Cat C-7 just quits

[Catpowered]

Cruising along on the interstate I thought I detected a slight miss in the CAT C-7 engine in my 04 Meridian. Upon exiting the interstate and pulling up to the stop sign, the engine died. I tried to restart it, but it would crank but not fire. I tried this several times with no luck. So here I am, blocking the exit ramp with cars and trucks stacking up behind me. I put out the reflective triangles and called for roadside service...but I knew it would be hours or days before they reached me in this remote area. I tried to start it once more, this time with the accelerator pedal depressed...it worked! The engine fired and then came up to rpm...I revved it to the limit a few times and then pulled up the triangles and drove off...whew! The engine seemed to still have a slight miss so I had a local truck shop change both the fuel filters. However, it still seems to have that slight miss but no problem with idle now. I added a can of Diesel Clean at my last stop so haven't driven it since....I am somewhat apprehensive about my return to Arizona from Wisconsin. I contacted the Freightliner dealer that services the coach and he thought it may be an air leak in the fuel system. I traced the fuel lines from the tank to the engine and could find nothing wrong. Anyone experience this slight miss in their CAT engine and what was the cause?

[1ciderdog]

My C-7 330 HP with about 50K miles had an ocassional mis-fire but not a consistent problem. I could not pin it down to a specific RPM range or going up grades or when level but it happened whever it felt like it. We were on a trip and it seemed to get worse or happen more often - to the point my wife noticed it. I took it to a Cat Dealer and the bad part of the story is it was the Heui (sp?). A good part of the story is I had the Good Sam policy - a Good Sam inspector agreed with the problem and they replaced the pump and six fuel injectors. Cost was my deductable plus things not covered such at oil recycling fees, etc. I hope this is not the same type of problem (I almost did not respond for fear of being the bearer of possible bad news)

As a thought you might want to post your question on the Cat forum on this site.
Safe Travels

[skigramp]

Hurry to the nearest CAT service center ... they will plug in their analyzer and tell you the codes ...

That is how I found out I had a HUEI (sp?) problem.

[bdpreece]

Get thee to a Cat dealer to check the huei pump. Some earlier c7's have pump problems...Seems the bearing in the pump can fail...Cat upgraded the pump around 2005-6. If they do replace it make sure they put in the new upgraded pump.

[Catpowered]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1ciderdog My C-7 330 HP with about 50K miles had an ocassional mis-fire but not a consistent problem. I could not pin it down to a specific RPM range or going up grades or when level but it happened whever it felt like it. We were on a trip and it seemed to get worse or happen more often - to the point my wife noticed it. I took it to a Cat Dealer and the bad part of the story is it was the Heui (sp?). A good part of the story is I had the Good Sam policy - a Good Sam inspector agreed with the problem and they replaced the pump and six fuel injectors. Cost was my deductable plus things not covered such at oil recycling fees, etc. I hope this is not the same type of problem (I almost did not respond for fear of being the bearer of possible bad news) As a thought you might want to post your question on the Cat forum on this site. Safe Travels

Thanks for the input. I read your previous posting about the Heui pump and that sounded like a possibility. If the problem persists I shall take it to the Freightliner dealer for diagnosis.