C-15 Cat Engine Problems.

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by dave_0755, Nov 4, 2010.

  1. dave_0755

    dave_0755 Light Load Member

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    Jonesboro,AR
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    If you have a 04 KW C-15 ....TWIN TURBO...then it's an Acert. You should research. All of the twin turbos are Acert engines. I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you guys but I know that 04 was the first year for the Acert engines. ALL were twin turbos.

    If you have an 04 that is NOT an Acert then you DON"T have a twin turbo set up. I could send you all of the links. Not that it would matter.

    I'm not a greenhand. I've read a lot about the Acerts and I know they are trouble prone. I just hope to get mine fixed, because I know it's a good engine overall.
     
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  3. end of the road

    end of the road Heavy Load Member

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  4. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

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    "end of the road" must have a leftover MBN (single turbo C15). As far as yours, it definitely has issues if it's overheating and actually shutting down. Sorry to question you but a lot of guys think anything over 200* is "overheating" so that's why I asked. My uncle is one of those guys, he drives a T800 with a C13 and insists he has to turn the fan on manually because he can't help screwing with stuff.

    My Acert started to overheat one day, would easily go over 230+ pulling an empty trailer, ended up being a weak water pump.

    I see you have a 9spd, I hate those. Too big of a jump between gears. After you get this issue fixed you might look into buying the conversion kit to make it a 13spd.

    The first series of Acert's had issues but mostly stuff like broken rocker arms and turbos I believe. But I would think since yours has been in the shop before the updates should have been done.

    Local Cat shop here doesn't have a dyno but they have a large generator they will hook it to for a road test. Some issues like yours need to be duplicated with a load and an actual mechanic in the seat or they tend to not believe you.

    How much boost pressure do you see? Our C13 was extremely low on power and ended up having a blown bellow between the chargers and you could hear the air rushing out. But it's in a T800 with an under hood air cleaner, A W900 with external air cleaners would make it harder to hear the air leak but I would have the system pressurized if you can't find an obvious leak. That would easily cause your low power issues.
     
  5. dave_0755

    dave_0755 Light Load Member

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    Jonesboro,AR
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    I just don't want to start replacing crap in the hopes of eventually "buying" the right part to fix the problem.

    The mechanic told me that it was the fuel lines. He said the get dry rotten and will collapse under high pressure..such as a hard pull up hill. He said that could also cause it to overheat since the truck is straining so hard trying to suck fuel from collapsed lines. Sounded like a reasonable assumption. I replaced the lines and nothing changed. It got a little better fuel mileage the first trip out but then the second trip I averaged 5.3.

    I just can't understand why it runs so smooth and idles so good, but overheats and has no power. I know this might sound dumb but could the muffler be clogged with soot? Maybe it doesn't have enough room for the high pressure exhaust to come out???
     
  6. Jfaulk99

    Jfaulk99 Road Train Member

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    Oh I understand, if you throw enough parts at anything you'll eventually fix it.:biggrin_2559:

    Boost pressure?
    EGT's?
    Muffler could be plugged but I'm leaning towards a boost leak. Mine at 475hp sees about 45-50psi of boost on a hard pull. Does it still have the factory catalytic converter, or like most it "fell off" a long time ago?
     
  7. grizzly

    grizzly Medium Load Member

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    You are correct, I do not own an ACERT. I run an "E" model. I have had experience running with guys that had ACERTs and they had heating problems as well. I do know that lugging an engine builds heat no matter what engine it is. While the RPM range I suggested may be incorrect the advice of taking your foot out of it and not working it as hard is sound.
     
  8. dave_0755

    dave_0755 Light Load Member

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    Jonesboro,AR
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    Actually grizzly I was taught to never lug an engine as well, but the KW foreman that worked on mine said to never run it over 1500 rpms. He said lugging the newer post emissions won't hurt them at all.

    I told him I didn't think that was correct. I started reading about them and found out he was right. Even Cat recommends that you don't run the engines over 1500 and they recommend the shift points to be between 1100 and 1600. This will lug the crap out of my engine but it does seem to pull good at 1100 to 1200 unless i'm fully loaded and pulling up hill. The shift points being between 1100 and 1600 might be the reason I'm having so much trouble. I wish I had another Cat to drive so I can compare mine to it.
     
  9. DL550CAT

    DL550CAT Road Train Member

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    The best money you can spend is a PDI tune hate to sound like a broked record but you wont believe the diff it will make. Tune and the muffler should be the first things done.
     
  10. dave_0755

    dave_0755 Light Load Member

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    Jonesboro,AR
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    Where do I get a PDI tune? I googled it and it came back with nothing. Is that something Kenworth does? I is just something specific to the Mr. Haney you were talking about?

    I'm in North East Arkansas. There's not a whole lot of choices around here for me to get my truck worked on.
     
  11. grizzly

    grizzly Medium Load Member

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    Even in an E model Cat the peak of the torque curve is at 1200 RPMs. I typically downshift at 1200 and upshift at 1500. This is with an RTLO918B transmission and 3:36 gear ratio. I know for a fact that I get better fuel mileage running like this vs the old school of thought of running at higher RPMs. My average for the last year in a W900L is 6.67 MPG. My point was only on the overheating going up a hill thing, lugging creates heat. Heat to a certain point is actually good for a diesel engine. I know the newer engines run hotter than the older ones like mine. For example, my fan kicks on at 217 degrees and the high water temp buzzers go off at 228 degrees. These are factory settings and can't be changed in the ECM. The only solution I know of to keep from building too much heat pulling a hill is to downshift and not work the engine as hard. When it is really hot out and I'm heavy and pulling a long steep grade I will run the RPMs a little higher, like in the 1600 range just to make the fan spin faster. I have only set the high water temp buzzers off in my truck twice in 1.2 million miles, once when the water pump went out and once pulling a heavy load up toward Flagstaff out of Phoenix in August. I don't know if all of those things will work on a new engine but I do know it works for me.
     
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