3406E misfire that won't go away, even after overhaul

Thanks Sauer! I'll have to try the one cylinder test, I haven't tried that one. I realized that if it has a miss like this and the automated tests say everything is OK, the automated tests probably not worth a darn. What I've been doing is cutting out one cylinder at a time via Cat ET, and it'll go like this: cyl 1 running (example numbers) 3.14...cyl 1 cut out 3.32.....cylinder 2 running...3.13...3.14.....cut out 3.30...3.33...etc...cylinder 3 running 3.14....cylinder 3 cut out 3.17....3.16...etc. the last 3 are comparable to 1 and 2 but it's obvious cylinder 3 is the culprit somehow. BRAND NEW cylinder head too. I had been running Sinclair diesel since it was cheapest and most convenient, but I just took it on a road trip from Colorado to Missouri to swap trailers for a new contract (hence the reason I'm tapped...lol), and I filled up with different fuel (cenex) and there wasn't any difference. Every other tank usually I do use Powerservice (silver bottle, 250 gal treatment) and don't see much of a difference. I'll have to try that analyzer!

I also had the 550 LowNox program refreshed to factory Cat 550 pre lownox, and put on the 0000 BorgWarner turbo too.

 

Thanks Swaan! I do have access to a couple of E's that I could swap, but the owners (uncle and dad) didn't want the timing calibration changed when I swap, I could be absolutely wrong but is it a roll of the dice to see if the timing calibration of the ECMs I could swap in wouldn't match my engine and cause the same kinds of misses I had right after I overhauled? I think the chances would be pretty slim that just #3 would miss if I switched them out just to test if it is the ECM that's causing the problem. I'll swap ECMs with one of these, they're both early model E's, one has a brakesaver, and the other has a custom tune.

 

For the dial indicator on the cam, is it just a matter of pulling 3/4 Jake off and rockers, setting up the dial (I have a magnetic one), and having someone bar the engine?

 

It's 5EK83742, 1997 FLD120 #770342. 18-spd, 40k locking diffs. 3.91 ratio, it should pull like a demon but doesn't. It feels ultimately at 80k gross like my dad's 5EK feels like at 102k loaded with sugar beets.

 

Ha ha. I like those odds! Can only get better from here especially with the foundation I've given this engine!

 

Interesting you mention the injectors. Cat denied warranty on all of them initially, because they tested "within spec" and maybe due to my shortsightedness I raised heck with them because the NEW injector smoothed out under load, which in my mind at the time meant those two were bad. It was the strangest thing, they would idle fine but obvious miss under load. I couldn't get above 27psi of boost with the remans. The thing about the new injector in, It'll hit 35 psi when it's relatively cool, but when everything is up to temp it'll settle around 31-32psi warm. I know it sounded impossible with 2 different ones misfiring in that same hole, but with no bubbles in coolant on bottle test, no bubbles in fuel return line with a clear hose, I figured my build was OK and it was just my insanely bad luck that I got 2 bad remans in a row. They did honor the warranty eventually.