Maintenance
- Thread starter OHWC2012
- Start date
purgoose10
Veteran Expediter
That's true about tax's and warranty but I like to know what's done. I have manuals for any vehicle I purchase. I can change out a 6.0/6spd chevy in 8 hrs if I have one to go back. The only thing I won't do is rear gears. I don't know how to time the new ones. I did my TT's until I started doing Pac lease, now let them worry about it, doesn't matter where they break down.
More the better. Can't see paying $92/hr to let some trainee grease 14 of the 22 zirks on my truck (just watch them the next time and I can almost guarantee they will miss 4 or more). How many times have you taken in your truck for a small repair only to get it back with something else screwed up? I had a steering column replaced under warranty and found it replaced with all the guts for the turn signal cancel feature gone. Enough of my rant.
Not to get too off topic, here is my cheap fix for the day;
If charge air cooler starts leaking like most factory aluminum CAC's do after a couple/ few years at the point where the vanes meet the end tanks, take some surplus urethane you have laying around the house left over from that coffee table redo and put it in a bottle with a small tube and apply the urethane in several coats, letting dry 30 min. or so between coats, at each vane to tank intersection top and bottom, liberally letting it flow to all points of contacts from top to bottom, let it dry over night.
Not to get too off topic, here is my cheap fix for the day;
If charge air cooler starts leaking like most factory aluminum CAC's do after a couple/ few years at the point where the vanes meet the end tanks, take some surplus urethane you have laying around the house left over from that coffee table redo and put it in a bottle with a small tube and apply the urethane in several coats, letting dry 30 min. or so between coats, at each vane to tank intersection top and bottom, liberally letting it flow to all points of contacts from top to bottom, let it dry over night.
I do all of maintenance and major repairs myself. I completely agree with retidepxe that repair shops miss grease zerks, on purpose because they are to lazy to wiggle the end of the grease gun in hard to reach places, and yes, I too have to wonder what is up with getting a piece of equipment back with a new problem that wasnt there before. I will take a truck in very seldom if I am way behind on work or the shop is full and I need the truck for the morning. But honestly, I always have problems with medium sized jobs going bad when a repair shop does the work. Take a clutch replace for example. Stripped out bellhousing bolts when I get it back. Air lines rubbing on transmission cause they never tied anything back up. Grease all over everything, even inside the cab. Just cant deal with the sloppy work and pay $100 hour.
tax's ? I can save alot more money by doing the small job myself. the weekly grease jobs, lights ect....
I hate the truck stop $65.00 plus dollars hour and have some kid only hit the easy stuff and not look for anything else. I do take my truck to a dealer for the other bigger jobs.
I hate the truck stop $65.00 plus dollars hour and have some kid only hit the easy stuff and not look for anything else. I do take my truck to a dealer for the other bigger jobs.
Yeah, what he said.
Deville
Not a Member
I have replaced a few things here & there, most noteably the overflow contianer & exaust system.
I change filters now & than. Full oil changes are a PIA to store & lug the oil someplace that wll dispose of it I'll change the anti-freeze, re-charge the A/C, I need to change my A/C condensor & lines.
I change filters now & than. Full oil changes are a PIA to store & lug the oil someplace that wll dispose of it I'll change the anti-freeze, re-charge the A/C, I need to change my A/C condensor & lines.
I do as much as I can that dosent require special tools or machinery, and even then if its a mater of pulling the assembly like a trans or engine rebuild I will drive shaft and have somone press out a U joint its worth the 20 bucks compared to $ 275.00 at the dealership for a U joint job . Oh yeah they always have to replace other parts like the henway. I know the repair is done correctly the first time.
Bob Wolf
Bob Wolf
Anyone with auto experience can do more then one thinks on a big truck, with more room to work to boot. Any old school hot rodder knows how to adjust valve lash, one thing I learned real quick how to do on mine, takes about 45 minutes to an hour, including inspecting valve springs for breaks and any mechanical malfunctions under the valve cover, can't see paying a shop $300 for this everytime.
A/C repairs are not hard, do some research and go for it. If A/C compressor is getting too loud when on, replace it before it throws a belt and strands you. Be sure and replace the dryer and accumulator as well, junk tends to collect in them. Harbor Freight sells a vacuum device to evac the system for $15 bucks that requires compressed air. I've done it on the road before using the truck's air system. Oh, and most tractor stores, Kubota, John Deere etc can make you're bunk A/C lines usually cheaper then the truck shops can. A/C compressor, dryer, accumulator and freon ran about $375 total. Beats paying a shop north of $1200 to do the job.
Electrical items not hard to diagnose with a test light, always and negative and a positive. No power, move toward the battery until u find it. I was able to diagnose my brake light switch AMU with a test light. AMU's have been discussed here before as a major problem. Install them correctly and they are not a problem.
Injectors, something else I have learned to remove and replace, but be sure and read up on the procedure, important things like replacing o-rings, evacuating the fuel and oil out of the cylinders. I used Justanswers.com the 1st time and was able to gain the Cat repair manual pages online for $18 (your choice what you decide to pay the responder). I have also learned many times injector streaming problems (excessive smoke, rough idle, slight miss, poor mileage) are caused by dirty injector tips, which can be scraped clean. Get one of the bench top jewelers magnifying glass thingys and look for the injector nozzle holes. Mine Cat has 4 holes per injector. Use a razor blade and scrape em clean. I do this on mine as a general mntnce item every 80 to 100,000 miles since my motor is over it's life expectancy (805,000 mi.s vs life exp of 750,000).
My alternator stopped charging one morning, took it off and carried on my bike to the dealer as a core and they even R & R'd the pulley for me at no charge. About three different wrenches or socket sizes and your back in business.
Water pump is a little more complicated. Although i have replaced it in a truck stop parking lot one time, the last time it went out in northern Cali, to get back to TX I trimmed down a piece of soft drift wood I found to fit the weep hole, coated it with black RTV and tapped in. Made it home with minimal leakage, maybe lost a quart in 3,000. Got home and replaced in my drive.
Had a nickle (don't ask) take out my radiator and a chunk of a fan blade while on one good load, replaced it in the street by my son's apartment while on a 2,000 mi. load, saved the load and the labor (did buy my son a tank of gas and sent him a check for $100 for his help). Wasn't easy but we did it in a matter of about 10 hours, including evacuating and recharging the A/C and running 180 mi. round trip to FL of Houston for parts, they even had the correct Cat radiator fan is stock. Load was a weekender so we still made it on time.
I'm researching gaining an ASE cert thru online courses on big rig brakes to do them myself, but until then, even though I'm sure I can do it, I'll leave them to the shop for liability reasons.
I realize some of these are considered repairs, but I'm just throwing some things out there that are not that hard to do if you can turn a wrench. When I started driving some 6 yrs ago, many times I was told not to rely on my hot rod days experience and that the truck is a whole new "kettle of fish", but really it is not, just have to apply yourself a little.
Peace out
A/C repairs are not hard, do some research and go for it. If A/C compressor is getting too loud when on, replace it before it throws a belt and strands you. Be sure and replace the dryer and accumulator as well, junk tends to collect in them. Harbor Freight sells a vacuum device to evac the system for $15 bucks that requires compressed air. I've done it on the road before using the truck's air system. Oh, and most tractor stores, Kubota, John Deere etc can make you're bunk A/C lines usually cheaper then the truck shops can. A/C compressor, dryer, accumulator and freon ran about $375 total. Beats paying a shop north of $1200 to do the job.
Electrical items not hard to diagnose with a test light, always and negative and a positive. No power, move toward the battery until u find it. I was able to diagnose my brake light switch AMU with a test light. AMU's have been discussed here before as a major problem. Install them correctly and they are not a problem.
Injectors, something else I have learned to remove and replace, but be sure and read up on the procedure, important things like replacing o-rings, evacuating the fuel and oil out of the cylinders. I used Justanswers.com the 1st time and was able to gain the Cat repair manual pages online for $18 (your choice what you decide to pay the responder). I have also learned many times injector streaming problems (excessive smoke, rough idle, slight miss, poor mileage) are caused by dirty injector tips, which can be scraped clean. Get one of the bench top jewelers magnifying glass thingys and look for the injector nozzle holes. Mine Cat has 4 holes per injector. Use a razor blade and scrape em clean. I do this on mine as a general mntnce item every 80 to 100,000 miles since my motor is over it's life expectancy (805,000 mi.s vs life exp of 750,000).
My alternator stopped charging one morning, took it off and carried on my bike to the dealer as a core and they even R & R'd the pulley for me at no charge. About three different wrenches or socket sizes and your back in business.
Water pump is a little more complicated. Although i have replaced it in a truck stop parking lot one time, the last time it went out in northern Cali, to get back to TX I trimmed down a piece of soft drift wood I found to fit the weep hole, coated it with black RTV and tapped in. Made it home with minimal leakage, maybe lost a quart in 3,000. Got home and replaced in my drive.
Had a nickle (don't ask) take out my radiator and a chunk of a fan blade while on one good load, replaced it in the street by my son's apartment while on a 2,000 mi. load, saved the load and the labor (did buy my son a tank of gas and sent him a check for $100 for his help). Wasn't easy but we did it in a matter of about 10 hours, including evacuating and recharging the A/C and running 180 mi. round trip to FL of Houston for parts, they even had the correct Cat radiator fan is stock. Load was a weekender so we still made it on time.
I'm researching gaining an ASE cert thru online courses on big rig brakes to do them myself, but until then, even though I'm sure I can do it, I'll leave them to the shop for liability reasons.
I realize some of these are considered repairs, but I'm just throwing some things out there that are not that hard to do if you can turn a wrench. When I started driving some 6 yrs ago, many times I was told not to rely on my hot rod days experience and that the truck is a whole new "kettle of fish", but really it is not, just have to apply yourself a little.
Peace out
H
halldavid328
Guest
I use to do about 60% of the maintenance on my Sprinter.
I sold my truck for $20k to pay my younger sister's university fees
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I sold my truck for $20k to pay my younger sister's university fees
Edit: Unauthorized Advertisement
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