Looking for insane power

[apextrans]

Evildriver,

I've got a 550 ACERT. I'm runnin a car hauler set up so I'm usually 80 grand or better. I hate that damn motor. Just like you said there's a flat spot between 1600 - 1800 rpm. The a-holes at Cat tell me I'm shifting wrong, should be shifting between 1200-1400rpm. Is it just my truck, or would yours stall that low down on the tach also? I've looked around for upgrades too. Not much to speak of. Pittsburgh Power & Michigan turbo are trying to bring something to the market, but can't because there are still so many problems with the ACERT. Here's a few other things to keep an eye on. Rocker Bolts, Rocker Arms, top of air distribution box Top fitting, Turbo housings (as well as bolts), & of all things, Front air brake lines. Everything I mentioned went bad on mine.

The senior service tech @ Carolina Cat told me some thing to try & the truck did seem to run alittle bit better. Here goes:

Turn the recirulator valve off that comes into the right side of your secondary fuel filter. If it's there, you'll have a T fitting just to the right of the secondary fuel filter w/ a line that runs down toward the front of the block. This sends warm fuel back to the tanks to keep from gelling.

Get a bigger primary fuel filter & filter head. I have the assembly in the shop, but haven't had time to put it on yet. I don't expect it to make a big diff.

Is your computer setting for the "soft cruise" on or off? You want it to be off. This setting is what delays the turbos (& motor for that matter) from winding up to pull a hill as soon as the motor starts to bog. This really made the biggest difference in my truck so far.

And lastly, which I haven't done yet either is Get a set of plain baffled mufflers & junk the catalytics. The Cat guy says these mufflers are putting entirely to much return pressure against the turbos so they don't spool up as fast or hard as they should. He didn't say if it would void the warrenty though, which is why I've held off.

Maybe some of this will help, maybe not. If you find something that makes a huge difference for you, holler at me so I can give it a try too.

Scott

 

[apextrans]

Originally posted by Evildriver-3
you need a program or a cat mechanic, if you do it yourself it will void the warranty.

Also, you need a password from Paccar & about $1850.00 to "git yer done" They don't kiss ya or anything..... just jam it in the pooper.

 

[Evildriver-3]

Hey Apextrans , i replaced the filter assembly with the larger housing and filter already i even removed the exhaust at the t under the cab, all i have is the down pipe and the straight pipe to the t before the stacks, so i don't even have a **** at all, i tried doing what cat said shift at 14 1600 if that motor ain't screaming it ain't getting up the hill, matter of fact you shift it at 14/1600 or lower you might as well park, only difference is i am pulling 50 tons not including the weight of the truck and this new motor isn't as good as the old 550's and 600's it needs another turbo

 

[apextrans]

yeah, I'm DEFINIATELY not pulling the weight you got goin' on , & mine still runs like ****. Did the bigger filter help at all? Is it worth the time to retrofit it? I got the guy from Baltimore Cat to agree to run up the road with me while the truck is loaded next week so he can see first hand the garbage their putting in these trucks. It just ain't right to pay that kinda money for a ****. I'll PM ya if he comes up with any remedies.

Scott

 

[Evildriver-3]

Ok let me know if he comes up with anything, and as of right now that filter, filter housing, no exhaust, doesn't seem to be doing anything

 

[rthomas]

There's a story which seems to resurface every one in a while, about a guy who lived around here. Seems his rig had a twin turbo Cat V-8. Not a 3208, a BIG one. Story goes, that he could overpower the clutch, in double over, with a load on.
The story always ends with, "I don't recall his name. I wonder where he went, anyhow?"

Sounds like good project for Urban Legends, too me.

sounds like a 3408-1099 cu ive told by an old timer that you can get 750 out of them pretty easy, they came stock at 525. we used to have a 81 pete with a 3408 straight piped, that thing was fun to drive when you mashed it you had evey ones atention!

 

[CHarlan]

do a yahoo search on pittsburg power boxes. they are like a TST box, only for big CATS.

 

[Duke]

"sounds like a 3408-1099 cu ive told by an old timer that you can get 750 out of them pretty easy, they came stock at 525. we used to have a 81 pete with a 3408 straight piped, that thing was fun to drive when you mashed it you had evey ones atention!"

Aren't mechanical diesels great? I have a little puny DT466 that's mechanical. Some of my friends have the electronic DT's. They all like the mechanical DT's better.

How hard is it to find a 3408 CAT's today?

 

[rthomas]

i think by 83 or 84 you stopped seeing 3408's in trucks, they were pigs getting 2-3 mpg. i think mack stopped using the 998tt at about the same time. the 3408 is still used in equitment and marine apps, our asphalt grinders (cat pm 565's) have them, they run pretty high at around 2400 rpm but it doesnt seem to bother them any, one of them has about 18000 hrs with only a bering job

 

[Duke]

So if one were to find an older tandem or tri-axle with a 3408, it would be consideder quite a unique find, huh?

Are they rebuildable? Parts available?

Sounds like it'd be really sweet in a tandem dump.

 

[rthomas]

they've got to be pretty rare, ive only seen 2 localy, our old pete and a late 70's w900 kw with log bunks.
we rebuilt ours, i didnt particapate but i heard doing it in frame was a pain because of the v configuration.

 

[dieseldummy]

So if one were to find an older tandem or tri-axle with a 3408, it would be consideder quite a unique find, huh?

Are they rebuildable? Parts available?

Sounds like it'd be really sweet in a tandem dump.

There is a company around my neck of the woods that haul cattle and they have one in a pete. That's the only one that I've ever seen, so I would guess they are fairly rair...

 

[Brickman]

There used to be a box that plugged into the computer harness floating around on the market, said it added 30% onto whatever was already there... What do you need more than 600HP in a truck for? I always thought that 475 was more than respectable, and 550 was badass...

The truck I drive is a 3406E still at factory setting of 435HP. I haul freight all over hell and gone getting 5.5 to 6.5 mpg loaded. Have seen as high as 8 bob tail. I spend more than my fair share in the left lane (see my sig line ) and only time I normally get my ass kicked is when I'm loaded right up and on a hard hill. The rest of the time it is "lead, follow, or get the hell out of my way."
My neighbor has a 2000 3406E set at 475 hp, it does not pull as good as mine, and gets way worse mpg than I do.


Apart from all that, there is no such thing as too much power!!

 

[Brickman]

Hey Apextrans , i replaced the filter assembly with the larger housing and filter already i even removed the exhaust at the t under the cab, all i have is the down pipe and the straight pipe to the t before the stacks, so i don't even have a **** at all, i tried doing what cat said shift at 14 1600 if that motor ain't screaming it ain't getting up the hill, matter of fact you shift it at 14/1600 or lower you might as well park, only difference is i am pulling 50 tons not including the weight of the truck and this new motor isn't as good as the old 550's and 600's it needs another turbo

Cats are SUPPOSED to be a low RPM engine. It sounds like they have the computer set to produce power at that RPM, probably because of EPA ********. Running one that hard would about make me sick cuz I can't stand high RPM engines. It must be a personal thing, cuz high RPM grates on my nerves bad.
That said the older ones working range was 1200 to 1600 with the torque curve between 1100 and 1500.




I can't wait for the 07 and 10 new EPA ******** regs to come out

On a bit different note, is it just me or do you other ****** truckers out there see the same thing? Is the anti trucking movement gaining huge momentum in their attempts to screw the trucking industry into oblivion? I haven't been driving that long, but it certainly seems to have gotten far worse in the last few years.

 

[dozer]

sounds like a 3408-1099 cu ive told by an old timer that you can get 750 out of them pretty easy, they came stock at 525. we used to have a 81 pete with a 3408 straight piped, that thing was fun to drive when you mashed it you had evey ones atention!

yah, that sounds about right.

I think the biggest app was in those monster Cat off-road dumps...the 769 ??

Something like that....

Another place to find them is older 500kw gensets...

As I recall, the 769 drivers loved 'em because they had such a wide power-band. They'd grunt hard at 1200...and make good power all the way up to 2400+.

Real nice for climbing up outta the pit, with 55 ton of ore on the back, and a 10% grade...