Air Leaks

layoutshooter · Mar 30, 2011

Put the truck in the shop for a DOT and to get an air leak fixed. At first they said there was none. I insisted that they look again. They found a small leak in a line for the lift axle, still showed air lose. They looked around and found a "quick release" valve on the lift axle leaking. Replaced that. Gauges still showed a leak. They hunted around some more. Found ANOTHER leak, this time it was the "fan hub". Needs an "O" ring kit. What fun this is!!

purgoose10 · Mar 30, 2011

layoutshooter said:
Put the truck in the shop for a DOT and to get an air leak fixed. At first they said there was none. I insisted that they look again. They found a small leak in a line for the lift axle, still showed air lose. They looked around and found a "quick release" valve on the lift axle leaking. Replaced that. Gauges still showed a leak. They hunted around some more. Found ANOTHER leak, this time it was the "fan hub". Needs an "O" ring kit. What fun this is!!

Fan hub o-rings have a tendency to dry out and start to leak. Cat's have more than others for some reason and Cummins also. I used to change them quite frequently.

layoutshooter · Mar 30, 2011

purgoose10 said:
Fan hub o-rings have a tendency to dry out and start to leak. Cat's have more than others for some reason and Cummins also. I used to change them quite frequently.

This is a MBE4000. They have to remove the radiator to do this. This one day job has turned into 3. What a pain.

danthewolf00 · Mar 30, 2011

fuuny thing is they started out saying it didn't have a leak!

layoutshooter · Mar 30, 2011

danthewolf00 said:
fuuny thing is they started out saying it didn't have a leak!

The tech did not watch the gauges for any length of time. I showed them the drop off on the secondary gauge after a few minutes and they looked harder. I think the term is "lazy"

Dynamite 1 · Mar 30, 2011

joe, i have had that done to mine and they did not have to take out the radiator. they did remove fan shroud. thats alot of extra labor.

layoutshooter · Mar 30, 2011

Dynamite 1 said:
joe, i have had that done to mine and they did not have to take out the radiator. they did remove fan shroud. thats alot of extra labor.

What engine?

greg334 · Mar 30, 2011

You will have less of a problem if they use synthetic O ring grease instead of the stuff that the kits come with.

purgoose10 · Mar 30, 2011

When I had air I used to use my Windex bottle and spray valves and such. It would bubble up and show leak's. Did it when I service my truck.

layoutshooter · Mar 30, 2011

Thanks for the tips. I have been able to find SOME of the leaks that this truck has. I could not find these. They had problems. Three days. what a pain. This puts me way behind on my plans for getting back out. I still have the reefer maintenance to do and the water pump and service on the APU.

Dynamite 1 · Mar 31, 2011

sorry joe, same engine as you. sometimes it matters what they are willing to do. currently having the clutch on the a/c replaced. had this done a little over 2 years ago but the place i had it done said you couldnt replace just the clutch it had to be the whole compressor. never gave it a second thought. my mechanic here at home says it is replaceable and is doing it. same comp. put on as the original. so i got took out on the road, go figure. and yes use the synthetic grease on the o-rings.

layoutshooter · Mar 31, 2011

Dynamite 1 said:
sorry joe, same engine as you. sometimes it matters what they are willing to do. currently having the clutch on the a/c replaced. had this done a little over 2 years ago but the place i had it done said you couldnt replace just the clutch it had to be the whole compressor. never gave it a second thought. my mechanic here at home says it is replaceable and is doing it. same comp. put on as the original. so i got took out on the road, go figure. and yes use the synthetic grease on the o-rings.

Thanks for the info.

layoutshooter · Mar 31, 2011

Update: They ended up having to replace the fan hub assembly. They said that there were some aluminum parts that had become "stuck" from corrosion and could not be taken apart. I have NO idea if I was ripped off. I know that parts can get messed up like that. I have dealt with things like that myself. I can only hope they were on the up and up.

greg334 · Mar 31, 2011

Well did you get the old parts?

They are not cores or "heavy" so you can check it out yourself in your spare time.

layoutshooter · Mar 31, 2011

greg334 said:
Well did you get the old parts?

They are not cores or "heavy" so you can check it out yourself in your spare time.

I did not keep them but I did look at them. They appeared corroded. I don't know if they could have been rebuilt or not. When I posted that last update I had not seen them yet. The air leaks seem to be gone. The gauges don't drop like a stone any more and the compressor is no longer running all the time like it was.

davekc · Mar 31, 2011

I would go with Greg. Just about any fan hub can be rebuilt. That is assuming it was even needed.
Some places have technicians, and others are part changers.
Was this done at a Freightliner dealership?

layoutshooter · Mar 31, 2011

davekc said:
I would go with Greg. Just about any fan hub can be rebuilt. That is assuming it was even needed.
Some places have technicians, and others are part changers.
Was this done at a Freightliner dealership?

Yep, in Monroe. I used to have a GOOD guy but his shop is closed and I don't have any idea what happened to him. I am still trying to find a shop, near the house, that I can use when we are home.

The secondary gauge was dropping, rather fast, as I was driving down the road. The compressor would kick in and it would recover. It no longer does that. It holds steady. There were 3 other leaks fixed.

If someone knows a GOOD place to get trucks fixed in the Monroe/Toledo area PLEASE pass the info along to me. I do NOT like the Western Star/Freightliner shops in Monroe or Toledo. I use them only because they are close to the house.

davekc · Mar 31, 2011

Not surprised on the Freightliner guess.
Not all, but most FL's couldn't fix a flat on a bike without replacing the whole thing.
From your location I would likely go to Scott's commercial in Toledo. Most of his business is from Freightliner. He fixes the stuff they screw up or can't figure out. Much better labor rate as well and he doesn't take days to change a light bulb.

layoutshooter · Mar 31, 2011

davekc said:
Not surprised on the Freightliner guess.
Not all, but most FL's couldn't fix a flat on a bike without replacing the whole thing.
From your location I would likely go to Scott's commercial in Toledo. Most of his business is from Freightliner. He fixes the stuff they screw up or can't figure out. Much better labor rate as well and he doesn't take days to change a light bulb.

I use Scotts a lot. They do ALL of my reefer and APU work. I used the Freightliner because I thought it was the AMU that I replace every 6 months or so and the one I had was under warrenty with Freightliner. In fact, my truck goes into Scott's tomorrow for reefer maintenance, and a new water pump on my APU.

nightcreacher · Mar 31, 2011

Well I'm in Company truck.HAs air leak too,but only leaks when trailer is hooked up.Even leaks when air lines are not connected.Have replace air bag,had whole in it,but didn't fix problem.The seconday guage is what shows the leak,doesn't go down far enough to drain the air from the primary guage.Been to 4 different shops,no one can find the leak,have spraid soapy liquid on all fittings and lines,cant hear it and guage goes down slow enough that wont show up on DOT,in fact just passed a DOT inspection.Oh well,guess I'll just live with it.My truck doesn't have air leak,just cracked head and million miles on rest of motor.So far best price I got was 7000 bucks,want 10,000