C-15 Cat Engine Problems.

Hmm, tempting. What size is that engine, like what horsepower does the plate say?

 

No PDI stands for Performance Diesel Inc its a company out of Utah. For the best service call the PA office and talk to Jerry.

 

If the fan does not engage till 235 then your gauge is off. The fan should engage at 217. take shop air and blow out the radiator, then take a water hose and wash it also. As for the low power, how much boost does it have in a good pull. Whats your fuel pressure?

 

Dave, you need to spend the money on a PDI tuned ECM probably a stage 1 tune will make you happy. Every guy on here with an Accert that has bought a PDI tuned ecm has been very happy with the results typically gaining on average 1mpg better. Sounds to me like there's nothing wrong with your Accert that's just the way they are stock. You need to change your mindset about using the engine fan though. Use it and use it regularly. I have an '03 t600 with a single turbo bridge motor. Even before Mr Haney flashed the ecm to old pre-emissions files I would never let it get over 201* watedr without turning the fan on and run it like old school e-models 6nz c15s in the 188-192* range. That meant running the fan almost constantly in the summer but since he flashed it to 6NZ files thats where it normally runs all the time now. Now your Accert will run hotter than mine even after a tune I would imagine but if you read on the forum here about guys with accerts who did the PDI tune many of them comment how it runs so much c ooler and the fan never comes on. Most of them run 379's and W900's with the bigger radiator area unlike you and I. You'll get a cooler running motor with better mpg's but you'll still need to hit the manual fan switch every now and then regardless in a t600.

So read up here on it. If I were in your shoes I'd do a stage 1 PDI tune I think it's 725hp. Get rid of your stock mufflers they are very restrictive with backpressure and costing you at least .2 to .4 mpg's. Put pittsburg power freeflow mufflers some guys on here can give you the part# for alternative mufflers to pitts power that are the exact same muffler only cheaper. There you go.... You'll have a cooler running engine with so much power you won't ever see anyone that can hang with your truck. You'll definitely get better mpg's... Later on down the road you might want to make some fuel system upgrades as the stock fuel systems on accerts are a little restrictive but a stage 1 tune with freeflow mufflers I'd gaurantee you wouldnt want to get rid of that truck for anything... I used to despise my bridge Cat now I wouldnt take anything for it... ..I dont have PDI ecm but have tweaked older Cat files and it's awesome...

 

Oh almost forgot. Put a "fuel temp" wire on it. You can buy them online for $100 or get parts at radio shack to make your own for about $10. That is the fastest and easiest mpg gain on any electronic Cat. Look for a big thread on here titled "Cat power harness" for all the info on that you will ever want to know....

 

I agree with almost everything you said except the fan. He shouldn't need to manually turn it on unless there's a cooling problem. If you want it to come on sooner you can have the ECM changed. His truck shouldn't get hot enough to make the engine shut down regardless of the weather conditions and especially only pulling 30k. The only time I will manually turn the fan on is when it's sitting with the A/C on in the summer or when I'm doing a lot of summer stop and go city driving and it keeps turning on and off. And not to keep it from overheating, just to help save the fan clutch. You man WANT to turn it on and that's fine, but you shouldn't NEED to have it on in order to keep it running.

I have 2 6nz's, 2 acerts and until about a month ago I also had an MBN and yes the acerts run hotter than the others but none of them ever get hot enough to make the alarm go off or need the fan above what the ECM thinks. This truck has a cooling issue, and IMO he also has a boost leak or low fuel pressure. Again if it was my truck I'd do the cheap stuff first. Check for boost leaks (I'm 90% sure this is the reason for his low power) and even fuel pressure. I know he changed the lines but I think there was a update kit for the pump for fuel pressure issues. Then I'd go for the PDI ecm. I'm doing mine either this month or next when things slow down and I can take a few days off to UPS the ECM.

 

You run an Accert, unlike me, and I know you would know... They run so much different than my my MBN so I'm not exactly sure what is normal for them I just always heard they run a little hotter but he ought to check the simple stuff if you say it's overheating... They are designed and engineered to handle much higher water temps more easily than the older single turbos, but again I have no practical experience with an accert... ..also I'm old school thinking in that heat kills diesel engines so even if I had an Accert I'd probably use the fan more than most folks would just for peace of mind even if it was unecessary... So he needs to visually inspect any air to air boots for where a water hose or something may have rubbed a hole through it, replace if necessary, and tighten the air to air clamps 60 inch pounds torque. And also check fuel pressure to make sure it is normal...