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Old 12-23-2015, 11:33 AM   #1
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Engine Service

Recently purchased a 2004 National Tropi-Cal T350, Freightliner chassis and CAT C7 350 HP Turbo. Was a one owner coach appears to be in very good condition overall. Six new Michelins an oil change and a full tank of fuel in May 2015, six new batteries in 2014. They were prepping for their annual Eastern Sierra trip in July but the PO's husband had a serious blood clot issue, wound up in the hospital and passed away in August. So I do not know the full service history. This is my first DP, any tips on the important things to check/service on the engine and chassis will be greatly appreciated.
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Old 12-23-2015, 04:17 PM   #2
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Congratulations on the new RV. My first thought would be to service the transmission, also change the air filter and probably change differential oil. Might have a valve adjustment if it has a lot of miles. Has the generator been serviced?
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Old 12-23-2015, 10:07 PM   #3
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Bobs answers are great and I will add a thing or two. Belts are a pretty important item or, set of items maybe I should say so, get as close of an inspection on those as you can. I say "as you can" because, depending on chassis, bedroom setup, engine access, fan shrouding, underneath plumbing and structural cross pieces/exhaust and anything else that could be in the way, getting a close inspection of those belts can be a bit of a challenge.

Second, in your era of CAT engines, the infamous "Blow-by tube" or, otherwise known as the "Slobber tube" needs to be checked to see if it has been extended so that it exhausts at or near the very rear of the coach. That blow-by tube is one of the primary causes of radiator fin and CAC fin clogging.

What happens is, if there is an incorrect amount of oil (as in even a bit over filled) the effects of that over-filling are shown as "Blow-by" in a sort of oil mist, exiting from that blow-by tube. And, the exhaust of those tubes from the factory, were right under the center section of the motor. And, as they expelled their mist, that mist was lodged into and on, both the CAC (Charge Air Cooler) and, the radiator fins.

When that happens, the engine fan will, as normal operation, act as vacuum cleaner and suck up all the dirt, dust and debris from the roads surface and, spit it right into those oil soaked fins. When that happens, it builds up to a point that, the layers and layers of oil/dirt/dust begin to clog those fins. When that happens, you no longer get air through them to cool the radiator and therefore the radiator coolant.

That means running at higher temperatures, especially while pulling grades.

And, speaking of oil, I'd bet my house that, that particular engine uses only 19 quarts of oil in a full oil/filter change. A call to CAT with the engine serial number will verify or, there's sources on the net too that will verify it's oil pan capacity.

And, speaking of oil and capacity, many of the dip sticks in those CAT engines of that era, were incorrectly marked so, this is why it's imperative that when an oil change is done, and a for-sure amount of 19 Qts. are added, then when the engine has sat for a pre-determined amount of time after a run-up from the oil change, that the correct markings on the dip stick are inscribed to show the correct amount.

Another point to check for is whether or not your particular engine has ONE or TWO fuel filters. There was some "squabbling" between Freightliner and CAT in that era and, it was determined that only ONE fuel filter was needed, for a short production run. Then, the two filter system resumed. So, check to see which system you have and, which filter(s) that you may need at a next change which, if you don't have any service records on this engine, should be as soon as possible so that you, yourself, establishes a base line for fuel filter change-out.

From that point on, it's follow the regular CAT service intervals.

Also, in your era coach, it was standard procedure for the Chassis/coach manufactures to set the coach up so that there was/is NO CHASSIS battery charging while on shore power or, generator power. The HOUSE batteries can and, most likely are charged by what's called the Inverter/Charger that you have on board. If this is the case with yours, then parking that coach for any extended periods, can and, most likely will produce a dead or at the least, a very low state of charged set of chassis batteries.

If that should end up being the case, it's easily remedied with a couple of different devices. One is called the "Trik-L-Start" and, its newer, larger brother, the "Amp-L-Start". Both are great units and are very easily wired into the factory systems to alleviate that no-charge problem with shore power. There's a few thousand threads on it on here and other RV forums.

In spite of some folks thinking the CAT engine is problematic (primarily to improper reporting of HEUI pump issues), those CATs are great engines and, there are quite a few thousand of them still in use today in all kinds of industry. CAT quit producing the "over the road" engines back when the smog regs got too restrictive for them to compete. But, parts availability and CAT service centers are well abound, all over the place.

You may hear of a potential problem with the "fan bearing" and it's lack of lubing due to hard to get to application. Well, the C-7, 300HP, 330HP and 350HP versions, utilized a permanently lubed fan bearing, unlike the predecessor, the 3126 version of the CAT. That's not to say it (the fan bearing) is endless in life, it can and, some times has failed. Just how often, well, based on the few zillion C-7s out there in RV land and any and all of the trucking industry that's still using those C-7s, it's really hard to say.

Other than basic maintenance, checking the fins of those items mentioned for clogging etc., oil change/dip stick marking/, blow-by tube extension/, fan serpentine and water pump belt checking, battery charging from both sources i.e. engines alternator to see if both sets of batteries are receiving a charge while the engine is running and, while on shore power, you'll be good to go with that CAT 350. Good luck.
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Old 12-24-2015, 02:04 PM   #4
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Pull ALL lower drawers on both sides od the coach and give it a good cleaning/inspection. What your looking for is rodent poop! If you find any look CLOSELY at any and all wiring for critter chew. I also found a DC grounding block that had FOUR loose nuts! I also found some critter chew & repaired.
Pull the panel on your 120VAC panel (with power off of course) and look for lose connections. You get a loose connection and then you get heat, burned wires/connectors & possibly fire. I found a loose common on my prior coach. Insulation was starting to turn brown, caught it in time.
If you have the washer/dryer might want to pull it, inspect dryer vent hose for lint. I found mine ABSOLUTELY packed! I also replaced the hot/cold hoses.

Lots of good info on this forum!
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Old 12-25-2015, 09:24 AM   #5
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Thanks all, for the replies. Very helpful, realized I forgot to mention the mileage, just turned 44,000, was a 140 mile to bring it home and one short maiden voyage to our local desert, about 200 miles. And the generator has about 750 hrs. Seems to run and drive well, but I know I have a lot of things to check. Have been working mostly inside as it is a bit cold and windy. No washer/dryer and no evidence of critters, was pretty clean, but i always try to get into those areas that people don't clean on a regular basis and have a look around.
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Old 12-29-2015, 09:30 PM   #6
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Good advice by all. You can also call CAT and Freightliner and give them your VIN and see if they have any records of the coach being serviced, if not change ALL fluids and filters.

Do a search on this site for radiator and CAC cleaning. There are some good pictures and advice on this subject.

Good luck
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Old 12-29-2015, 09:40 PM   #7
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Don't forget the generator service.
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Old 03-06-2016, 12:47 PM   #8
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I'd pull the washer/dryer & check for lint. Also change the hoses. I dug a TON of lint out of our washer/dryer.
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