My c15 needs your help!

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by Bigrigmayo93, Jul 20, 2018.

  1. Bigrigmayo93

    Bigrigmayo93 Light Load Member

    132
    76
    Nov 28, 2016
    Chicago Illinois
    0
    ive owned my 03 w9 with an mbn c15 for about a year & a half now.
    It has 800k mi. She’s been great till now.
    The problems are starting. All at the same time..
    The engine was pretty much stock. 475 hp. (No flash YET)
    All of a sudden I lose power & have low boost. I was getting about 35 psi. Now I’m only getting 22 psi. The boost builds up very slow so very little power on low rpms. I’ve tried pretty much all the simple tests, no boost leaks from the humps, or from the CAC. Turbo looked fine, normal slack, No broken fins & no oil.
    But my mechanic recommended to change turbo anyways. So last week I put a new cat turbo. Like I said, no flash yet.. which I’m glad I didn’t invest in yet because changing the turbo did not fix my problem.
    But during this process, my mechanic checked the ecm & he told me my hp is set at 550 hp. Idk how or why. Because I didn’t do it & the previous owner (my uncle) knew nothing about it. It had an original cat turbo & original exhaust manifold. So I’m not sure exactly what tune or rerate? I got decent fuel mileage. I cruise 60-65 mph & I get 6-6.5 mpg so I’m not complaining.

    I have no check engine light.
    So I’m not really sure what to do next.. of course my mechanic explained to me all the possibilities, but he would have to take a look at everything so hopefully we’re not just going to start changing parts, but find the main cause.

    A day after changing the turbo my valve cover started leaking oil.

    & also my coolant is running pretty hot. These past days have been in the 70s here in Chicago. My coolant temp will run around 200-210 empty & rise to 230 when loaded. My fan isn’t kicking on by itself anymore. So once I manually turn it on the temp drops back to 200-210. No cooler than that.

    & a while back I started having coolant leak out the overflow hose. So I’m assuming my head gasket is bad. So I guess it’s time to open the head.

    Any tips or info will be extremely appreciated. I will try to answer questions with the best of my knowledge, since I’m not a mechanic.. thanks!
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Have you had your radiator cleaned out? What temp is your thermostat. You could also change your thermostats.
    Have you had an oil sample done?

    You can get a tune put in your ecm to see if it's in need of adjustment. Due to the high mileage. PM me if you want a reliable tuner.

    You can save a buck by having your mechanic roll in some new bearings rods and mains. It bought me 200k miles before I had to Inframe my mxs block.

    Bottom line is your in the infant stage of having an Inframe done. When you get to that stage replace the Head, don't rebuild the old one.
     
    Bigrigmayo93 Thanks this.
  4. Bigrigmayo93

    Bigrigmayo93 Light Load Member

    132
    76
    Nov 28, 2016
    Chicago Illinois
    0
    Last week I also changed two radiator hoses so I flushed out the radiator to replace them. But I was thinking about buying a new radiator anyways since I’m starting to noticed a small crack on the side where I see a coolant stain dripping down.
    I have not done an oil sample though..
    I haven’t really looked into it..
     
  5. DieselTech_Aus

    DieselTech_Aus Light Load Member

    274
    309
    Dec 20, 2017
    WA
    0
    boost and fuel in 6NZ with mechanical wastegate work very closely together.

    I would be getting direct ECM data of boost pressure, fuel temp, TPS, status flags, FRC limit, rack position etc during the fault. that will help point you in the right direction.

    also look at fuel pressure with a mechanical gauge BEFORE AND AFTER the fuel filter.

    what does your pyro sensor report? I would say your power/boost issue could also be linked to your overheating problem
     
    peterbilt_2005 and Bigrigmayo93 Thank this.
  6. Bigrigmayo93

    Bigrigmayo93 Light Load Member

    132
    76
    Nov 28, 2016
    Chicago Illinois
    0
    I had the fuel pressure checked. I guess I will have to ask my mechanic if he did before & after fuel filter. But the pressure was fine.
    My pyro reads 7-800 empty at 60 mph & jumps to 900 loaded. On a small hill it will get to 1000 so I take is easy.

    But the overheating recently happened this week. I’ve had power issues for about 3 months now.
     
  7. DieselTech_Aus

    DieselTech_Aus Light Load Member

    274
    309
    Dec 20, 2017
    WA
    0
    its not something silly like a faulty atmospheric pressure sensor?

    that can cause all of the above with the exception of coolant being passed by the rad cap out the overflow
     
    peterbilt_2005 and Oxbow Thank this.
  8. Jas

    Jas Medium Load Member

    We dont have MBN engines out my way but I know they have a solenoid boost controller, has it operation been checked?, 1000 EGT seems to indicate its getting enough fuel so the problem appears to be in the air system, intake or exhaust restriction are a possibility too.
    Blocking the wastegate hose and going for a short run should tell you if the wastegate solenoid is bad but do so at your own risk, technically this can overspeed the turbo.
     
    Oxbow Thanks this.
  9. Bigrigmayo93

    Bigrigmayo93 Light Load Member

    132
    76
    Nov 28, 2016
    Chicago Illinois
    0
     
  10. Bigrigmayo93

    Bigrigmayo93 Light Load Member

    132
    76
    Nov 28, 2016
    Chicago Illinois
    0
    Well we checked for leaks. There are none. I have no mufflers. I have new air filters. The turbo & wastegate are new but I can try it
     
    Oxbow Thanks this.
  11. Bigrigmayo93

    Bigrigmayo93 Light Load Member

    132
    76
    Nov 28, 2016
    Chicago Illinois
    0
    Update.

    My mechanic checked out the truck today. He said I have one bad fuel injector. I believe #4. He said it’s not warming up?
    We called kenworth, they quoted me $600 for each injector. So i assume I should change all of them since they are original.
    I’m praying this fixes my problem.
     
    Oxbow Thanks this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.