Has Anyone Used Colton Truck Terminal?

[OldForester]

We have a small oil leak where the hydraulic pump drive bolts to the engine and I suspect it needs a new gasket. I'm considering having this repaired under warranty at Colton Truck Terminal since it's the closest Cummins warranty service repair facility to me in Palm Springs.

I didn't see a reference in the search of threads as to anyone having used Colton Truck Terminal.

So, has anybody used them and would you recommend them?

Thanks--

[EngineerMike]

Bill- I asked Mike Young @ Cummins NW a while back who supplied hydraulics, i.e was that Cummins. He said no, they supplied no hydraulics or AC pumps with the engines they sold to WRV. This may affect what warranty coverage may apply.

IIRC your hydraulic pump is shaft mounted off the forward end of the air compressor (air compr I believe was supplied by Cummins). I believe the hydr pump was supplied by Berendson Fluid Power, 509-536-5995, attention John Lamb if he's still there. If you talk to him, ask if he supplied the trans-PTO-driven Chelsea hydraulic pumps on the 08/09 rigs also (if he did I'll have a question about how the radiator fan speed is controlled as I believe that was a design change from the Saur-Danfoss fan controller your rig has and which Berendson supplied according to a previous source).

[Dale777]

OldForester,

I used Colton Truck Terminal Garage in Colton, CA several years ago. They have a good reputation and did good work for me. I assume this is the outfit you are referring to:
863 E Valley Blvd
Colton, CA 92324
Tel : (909) 825-4080
Fax : (909) 825-0322
Email : coltontrkterm@aol.com

[Dennis Wells]

They are very good, both my opinion and the opinion of others posting here.

[swansnest]

We used Colton truck about 18 months ago and found them to be very good and their pricing reasonable (less than some of the others in the area). They had been recommended to us by Dick Kaiser in Eugene, OR.

[1peddler]

We have used them in the past. We were very satisfied.

For other reviews go to this site:
RV Service Review=

[OldForester]

Thanks for the feedback on Colton Truck Terminal. Looks like everybody has been happy with them. I have an appointment with them next week and I'll add my view after that.

Mike, I plan to call Berendson tomorrow and will get back to you. You are correct; it looks like the hydraulic pump is mounted off the air compressor pump and that's what's leaking, where it attaches to the block. A relatively simple fix with a new gasket and re-torque of the bolts.

[OldForester]

E-Mike:

Answer to your questions on fan speed control. Talked to John Lamb at Bernedson today and got the following information:

The design was changed for the 425 horse engines because there wasn't room for the traditional pump setup with the pollution control equipment on the new engine. The new pump does come off the trans-PTO setup. Chelsea supplied the PTO but Saur-Danfoss the pump on the new engine as well as the fan controller.

On the 400 series engines, like ours, the fan is controlled by as sensor in the radiator that sensed coolant temerature. The Saur-Danfoss fan controller beyond this is similar on both 400 and 425 engines. On the 425's, the fan gets a signal directly from the Cummins ECU, one wire with a PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) signal to a solenoid that controls a proportional relief valve on the fan. Apparently it was set up this way because the Cummins ECU would shut down the fan if the signal were bad, even if the engine was hot, and it would not turn on the fan to cool the air conditioning exchanger if the engine were cold but it was hot outside during the day. Berendson set this system up so there was a backup in these events, to turn the fan on. Also, if there was a problem with the signal from the ECU that was bad but the engine was hot, the fan would go to full speed with this setup.

So that's what I learned in the short dialogue I had with John Lamb; hope it is useful.

[EngineerMike]

Bill- that's a very useful start. I've searched high & low for the S-D controller gizmo & haven't found it, hence the initial question. Perhaps I can bother Lamb for additional info so the ULSD sufferers have more backup when the inevitable fan controller issues creep in.
Thanks!

[OldForester]

Mike,

John Lamb was very open to discussion on the issue and said he would be glad to talk some more on the subject if more questions came up. It sounded to me like this proportional relief valve got a signal directly from the ECU and the controller was part of the solenoid that activated the relief valve. But I can't be sure -- he was a little hard to understand without asking the question at least a couple times from different directions. So I'm sure he can fill you on the detail you need.

[Old Scout]

Assuming yr 2006 engine is similar to the 2003--if so, the air compress/hydro pump are still on the rear P/S side of the block. The leak you describe appears to be the pump/compressor drive shaft gaskets but actually, there is an ECM-related sensor in the same area [back of timing chain cover] that is prone to leaking. Hopefully, Colton will discover which is leaking....
Might be "beyond my head-lights" on both these issues but on our 2003, the fan control is purely mechanical [subsequently changed on newer models to the ECM-controller]. Working with Mark Herra and a local Yakima supplier, we fabed an "over-ride" valve controlled by an existing/spare a/c freon pressure switch built into the dash air system. That over-ride valve could also be connected to a manual switch in the cockpit.

[OldForester]

Old Scout,

Thanks for the tip on the ECM-related sensor; that could be the culprit, because it's hard to see exactly where the leak is coming from; it just drips around the bottom bolt of the pump/compressor drive connection to the block, but it has been wet on the sides of the drive connection to the block. So it very well could be the ECM-related sensor. I'll make sure to point that out to Colton when I take it in for repair this coming week.

[OldForester]

Follow-up on this thread -- We took the coach to Colton Truck Terminal yesterday afternoon, expecting to stay overnight in their parking lot and have it in the next morning (today). Turns out they had a few cancellations and they worked us right in to the schedule. Looked at the engine, found the fuel pump was leaking oil where it attaches to the block, and that was dripping down on the hydraulic drive, making it look like it was the hydraulic drive leaking. There were two bolts loose at the bottom and side of the fuel pump. They tightened all the fuel pump attachment bolts (not an easy task; you have to almost be a monkey to get into place to do that, and have some creative extensions to your socket wrench. These loose bolts took more than a full turn on the socket to tighten.

They steam cleaned the engine and we took it for a test drive, then back to check for leaks and it wasn't leaking. I drove it back to Palm Springs -- about an hour -- and checked it again and so far it isn't leaking. May still leak but tightening the bolts produced a quick fix that's worth doing first.

I was pleased with the speed at which Colton diagnosed the leak (which I couldn't see), got on the job and the skill of the technician to get into place to tighten the bolts. They were also very reasonable compared to some other work I've had accomplished in the local area. They also have alignment facilities and do most any kind of work on the chassis/engine/tranny.

Thanks again for the recommendations on them; I will use them again if I need engine/tranny/chassis work in the local area.

[BAKEHYDE]

i HAVE BEEN USING COLTON TRUCK FOR ABOUT 12 YEARS NEVER A CONCERN, STEVE THE OWNER IS FIRST CABIN, TOP SHELF, KINDA OWNER

GOOD LUCK