

I bought a piece of 8" x 10" 3/16" steel, primed it, and painted it gloss black. Yours may be bigger if your air dryer is bigger.
Then I laid the air dryer mounting template on the lower part of the plate & drilled the mounting holes.
Next, I laid the upper part of the mounting plate on the frame and used existing holes in the frame to mount the plate to the truck frame. I used grade 8's with lockwashers & nuts to mount the plate to the frame.

After bolting the plate to the frame, I bolted the Air Dryer to the lower half of the plate.

Next, I hooked-up the heat to a hot ignition wire (so the heat won't run all the time & kill your batteries) and hooked the ground to the frame.

Next came the air lines. I used 10AN stainless braded line rated for brake hose and ran from the compressor to the inlet. Then I ran from the outlet to the tank (I only have one split tank, you may have 2 tanks). Then you run the pressure release line (I think it was 1/4" airbrake hose) from the compressor to the air dryer. Make sure you use thread sealant.

If you have everything laying around your shop, it shouldn't take more than 5 hours, and that's including time for paint to dry.

Mine took more b/c it was my first one, and I had to keep running out for bolts, lines, etc.