First hit as a new O/O.

The turbos on the c-15 and c-13 are pretty well known for having a life span of roughly 650K. Thats why this O/O checked his in particular, sure as #### he had shaft play. Better to educate yourself how to do the work so you can check these things.

Managing the shop, I've had it happen a half dozen times where the company driver noticed all the tell-tale sign of the turbo going and decided to keep driving. From their perspective who cares if the turbo impeller touches down on the housing wall, blows apart the impeller, and then the fragments go through the engine? Not their dime, preventative maintenance is money well spent, just learn to do that stuff yourself. I wouldn't pay big bucks to have it checked either.

 

There's a big difference in checking for shaft play on a turbo, finding it and then replacing, versus just replacing it because it's at a certain time interval and not showing any signs.

 

It's done all the time in commercial aircraft maintenance. Hard replace / rebuild hour intervals. No option to defer in most cases. Aircraft are OOS until it's done and signed off, working or not.

 

We're not talking about falling out of the sky here with a plane load of tourists going to Disney. There is inherently more risk in being elevated thousand of feet above the surface of the earth and having a malfunction versus having one on Interstate 80 and coasting over to the shoulder of the road or limping it to the next exit.

I personally believe the FAA has done it's best to DISCOURAGE private aircraft ownership, so citing them really doesn't impress me.

 

you don't need to tell me about maint fund. my truck has spent more then it's made in the last 4 weeks and has just bout gone bankrupt.

and yep, i started with a cushy 10G in the bank.

my last problem running up a total of about $3500. for 10 road calls and 4 shops before someone finally figured out the problem and wasn't afraid to fix it.

if there's one thing i have learned. is that ALL shops aren't in the business of fixing. they are only in the business of selling parts.

with the exception of the last shop that actually fixed my most recent problem. they've all wanted to sell me crap i didn't need. and it all started with my oil change at kenworth so i could get an oil sample.

my last problem. started with first shop wanting to sell an ecm. the next guy wanted batteries to which i bought cuz 2 were shot. the next guy wanted to sell me a turbo first then diagnose the actual problem. the next shop replaced the crank and cam sensors and 2 fuel filters that were just replaced 2 days prior. and THEY wanted to sell me a fan hub. the next guy had no clue what to do or where to look. and the last guy sold me a complete ecm wiring harness. to which the problem MAY NOW BE FINALLY FIXED. least it's working so far up to this point.

if i was to buy everything i've been told i needed. i'd be into the truck 25G and truck would still be in the same condition.

you really gots to be on top of things. cuz one minor repair can turn into a major overhaul if you let it and will break you faster then you can snap your fingers.

so far i've only found one honest shop. but they are 55 miles from home.

 

I apologize for crapping on your thread. I had an o/o that didn't fix his water pump on his 3406e 600 right away and he ended buying a head. Good job.

 

The thing is you're talking about a water pump right? If the water pump ain't broke, don't fix it.. The book may say the normal usable service life of a water pump is 700K miles but it's not unusual at all for one to last beyond a million miles. Another thing, most of the time when they are about to go they'll let you know, water will start leaking out of the weep hole and you'll see it and know. I've known guys to ride around for a week or two just keeping the coolant topped off until they could get back home to put a new one on. You can do that most of the time. So why change a water pump if it ain't broke, imo the guy putting new turbos on on his acert CAT wasted money on a new water pump that he didn't need. But like is said everyone has their way of doing things and there is no right or wrong, just some ways are more costly than others.

 

That's the problem with buying used. You are buying someones else's problem.

You do not know how the engine was treated. Warmed up correctly? or haul 45k lbs from cold start. Excessive tire spin when stuck. Grinding gears on transmission etc. etc.

I would go thru it and change the easy stuff first.

Baseline it. New Belts, hoses, and all fluids. This should give you some idea of condition of components like transmission, diffs.

This is my take..