Cat 3126 motorhome......IT'S ALIVE!!!!

Alright....its not that dramatic....but ive known about this class A motorhome for about a year...... I actually went and got a bunch of rotten gas from the dude and while I was there he gave me a tour of this motorhome he was contemplating selling...... at the time i wasn't interested, but today I kinda am.... sorta..... mostly a lot, really.

Anyway.... not long before I saw it a year ago, he had the great idea of doing a "service" on it......which IS a good idea..... if you know diesels...... but he doesn't..... so, he lost prime on the fuel system and more or less gave up trying to reprime it, because it was just a bit much for his elderly self...... so its been sitting for more than a year, unprimed.....thats right no Amazon....ba dupe dig...heyyyy....

So..... senor @Nero my diesel nut friend on the other corner of the 48 that has been known to historically play with fire...... how bad is it to reprime one of these Cat 3126s?.....

Have fun pumping

Nero said:

Have fun pumping

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Do I have to pull the valve cover to crack the injector lines? Or do I just pump pump pump?

I just don't see a bunch of info on the net.....

Just pump. Pump like crazy. You can crack the fuel line where it goes from the filter to the pump, right at the pump, then pump it. That'll guarantee that the lines and filter are primed, then tighten the line, and then pump even more to get fuel into the pump. Then she might start.

Nero said:

Just pump. Pump like crazy. You can crack the fuel line where it goes from the filter to the pump, right at the pump, then pump it. That'll guarantee that the lines and filter are primed, then tighten the line, and then pump even more to get fuel into the pump. Then she might start.

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Apparently some applications dont have a primer!!! Geez Louise!!! Ill keep yall posted.......and NO!!! I won't be running this one on sludge! Lol......

Not real familiar with these, but isnt the fuel system very similar to the 7.3 powerstroke?

It's been forever, and of course change the prefilter, I think you're going to be best served by bleeding the lines going into the cover on both sides first....
Giving the primeing pump it's best chance. Can you pressurize the tank?

Black dawg said:

Not real familiar with these, but isnt the fuel system very similar to the 7.3 powerstroke?

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Yes, They are HUEI's, just like the 7.3 PS and DT466e engines of the same era. Supposedly CAT and Navistar jointly developed the HEUI system, and the 7.3 was the first engine to go into production with it, but Navistar really didn't have the engineering expertise since they were just a few years removed from restructuring after the largest "bankruptcy" in American history, so I would argue CAT developed it and licensed it to Navistar....

I know that Harvester never technically declared bankruptcy in the corporate law sense, but in 1983 they where laying off 1,000's of people per week on average, selling every division they could just to make payments to over 200 creditors, and liquidating anything that wasn't bolted to the earth, so if it walks like a duck.....

Clb said:

It's been forever, and of course change the prefilter, I think you're going to be best served by bleeding the lines going into the cover on both sides first....
Giving the primeing pump it's best chance. Can you pressurize the tank?

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I went and looked at it today. His problem is that he put the new fuel filter on dry....... it does have a primer bulb. Im gonna go back Tuesday with hot batteries and my 19yr old.

Im thinking ill fill the filter with fuel and pump, pump, pump....but pressurizing the fuel tank with air might be a worthwhile idea.....not really excited about the idea of pulling the valve cover, but if I must.....I will. All current sources indicate its unnecessary...... I just think he was asking too much from the fuel pump with a dry fuel filter

Yo...... @Nero ...... theres a cat in this motorhomes bedroom......

Anyhoo...... there was a second fuel filter that was kinda like part of the fuel return?.... i guess?.... idk.... but i cracked open a line there, air pressured the fuel cell until I had a good dribble, then pumped the primer for a minute while my son swapped out batteries for the hottest ones we had...... spun it over for a minute and it was RUNNING!!!!! Drove it around a bit....... gave the man the money..... collected the title and proceeded to I-10 where it cruised at 65-70 mph very comfortably except the AC needs addressing......

That's the water separator and the filter I bled at is lower right corner there..... sorry for the poor photography, but wedged under motorhomes isnt the best place for good picture taking......

Isn't she lovely...... if i told you what I paid, you'd ask if I used a gun to get away with it......lets just say, i sold my 88 class C gasser this morning, bought this mid-day and have a fair chunk of cash left over.....probably enough to tag/title/insure this one and take my wife to dinner...... yowsa......
Yes......its full of stuff..... but im still WINNING!!!!!!

I do really appreciate the input @Clb And @Nero ...... it went easy thanks to yall..... Praise GOD!!!!

Saweeeeeeeet
Great way to get a new toy, and momma gets dinner? Win!

Look over them slides real good for manufacturer installed leaks, they love to rack on the trolley tracks ( easy fix) and the header trim lets in water ( less easy fix) definitely not a bad get...

The front left corner has had a pretty nasty leak. Theres a good deal of rot, but nothing that scares me away from it. The guy used it as a "storage" (read that "place to pile junk") and had kept the roof ACs running for climate control until recently one of the AC controllers messed up and he got in over his head trying to replace it...... so its not musty or moldy.... even haven had a leak.....

Looks good, love the way classic RVs look. Also, the art on the back? What swag