New Addition & A Question

[apextrans]

Hey fellers,

I picked this up for 50,000.00. It's a little rough around the edges but it is fully functional. It does however have some motor issues. This truck sat for about 9 months...never started or anything. I drove it a very short distance when I looked at it the first time & it felt strong. When I went to pick it up, I got out on the road & couldn't get it over 45MPH. Little turbo whistle & low oil pressure which never moved off 25 psi, although the oil was full & fresh. I figured bad fuel & it was just about empty, so 2 full tanks of fresh fuel went in. No difference. It has been in the shop for state & DOT inspections & had every filter changed. Runs a little better & oil pressure is around 50, but still has no power. I have no history of service records yet but I know the guy who drove this truck before it was pulled of the road & he said it ran its ass off. The truck has 538,000 on the ticker. Don't know if it's ever been inframed or not. Could it be time? What do you all think is preventing the turbo from singing? Oh, it's a CAT C-12. Anyone PLEASE chime in. Sorry about the crappy pictures. Thanks

 

[maniac]

I'd take it to Cat and let them plug in the computer, any work ever done by Cat will show up, and they can dyno it, a "no power" complaint usually shows up on the dyno. Plus they can pressure test the fuel sysytem and see if its there.

As far as inframe, no power wouldn't come into play here, if it smoked excessively maybe, or if oil consumption was way above average.

Were the air cleaners changed?

Why was it parked in the first place?

 

[apextrans]

I'd take it to Cat and let them plug in the computer, any work ever done by Cat will show up, and they can dyno it, a "no power" complaint usually shows up on the dyno. Plus they can pressure test the fuel sysytem and see if its there.

As far as inframe, no power wouldn't come into play here, if it smoked excessively maybe, or if oil consumption was way above average.

Were the air cleaners changed?

Why was it parked in the first place?

I know it smokes pretty heavy on start up & takes a while to clear out. I have know idea about oil consumption as its not in operation yet. The air cleaner was changed along with all the fluids including all 3 boxes. I honestly don't know why it was parked other than the fact the guy who drove this truck quit & went into a different line of work. The company I bought it from is downsizing so they may have chosen not to put another driver in it?

I was trying to stay out of the CAT dealer for wallet sake if possible, but there may be no way around it. This thing runs so poorly right now, I don't think it could complete the dyno session. I watched my Peterbilt run on the Dyno in NC. That truck runs like a beast now, & it was huffing pretty ******* the dyno run. This Freightshaker might just it's insides out on the dyno room floor!!

 

[PackRat]

Tisk Tisk.

A man with 2 Pete packers, goes an buys a Freightshaker. So sad.

 

[towcat]

Tisk Tisk.

A man with 2 Pete packers, goes an buys a Freightshaker. So sad.

oh man....you're harsh....
the colors remind me of Toyota motor transport. I have a buddy who drives for them. Seems to like it quite a bit. drives from fremont to kettlemen city(4hrs away) trades rigs with a driver from LA and drives the empty back up. He's home every nite. If the rig was owned by Toyota, its got some good maintence under it.

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

Why was it parked in the first place?

Ditto....

 

[apextrans]

Tisk Tisk.

A man with 2 Pete packers, goes an buys a Freightshaker. So sad.

(Flame Suit On) Hey Hey..... I bought the Freightliner 2ND then the Pete 330. Got a case of the guilty's I guess. Everything I drove until this purchase was badged with an oval emblem. Now look what I did!! But, I'm pretty sure you can't buy an King Ranch for what I paid for the Freightliner.

Towcat, you hit the nail on the head. It did start life as a member of the Toyota fleet. However.......it has had 2 other owners, the first of which may not have been as kind as Toyota. The second was pretty liberal with the PM cashflow.

I found out tonite the truck was parked as a result of downsizing (so I'm told). Just didn't want to keep the unit on the road with no work for it. The truck was owned free & clear so it didn't cost them anything to let it sit.

 

[towcat]

scott-
if this is an ex-toyota fleet truck, you'd do best to pony up the bucks and get the kittycat over to the vet. Out here in CA, they don't let anything go unless there is a major inframe on the horizon. I used to be their parts salesman for the fleet maint shop. I don't know about out there since road salt is a big issue on the eastern seaboard.

 

[apextrans]

Yeah, I'm going to take your advise & do that. We have a very good CAT dealer south of Baltimore. Getting an appointment will be the trick. While they're good, they're SLOW. I need this truck on the road yesterday. I have 200 cars to get to Charlotte by the 31st of December & another 400 by the end of February . I was hoping it was just bad filters but that ain't the case. Maybe the Pro-Link can sweet talk some sense into it ! I'll post some pics of the little Pete 330 when I get some Packrat :draw

 

[towcat]

I have a buddy who is retired and living in MO and used to drive transport. ex-PMT guy. I think he still has his classA and health certs. If you need a driver, let me know.

 

[apextrans]

I've never been past Arkansas in a big truck. What's PMT? Pacific Motor Transport? I have a guy lined up but if you still have this guy's info, please PM it to me. Never hurts to have it. Thanks

 

[maniac]

I was trying to stay out of the CAT dealer for wallet sake if possible,

I know that feeling, $110.00 an hour here I just did a water pump on mine this weekend, never got above 35 degrees outside, I still did it in 4 hours on Sat.

I'm thawed out now

Seriously though sometimes the computer is the only thing that can figure these things out. Let us know what you find out.

 

[apextrans]

Here's a little update, I drove it the the other side of the county to drop it off for a state inspection, running bobtail, & it still struggled. It was better but still no power. Now, it smoked its ass off for the first 10 minutes & then just left a constant haze behind me for the rest of the trip. A buddy of mine was following me & says it smelled like oil. The service center doing the inspection isn't a CAT dealer but they are an authorized repair center. So, they'll plug it in & tell me how bad it really is. If this thing needs an inframe, I'm gonna be !!

 

[apextrans]

More recent update is.....it didn't pass inspection. Needs 4 drive tires (just ************), clutch pedal pad, some dash light bulbs, piece of flex pipe in the exhaust, blinker/hazard signal assembly (which does work, just missing the top cover), king pins, & torque arms. Man, this shop is wicked!!

They were looking into the engine issues Thursday & I still haven't heard from them. I'm assuming no news is BAD news in this case .

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

Boy did the last owners beat that truck..... and didnt do *** either. (torque arms, kingpins, and little things like lightbulbs)

The engine doesnt sound good either, I would bet that you're burning oil at a good rate too. Havent seen it firsthand, but Im guessing the rings are shot and you're going to need an in-frame. 50 psi oil pressure sounds low to me for full-load operation. But thats just an edumacated guess. Have to see for myself before I can give you definite answers. Is this a CAT-ACERT engine??? another possibility might be that one or both of the turbos could be bad too. (longshot though)

Oil-burning cant be rectified with a diagnostic link like the fuel injectors can..... :Sly :Sly