CAT C15 /6NZ trouble continues

Ya, i hear ya. And they have the market in our area, so its the "take it or leeave it" deal they proposed. My hands were tied, a unusual feeling im becoming acustomed to these past 18 months.
I text the previous owner of my truck, again, asking if in any way shape or form the ECM in , now my, truck, was plugged into a enhancer in any way (bully dog or other) he said absolutely not,
But he said the previous owner (before he owned it) had it on the dyno in Toronto at CAT, they tuned the ECM to the truck and never had he nor this guy owning it before me, had any issues. He also said of 2 of the 3 Petes he owned, he had a shudder and once a complete shut down and each time it was ECM issues, and he changed the ECM on both occasions.

 

The tech im getting up with on Monday says he carries ECM's in his service truck, one for my 6NZ also. He said if it comes down to it, he will simply hang one off my engine and plug it in and we will go for a ride. Next week may be when i drop to my knees in prayer, thanking the man upstairs. But, if you see on the news a trucker roadside in tears, being loaded on a shuttle with the words on the side " TO ASYLUM" , somewhere between Guelph and Hamilton Ontario, you know niether his test ECM nor he could help me . (I DONT WANT TO EVEN THINK ABOUT IT)
Thanks again for everyones continuing help and support.

 

Emodel CAt

Yes, i understand and will pass that info to the guy im meeting up with Monday (this is truck307)
Thanks again

 

Hey guys. I met up with Greg, mobile tech with 20+ years at CAT who , after asking why hes no longer with CAT he replied; " It was boring, no challenge anymore after 20 years" This is the guy i need, seeing as he lives within a couple hours of me.
Now listen to this.
Greg read my post and took it uppon himself to go to CAT in Concord Ontario(where i went a few times in hopes to get help) and he pulled my service records,reviewed them all, called me (i had no idea he was doing all this in effort to help me) and the s
next day we met each other on my load route (he wanted my trailer loaded, and loaded it was, i packed it up to 142,800 lbs) at a Walmart pkg lot. He drove for an hour with me, plugged into my ECM port, studying various paremeters as i drove further north. After returning to the Walmart lot, he pressure tested my intercooler, looked the engine over, and pulled out another ECM from his well stocked new service truck. After temp hanging it off the side of my current ECM he uploaded the exact same data as my current ECM so to be able to compare apples with apples.
Closed the hood and said "there, try that for a week and let me know" I asked if he at least wanted my information, my address, a payment....something, but nope, he said "first lets get you all fixed up" .. Only one thing i can say, "UNBELIEVABLE" X 10 !!!
Im ever so grateful to Greg. Now, for the verdict.
Before he installed this loaner ECM i was dropping gears to get over ant hills like a bad habit.
Now, i have power again, more than before thats for sure. But ive had more when a stumble free day came around. My route home entails climbing the Niagara escarpment, a 5 mile long grade of twists and turns. Every night i climb it to get home. On (rare) occasions i can rifle up this grade all gears out (18) doing 65+ MPH (empty, 60,300 Lbs) But more normally i cant get more than 45 to 50 MPH up that hill as it stumbles and pops all the way up, at 12 to 13th gear "tops".
Its a regular and equal comparison, climbing this mountain nightly.
So, it pulls much much better, stumbling (which always started once i was in high range) is no more . The concern i have is for the "pop...pop....pop" above around 1550 RPM (which i rarely need to reach those engine speeds anyway, but do on occasion) Greg is thinking injector issue, aiming at #5 as per his diagnostics, or a bent valve. So, before my CAT warranty runs out i need to address this, or should i say "CAT" needs to dig deeper.
Normally i get home nightly, but ive had a higher than usual volume of work since Monday and i didnt get home last night (i have a contract , 100% dedicated, hauling all scrap stamping materials for Honda & Toyota) so i idled 4 hours for a power nap last night/this morning. Tomorrow morning will be another test ive yet to try, cold start the truck and warm up for 20 minutes and go. If the attached symptom disappears (truck runs rediculously horrible with fuel etc cold) then i for sure will first off be looking tobuy a new ECM
Guys, thanks very much for your ongoing support, i really appreciate it all. Theres alot of good souls out there, real Salt-of-the-earth people.
Im dead tired and need my bed. I will keep everyone posted. In the mean time, should anyone have any supportive information, please post it for me.
All my best. Have a great night folks. And remember, my number if you want to phone or text me, is as follows; 905 746 5505
Sleep well....

 

Thanks Spsauerland, much appreciate you thoughts.
Today was another day of discovery, finding out more and more the effects of the splitter (on the stick) are far reaching.
As mentioned, engine speeds at / over 1500 start quite a rumble and pull down power. Coming to a stop i once again played with the high / low range splitter, toggling it up & down, all the while watching my road speed (odom) needle max out (jump high up to the top) and fall back down again. Weird, is an understatement, more so after the guys at a old time / long in business tranny rebuilders / diff rebuilders shop in Milton Ontario "Halton Gear" tell me "wow, we've never heard of that before,".
Tomorrow i will ask the opinion of the shop who rebuilt my tranny (approx. one year prior to me owning this truck) and tore it down looking for any issues (about 8 months after i owned this truck) and finding one tooth off a gear but must have dropped down before dancing around doing no damage otherwise at all. That gear was replaced, all others were fine, i had him install new bearings after a full flush out (even though he said they were fine) and i took it back to the shop who pulled it out, they re-installed it with a new 2050 clutch (the clutch in it was 99% new, with no noticeable wear, but i was chasing a ghost and didnt want the old clutch put back in thinking it was unbalanced or other)
Its a strange thing thats happening. If im experiencing that shudder at 1500 + RPM, all i do is toggle that splitter a few times , the needle bounces on my speedo, and thereafter the (above noted) shudder is gone. Now , can anyone tell me why ? The bouncing of the needle has to be fed to the ECM from the speed sensor, wouldnt you think ? The sensor is about 6 months new, the twisted pair wiring ( speed sensor to ECM) is a week or so new. This bouncing of the needle logs a "QUICK STOP" occurance in my ECM, Both, the shop i use and Greg also saw my Quick-Stops in my ECM were at maximum recording notations, over 200 !!
So i guess the question is, how is this happening, and why is it happening, and how is this effecting my 1500+ RPM shudder / power absorbsion, and why is toggling the splitter causing the engine to run great above 1500 (i rarely need that much RPM, but with 140,000 Lb gross weight all day, occasionally i tip slightly above the 1500 RPM mark. )
So, if my good friends here on this site can elaborate on this a bit, with any sort of information at all to explane to me the forementioned, that would be great, as this one (also) has me stumped.
Well, im closing out my log book and heading to the house to see my wonderful family before i go to bed.
Have a great night guys (and girls, if any on my blog here)
O, almost forgot, a new ECM is (Canadian $) $4,114.89, as per Peterbilt Hagersville Ontario. I still will call down to CAT accross the border in the Buffalo / Niagara falls NY area, or thereabouts.
Have a good night, and thanks again for your ongoing help , information and support.