Million mile CAT ACERT motors?

And I'm sure Bruce has one to sell ya too...LOL.

I had one on my B model with over a million and a half, probably closer to two million on it. I just up and decided to change it for the hell of it, I noticed a difference in the idle. My brothers 5EK had a million three on it before it got changed. He noticed a bigger difference than I did.

Personally I think Bruce is just trying to scare people into buying dampners!

 

Could be. But one doesn't have to buy the ones he sells. But it does go back to my point, how would a person know for certain if the damper was doing its job right? Risking a cracked crank or some other internal damage sure doesn't seem like a viable alternative to shelling out a few hundred bucks for a damper.

Anecdotal evidence from one or two people just doesn't convince me different. And you did admit that you noticed a difference. That should say something. Just because you didn't blow up the engine does not make a solid case for running a damper that long.

 

the way i look at it is it's preventive maintance. cheaper than fixing a crank!

 

Bruce Malinson is a sales person first and foremost selling the same Vibratek dampers I can get from Haney or elsewhere for $500 cheaper. CAT doesn't even recommend every 500k.

 

Don't forget that CAT has a Million Miler Award which currently is a nice fleece jacket, Cat Certificate and a Cat hat. All you have to do is complete the form and submit it to your local CAT dealer

 

I have no doubt that BM is a salesman. That doesn't bother me. I have bought one item from him, a crankshaft balancer, because it wasn't available anywhere else and is being made by Balance Masters, and they wouldn't return my call, but have done many modifications he, and others, have recommended, but went with other parts sources. As was stated by rolling coal, one could buy the Vibratek damper if they chose to. Much of the engine information he doles out is pretty good and there are many diesel shops and individuals that have been involved with high performance diesels that second that information in one way or another.

I find a dichotomy here. Some will argue to death the changing a damper is not necessary and Cat may not recommend it, but many of those same people, in the face of solid evidence, won't follow an OEM oil change recommendation of say, 25,000 miles, and will argue that changing at 10,000 miles is "cheap insurance". Even though time and again, it has been shown that every major oil brand will last far longer than 10,000 miles. They have no problem throwing money away on unnecessary oil changes and additives that aren't necessary, but they will holler and kick over the idea of shelling out a few hundred bucks ( the price of a couple of oil changes ) on a damper at 500,000 miles.

Go figure....

 

Holy Crap you mean I can run my Rotella oil 25k before changing it and its ok? I missed that memo!

 

CAT recommends changing the oil in hours not miles. 300 hours to be exact. And 300 hours is less than 25k miles with little to no idling if you do the math.

 

Les2 and Rollin Coal........

You might want to get the Cat maintenance guide and re-read. I am looking at the publication that is excerpted from the main Operation and Maintenance Manual, SEBU7186-08-01, publication date 2007, page 193, table 22, for 3406E, C-15 and C-16 engines, maximum permissible oil change intervals, and it shows...

Normal duty OCI at 30,000 miles, 80,000 lb operation, with 20-40% idle time, 5.5 - 6.5 mpg.

Servere duty OCI is 20,000 miles, more than 80,000 lb, and more than 40% idle, 5.5 or less mpg.

Light duty OCI is 40,000 miles, less than 80,000 lb, with less than 20% idle, 6.5 or more mpg.

Even the Severe duty comes darn close to the 25,000 I mentioned and most people don't pull over 80,000 lb, idle more than 40%, and get less than 5.5 mpg which is the standard for severe duty. Most people fall into the Normal interval which is 30,000 miles. At the most, I would change at 20,000 miles, even though that is being rather conservative for most folks. The day of 10,000 mile OCI's has long past, just like the days of 3000 mile oil changes in cars has come and gone. Old habits die hard.

Read for yourself. http://safety.cat.com/cda/files/557... On-Highway Engines-Maintenance Intervals.pdf

I posted it here for you, Les2, since, yes, you did miss the memo. Sorry, Les2, just had to poke back a little. just having a little fun. I really have no concern how often people do their oil changes. It is their money. Back to my original point though, people will shell out more than they need to for something like oil changes, but will fight, tooth and nail, to avoid spending for something that is a sound maintenance practice and could truly benefit them, like doing the damper at 500,000 miles.

 

My engine isn't even listed in there....LOL. Now my Dad's 6NZ is and my brother has a 3406E. I didn't see the 5EK prefix listed but its no matter since he runs his oil 30k+ before oil change due to the Spinner II he has. I'm gonna have to tell my dad about this and just have him pull an oil sample.

We did run our own test years ago to see how long before an oil sample would come back that said to change oil. At 18k they suggested a change for a mechanical engine.