Community Forums

bamaboy473 · 10-05-2014, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frutza

Rick and Sandy, I will agree with Art, It's all about maintenece, Diesels cost more bucks to maintain, I change my oil 3k to 5k miles and only use ultra high efficiant filters, The Cat is more sensitive to coolant, I am right now changing from Alliance to Cat elc. I run with a friend who has a Cummings about 3 years newer, and he does no maintence, and it seems like every trip were on the side of the road changing filters, so just my opinion, Rmember, the guy with a bad experiance is going to complain the loudest. Good luck

On a tangent, I'm surprised at the oil change intervals that you have. Now I have to look at the Cummins book to see what they suggest, but didn't the advent of synthetic oil double oil change life, and diesels about 10,000 miles or better? What do you guys do as far as oil changes?

Until your comments, my mind was running about every 2 years or 10K miles.

RayJr · 10-05-2014, 01:28 PM

When you find that perfect motor that never has a problem let the rest of us know. I have a C7 330hp cat and I have had to fix a couple of things. It purrs like a kitten and don't have any plans on getting rid of it. 2 trips to Califirnia, untold number of trips to Florida, all over NJ and the Rutgers game last night with 10 season ticket holders, always smooth as butter milk.

bamaboy473 · 10-05-2014, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayJr

When you find that perfect motor that never has a problem let the rest of us know. I have a C7 330hp cat and I have had to fix a couple of things. It purrs like a kitten and don't have any plans on getting rid of it. 2 trips to Califirnia, untold number of trips to Florida, all over NJ and the Rutgers game last night with 10 season ticket holders, always smooth as butter milk.

I guess we'd all be partial to MHs with engines in them that nobody ever writes about, or very seldom.

Dutch Star Don · 10-05-2014, 01:39 PM

Personally, I think the Cummins ISL engine is one of the best engines ever built. It is still the most popular engine in the RV market. With that said, I would buy a Cat C-7 in a heartbeat if the Cummins wasn't offered. They have been a great engine, decent fuel economy and plenty of power.

wb7auk · 10-05-2014, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamaboy473

On a tangent, I'm surprised at the oil change intervals that you have. Now I have to look at the Cummins book to see what they suggest, but didn't the advent of synthetic oil double oil change life, and diesels about 10,000 miles or better? What do you guys do as far as oil changes?

Until your comments, my mind was running about every 2 years or 10K miles.

RV's spend more time sitting than over the road trucks thus more moisture gets into the oil.
It is not cost effective to use synthetic oil because of the oil and filter change requirements.
I change oil and filter every 5,000 miles and change the fuel filters every
1,000 gallons of fuel used or once a year bar bad fuel.
I also use the highest absolute rated filters not the run of the mill.
Oil and filters are very cheap when you put them up against the cost of
fuel pumps, HEIU pumps, and injectors.

bamaboy473 · 10-05-2014, 05:09 PM

Art, your comments about water in fuel and other systems strike home, and make a great case for annual servicing, despite the miles.

Where do you get your filters? CAT dealer, or on-line somewhere? Do you use Rotella or something else?

Do you use fuel additive? I go less than 4000/year, hence the question.

wb7auk · 10-05-2014, 05:43 PM

I use Stanadyne Performance Formula year around in all my diesels.
I use Mobil Delvac 1300 15/40 in all my engines as I have found less
small leaks and it maintains higher oil pressure and does not thin out like
some of the others do.
As to filters I use Donaldson filters that meet or exceed engine requirements.( 15 micron absolute or better for the oil filter).
I use Parker Co. water/fuel filter and a Donaldson secondary filter both are
2 micron absolute filters.(not what is called Normal rating also know as the rock catcher rating)

I get my filters from TruckHelp.com as they give me the best price and the filters
are new stock so I do not have shelf life issues to worry about.
What Truck help does not have I get from Parker direct.

Here is what the last test showed.

ART: No problems to report for this Cat diesel. The universal averages in the far right column show normal
levels of wear for this type engine after about 7,800 miles of oil use. You haven't gone quite as long on your
oil, and metals are reading at or below averages (as they should). There are no indications of mechanical
trouble in these results. The oil's physical properties looked good too. No fuel or coolant was found, and
insolubles (solid particles in the oil) read nice and low. The viscosity read in the proper range for a 15W/40
oil. Looks good from here!

CruisinCondo · 10-11-2014, 09:04 PM

I picked the isc 330 because of the higher torque. I would go either way on a 400 horsepower unit. The only thing I don't like about mine is the rear radiator as you can not easily change belts. Mark

mel s · 10-12-2014, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CruisinCondo

I picked the isc 330 because of the higher torque. I would go either way on a 400 horsepower unit. The only thing I don't like about mine is the rear radiator as you can not easily change belts. Mark

CruisinCondo
I "chose" a 250 hp Caterpillar 3126 engine because that was the engine in the 5 year old coach I wanted.

BTW, mine is also a "rear radiator coach" and I had no trouble replacing the serpentine belt and the water pump V-belt... (and/or performing any other necessary/routine diesel engine maintenance).

However periodically cleaning the radiator and CAC, to avoid overheating, is not a fun job.

Mel
'96 Safari. 134k miles