Driving 2012 Prostar (with Level 4 Warning)

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by chito, Aug 16, 2019.

  1. chito

    chito Bobtail Member

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    Aug 13, 2019
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    My 2012 Prostar went to Level 4 today without any advance warning. I immediately started to lose power (especially going up hills). Thankfully I was close to my home in Washington, DC where I'm parked for the night (I drove 100 miles with the constant beeping)

    I drive Power-only and am pulling a Dry Van (with non urgent freight) and only have 350 miles to go to Winston Salem (where I will drop the trailer).

    I know I need a new DPF and want to take my truck to the shop soonest, but I'm thinking of driving the rest of the way so I can first drop the trailer and complete my load. Then I can find a shop nearby (in North Carolina) that can do the work (without having to rush).

    I know that driving with a clogged DPF is bad for the engine. So I'm thinking of splitting up the 350 miles in 2-3 legs, stopping for several hours in between to give the engine a chance to rest and cool down. What do you think? The client told me to take my time but does not want to wait until my truck is fixed.

    BTW, I'm not going to take the truck to the shop to do a forced Regen. I did this two days ago, so it wasn't very helpful (and would only be a waste of time) Once I deliver the trailer, I can go the shop and just get a new DPF installed.

    Should I drive the remaining 350 miles in 2-3 legs with plenty of rest in between? BTW, the beeping didn't affect me - I'm mostly concerned with my engine.
     
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  3. djbattle

    djbattle Light Load Member

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    Jun 27, 2014
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    Don't touch the filter go on line and search maxforce dpf bypass ,for 4 grand you can make that truck run 1.5 million and never worry about egr coolers or dog filters again
     
  4. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    After careful thought Your engine is choking on reheated left overs. Get her to a shop with the idea that you will be going to shop before you deliver load possibly.

    The engine is merely protecting itself by derating. It knows nothing about our problems in life.

    I have pounded the table until blue in the face, Emissions is the source of 95% if not a little more of our problems in this industry.

    Giving the engine a rest? HA the nerve. That'll be the day. I use Mr Pyrometer to understand that kitty under the hood after a bad pull all out on hands and knees. That was around a 1550 degree pull. Somewhat beyond the redline max.
     
  5. tnevin225

    tnevin225 Road Train Member

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  6. Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    Once you reach level 4, only a Laptop with ServiceMaxx software can bring it down.
     
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