cat 3406e new turbo issue loss of power

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by trucker1993, Jul 18, 2012.

  1. trucker1993

    trucker1993 Bobtail Member

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    Sep 6, 2011
    auburn pa
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    i have a 95 western star heritage with a cat 3406e 475hp 13spd 2 weeks ago the turbo blew and it had to be towed back to the garage there was a new turbo put on it and then they hooked it up to the computer and everything checked out fine and they gave me to ok and i went back to work with it. well i noticed that there is a drastic decrease in acceleration and pulling power and the turbo when kicked in makes a really high pitched whining noise sound almost like a police siren i never in all my 21 years of trucking heard a turbo that sounded like this. the turbo boost is putting out 27 28 pounds so i am not sure what the problem could be..any help would be greatly appreciated
     
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  3. Superhauler

    Superhauler TEACHER OF MEN

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    keep stroking.
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    might be an air leak on one of the turbo boots or cac has a crack and leaking or check the o-rings that are on the elbow that comes out of the top of turbo make sure they didnt pinch one of them when they were installed. or god forbid check and see if the turbo wheel isnt rubbing the housing.
     
  4. bender

    bender Road Train Member

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    Was the CAC cleaned out when they installed the turbo? Could be partially plugged from turbo failure.
     
  5. Superhauler

    Superhauler TEACHER OF MEN

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    yeah what he said! why did the first turbo fail? could a exhaust sleeve have broke apart and wiped out the first one? it may have another pc. jamed in there thats rubbing on the wheel.
     
  6. Mr. Haney

    Mr. Haney Road Train Member

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    Here's what I think it is. If it is this, you'll be upset with whoever replaced the turbo. You need to take the truck back to them to replace this turbo with another one. They will also need to disassemble the air filter piping system and clean out the debris from the first turbo.

    When you blew the old turbo, did you break the shaft or compressor wheel? If so, all intake air piping from the air filters to the turbo should have been disassembled and cleaned. If this wasn't done the new turbo will suck the exploded debris of the first turbo back into the compressor wheel of the new turbo and damage it. The way to see if this is the problem is to remove the air pipe from the air cleaner to the turbo at the turbo and inspect the fins if the compressor wheel. Any nicks in the fins is a sign of debris hitting the wheel. The noise is these nicks causing a disturbance in the air flow as the air is entering the turbo.

    Anytime a turbo explodes under boost, the small debris is carried backwards into the air filters by the rush of air reversing from the engine to the air cleaners. The reason the air rushes backwards is.........the turbo isn't in one piece forcing into the engine any longer. The air was under pressure and now the point of least resistance for the air to flow is the air filter. The reverse airflow will actually expand the rubber coupling pieces of pipe so much that small particles of the compressor wheel will be between the rubber joints and piping. These pieces will come lose and damage the CW at a later time once you replace the turbo with a new one.
     
  7. trucker1993

    trucker1993 Bobtail Member

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    Sep 6, 2011
    auburn pa
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    everything was taken apart and cleaned out i know cause i witnessed part of it myself when i went to check in on the progress he had the air cleaners and hoses off
     
  8. trucker1993

    trucker1993 Bobtail Member

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    Sep 6, 2011
    auburn pa
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    i am going to have it taken back off and inspected again and i will personally make sure that there is no damage to the new turbo and that the o-rings are not being pinched and then we will see what happens a second time
     
  9. PROSTREET80

    PROSTREET80 Light Load Member

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    Jul 11, 2012
    northwest AR
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    When they look at the turbine wheel they will find the problem. I agree with Mr. Hanney because I done this one time on a follow up job at a kenworth dealership. Someone didn't clean everything good enough even with the new air cleaners and we had to eat the job and do it again and we should of that was our fault.


    Your right, im sure they did pull the air filters and the crossover inlet pipe but they missed a piece or two of scrap somewhere maybe down in the cleaner housing or the crossover and it sucked it in the new turbo and messed the finns up on the turbine. The o rings won't be the problem they just didn't get somthing out they should have. Even if they left somthing in the CAC in shouldn't have got back in the new turbo becausse that is after the turbine impeller, but it should have beed replaced or cleaned also. If there is alot of trash still in the CAC the boost will be lower than it should. It was somthing from the air inlet side back to the air cleaners and they are at fault... It will make a very high pitched screaming noise when this happens just like Mr. Hanney said. Good luck with everything and I hope they stand behind it for you.
     
  10. PROSTREET80

    PROSTREET80 Light Load Member

    75
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    Jul 11, 2012
    northwest AR
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    They are gonna owe you a new turbo for sure and all the labor this time for free they will eat if they are a good shop that stands behind their work and I Know those places are getting hard to find. Its all about the money they can charge and how fast they can do the job. As far as im concerced a teckh should work at a good pace but pay attention to detail and alot of them don't. They are concerned about how fast they can do it and then screw around to finish up time if they have it left over. Dealerships push efficency very hard so the techs try to either make or beat book time on those jobs. Repetition of the same job makes you fast and good but just trying to be fast makes you sloppy and prone to miss things

    Most big truck shops and dealerships I know are on hourly anyway no flag time but they like to see their techs efficency at almost 90 to 100% all the time. So alot of them cut corners to make it. The funny thing is I never seen Kenworth the two dealerships I worked for send anybody down the road for haveing a 70 to 80% efficency rating but those ones that are at 90% and above but with alot of come backs and policy's against them will go down the road way quicker then a tech that has a little lower efficency and less than 3% come backs. So why not do it right the first time although things do happen somtimes that you can't help. Not to brag but in a years time I grossed them $152,000 and made them about 110,000 and my come back rate at the end of the year was like $350.00. that was even less than 1% and they allow up to 3% no questions asked. Good luck with your truck and the turbo I hope they stand behind it like they should.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2012
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