26,000 hours with 160,000 miles?

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by Epiphvany, Jan 15, 2022.

  1. SmallPackage

    SmallPackage Road Train Member

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    FL dealer could probably do it if they still have a good Cat tech. FL hasn’t installed a Cat engine in their trucks in 10 years so they may be lacking sharp Cat knowledge.
     
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  3. Epiphvany

    Epiphvany Bobtail Member

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    Great thanks. Good to know
     
  4. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    3126 cat is a cylinder en cast engine, meaning it has no sleeves like a cummins 8.3. Some have in the past a hard time finding parts for this engine. While it gives very good service, it can be one of these engines that when it craps out, your stuck.

    with that kind of hours on it, assuming it is overall clock time, I would get a Dyno on it with a blowby, get a full ecm dump with a breakdown of the hours and oil analysis on engine, trans and rear axle.

    I would if everything comes back good, offer $25k
     
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  5. beastr123

    beastr123 Road Train Member

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    I did not say to not get it.
    I have seen Cats runup to 2 million miles with lots of idle time and no major work but they had almost religious service programs in place. If this truck was well looked after mechanically then an oil sample and blowby check as well as lifting a valve cover or 2 will tell you a lot. buy a set of valve cover gaskets and a Cat oil sample kit and use them.
    The oil sample should be taken from a hot engine right after shut-down and even with a new oil change you will get an indication of excessive wear. The best way to sample is to pull the drain plug, take a sample after draining a quart or so (to ensure no external contamination) then put the plug back in and top up the oil.
    As far as blowby goes put a clean white piece of paper below the pipe and run the engine at an idle for 5 min and observe how much smoke, steam or water vapor comes out. A small amount of steam or vapor is normal. if you get more than 2 drops of oil with smoke in that 5 min run then expect a oil consumption problem.
    When looking under the valve cover look for lumps and chunks of sludge, an almost smooth black coating on everything is to be expected.
    If all the checks look good have the mechanic check the valve lash before closing up and pay the man for the truck. You have already stated that the rest is in good shape for your purpose. You should always put away something for maintenance.
     
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  6. Epiphvany

    Epiphvany Bobtail Member

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    Thanks to everyone for all of your feedback and advice. I actually decided to step away from this one. It's not easy for me to get to look at the truck in person (would have to fly there) and the almost 28,000 hours on the engine really scares me . . . even if I'm worrying unnecessarily. I'm going to be investing a lot time, effort and $$$ converting this vehicle and I want to ensure I start with a solid foundation. I think if the engine had half those hours on it, or was an engine that could be more easily rebuilt, I'd consider it But I just don't think I'd be happy taking the risk on this one. If it was down the road and I could easily inspect it, then maybe I would have felt more confident but I think I'll have to pass and keep searching. Thanks again to everyone for their feedback, I really appreciate it.
     
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  7. REO6205

    REO6205 Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    I think you made a good choice. There will always be trucks for sale.
     
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  8. Epiphvany

    Epiphvany Bobtail Member

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    Yeah, I think so. Really liked the truck but had to be sensible. As you say there will always be more trucks for sale. I'll bide my time until I can find exactly the right one.
     
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