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Alpine Dave · 10-24-2012, 02:50 PM

A little over a week ago I was in Glenwood Springs, CO., returning from a trip back to my home near Denver. At a rest stop I noticed the smell of diesel fuel and noticed a fine mist was covering the rear of my coach and my towed. This is the 3rd time this has happened to me during the last 20K miles. The first time I had a cracked rate-shape tube on the CAPS fuel injector pump and the second time I had a leaking lift pump. I figured 1 of these 2 components had failed again. I opened the rear bed and after close inspection found that the leak was coming from the fitting on the back (distributor) of the pump. This is the fitting where the rate-shape tube connects to the distributor. But the leak was at the end where the fitting connected to the distributor and not the other end where the rate-shape tube connected to the fitting. To make a very long story shorter, without all the tools I needed, and unable to find anyone in Glenwood Springs that would touch it. I decided to drive home with the leak. Not sure how much fuel I lost, but I have a feeling the EPA is still looking for me.
The next day I tried tightening the fitting, but it still leaked. I went to Cummins Rocky Mountain to get a new fitting and sealing washer. I was told that the fitting was not available (Cummins makes it but they won’t sell it. They want you to buy an entire new distributor module for $800+.) However, I could order a new sealing washer (not in stock). After 2 tries, the washers they sent were obviously not the right washer for my fitting. I came to the conclusion that Cummins had designed a new fitting (probably because my fitting/washer had a design problem, similar to the rate shape tube and lift pump that I had to replace with less that 75K miles on the coach).
After getting rather upset with Cummins, I finally got hold of a parts man (Omar Perez) at Cummins Rocky Mountain that searched around and found the newly designed fitting/washer at a parts distributor in Ohio at a cost of $53.94. I installed the new part that Cummins Corp won’t sell you, and it fixed my leak. The part is called a male union and the part number is 3800867, (for internal use only, I guess).
The moral to my story is: If you have this problem, find the $54 part before you shell out $800 plus labor to fix a problem that was caused by a Cummins design flaw (actually I am told the Bosch makes these pumps exclusively for Cummins).

daveshan · 10-24-2012, 03:45 PM

Thanks for the heads up Dave. A quick Google search shows the part available at thedieselstore.com for $47. Might be a good spare to carry or replace on a "just because" basis.

Alpine Dave · 10-25-2012, 09:02 AM

Good idea to have a spare fitting. Also make sure you have the tools needed to replace the fitting on the road. The back of the distributor has 7 fittings/fuel lines and lots of other stuff. It is difficult to get at the rate-shape tube fitting with a wrench. I ended up making a special "split socket" for the fitting when I replaced the tube the first time. But, I failed to bring the socket with me. I was also very surprised that I couldn't find anyone in Glenwood Springs willing to work on a diesel pusher. I called no less than 10 diesel mechanic shops and RV service shops.

bcbowers · 10-25-2012, 01:58 PM

You couldn't get the Cummins Rocky Mountain shop in Grand Junction to work on it? They may not be a "Coach Care" facility as the one in Denver but that shouldn't be an issue for this type of repair.

Alpine Dave · 10-26-2012, 07:53 AM

I was not aware of the facility in GJ. Also, GJ is a relatively long way in the wrong direction. I figured I would go as far as I could toward Denver and then drive back to get a new fitting and the right tools, if necessary. I had my wife follow me to let me know if the leak appeared to get much worse. Glad to know there is a Cummins facility in GJ, since we go through there a lot. Thanks, Dave

EngineerMike · 10-26-2012, 10:59 AM

Cummins Rocky Mountain has received some negative feedback from time to time as to business practices. Seems like more of the same if they want to replace unnecessary parts.

JLMunsil · 10-26-2012, 01:22 PM

Transwest is a fairly large company in Denver. They sell trucks and motor homes and repair them. Their motor coach repair facility is north east of Denver on 52 ave. Look them up on the Internet and give them a call. They might be able to fix your problem.

Alpine Dave · 10-26-2012, 04:54 PM

I fixed the problem myself (see my original post). The issue was identifying the part number for the part I needed (union & sealing washer), and then trying to purchase the part. I called the parts dept. at Cummins Rocky Mountain, Transwest, a Bosch distributor and several other shops/distributors. None of them could even come up with a part number. The problem is that Cummins does not sell the part, so they don't list it in any catalogs or their distributor online database (My understanding is that they supply the part to remanufactures). I was just lucky enough to talk to Omar in one of my calls to Rocky Mountain, and he remembered running into this specific issue before. He got the part number from his personal notes. Once you have the part number, it is available from a few parts distributors. But, you can't order it through Cummins. Makes no sense to me, except that Cummins wants to rip you off and force you to buy the whole distributor module. I don't blame Rocky Mountain, but I think Cummins Corp. is trying to scam us. The reason for my original post was to get this part number posted so others who have the same problem don't end up getting ripped off.

Rich and Cork · 10-26-2012, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLMunsil

Transwest is a fairly large company in Denver. They sell trucks and motor homes and repair them. Their motor coach repair facility is north east of Denver on 52 ave. Look them up on the Internet and give them a call. They might be able to fix your problem.

Folks should keep this place in mind if in need of service in the Denver area. They took care of us a few years back when I had the emergency brake go out on me and the parts took a while to get delivered. They are set up to allow you to park in their lot with electrical hookup. Very nice folk and I thought they treated us nicely. The company my son works for has them handle all of their service and he has been happy also.

lonestarace · 10-26-2012, 06:15 PM

We had a good experience at the Denver Rocky Mtn Cummins back in July of 2009. We were just getting started on a 12k mile family trip from TX to Alaska when one morning in Limon,CO, the propane Onan generator wouldn't start. I made a pleading call. They dropped everything and had us back on the road for <$200 by noon. A sock/muffler had fallen off a propane regulator line on our gen and a insect plugged the propane regulator overflow line which caused it to not start/run. Going to Alaska without a gen is a deal breaker for us. They saved the day. They had us over a barrel and didn't take advantage of us.