Community Forums

Piker · 03-19-2018, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soppy

Don't think it is valve seals . With the turbo , you have pressure on the intake and exhaust ports at all times. Since the oil on the guides is not under any pressure , it would be difficult to have it leak into a pressurized port. It could be the turbo , but you would see oil on the outlet of the turbo or in the intake manifold. Check your breather tube. If it's plugged , you might have excessive crankcase pressure causing a loss of oil.

There is a chance... you may have missed a few pages of this thread...

Cheers

ronspradley · 03-19-2018, 01:54 PM

Piker, you are very kind.

ronspradley

Piker · 03-25-2018, 07:31 PM

I got the exhaust brake installed right behind the turbo, and modified the rest of the exhaust to fit. There is just barely enough room... the end of the bracket that holds the air cylinder is about 1/4" from the front wall of the engine compartment. I could gain some clearance by rotating the brake inward, but that puts the air cylinder right next to the exhaust manifold. I figured it would be better for it to be as far away from the heat as possible.

I also got the air compressor, tank, and solenoid valve installed and all wired up... there is a little storage space right underneath the foot of the bed that you can access when you get into the engine bay from inside. The air equipment fit perfectly. I do not have the final air connection to the exhaust brake itself finished. I was thinking I'd have to use a wire braided teflon hose for that to withstand the heat, but it looks like Pacbrake just uses nylon tubing with compression fittings?

I also decided to have the best of both worlds with regard to function of the brake itself. I purchased a 3 position switch... is has an off position, and two on positions for the brake. One of the on positions feeds the solenoid valve through the brake pedal - brake pedal pressed, and exhaust brake is on, regardless of throttle position... and the other position feeds the solenoid valve through the throttle pedal - throttle pedal up and brake is on, while throttle pedal down and brake is off - regardless of brake pedal position. Now I can have it either way with the flick of a switch...

I still need to find a switch for the throttle pedal... so right now the second position of the switch just turns the exhaust brake on - regardless of throttle pedal or brake pedal position. I can see where this would not be ideal. I'll probably have to fabricate a little bracket or something for the throttle pedal switch.

All for now... when I get all done, I'll post a few pics.

-cheers

Happycarz · 03-25-2018, 11:47 PM

Piker, another option is a momentary floor switch like early Monaco coaches used. On my latest Monaco, they only used a dash switch that when switched on would activate the PacBrake when letting up on gas pedal. I added a foot switch to keep my left foot busy.
PacBrake wants $81, or Amazon for $22.

https://www.amazon.com/Linemaster-Co...er+foot+switch

Piker · 03-26-2018, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happycarz

Piker, another option is a momentary floor switch like early Monaco coaches used. On my latest Monaco, they only used a dash switch that when switched on would activate the PacBrake when letting up on gas pedal. I added a foot switch to keep my left foot busy.
PacBrake wants $81, or Amazon for $22.

https://www.amazon.com/Linemaster-Co...er+foot+switch

That's not a bad idea Harry. I could use all 3 options then.

The throttle pedal on our rig has no play or backlash in it whatsoever. I wish it were like the brake pedal where I have about 1/4" of travel on the brake pedal where the switch activates the brake lights, but doesn't move the linkage to the master cylinder. I suppose if the switch is adjusted precisely and it's mount is solid, it will not be a big deal.

Maybe by the end of the week I'll be able to test this system out.

Now that I have on board air... I'm thinking a set of train horns would be fun. "Rise and shine fellow campers!!"

-cheers

OldToolmaker · 03-26-2018, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piker

but it looks like Pacbrake just uses nylon tubing with compression fittings?

-cheers

I learned, in my teenage years, Poly-Flo I guess today we go to Parker for Poly-Tite: http://www.parker.com/portal/site/PA...ENTAL+PRODUCTS

Also available at MSC Industrial, online at mscdirect.com.

Piker · 03-28-2018, 06:55 PM

I finished the hookup tonight on the exhaust brake and went for a test drive. Wow does this thing work well! I will say, that with a straight piped exhaust, the hissssssssssss is somewhat loud. And because the solenoid air valve is under the bed, the sound it makes when the exhaust brake switches off and the pressure is released from the cylinder is loud inside the rv. I will need to affix a piece of tubing to exhaust the compressed air into the engine compartment in order to reduce noise inside.

Other than that... its awesome. I can activate the brake exactly 20 times before the compressor cycles back on. The compressor doesn't even break a sweat. I'm definitely going to add a switch to the throttle pedal... just have to find one and figure out how to mount it.

Cheers

Mekanic · 03-28-2018, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piker

......
Now that I have on board air... I'm thinking a set of train horns would be fun. "Rise and shine fellow campers!!"

-cheers

Good idea, they can be used to remove deer standing in the road,...at a little distance of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piker

......The compressor doesn't even break a sweat. I'm definitely going to add a switch to the throttle pedal... just have to find one and figure out how to mount it.
Cheers

I have an idea take another gas pedal (it does NOT have to just like your stock one) mount it on top of you factory one on bolts and springs 1/8th of an inch over the stock one (like a horn switch) and when you are on the pedal it is disconnected.

Piker · 03-28-2018, 07:18 PM

The pedal over pedal idea has merit. Thanks!

I do really like the brake pedal activation. I see me using this most of the time actually. Where it would be a pain is on long slow mountain descents.

Cheers

Piker · 07-10-2018, 07:59 PM

Well... I'm bored... so I decided I'd throw another update onto this old rebuild thread. We just finished another sizeable trip with the old HR - 6800 miles thru the Badlands of SD, Custer State Park, Devil's Tower, 14A over the Bighorns, Beartooth Pass (both directions!), A few sights in Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Coulee Dam, Coulee Corridor, Mt. Ranier, Palouse Falls, Steptoe Butte, Craters of the Moon, and then back to PA. All in 16 days.

We have around 29k miles on the engine rebuild now, and it seems to be holding strong. There were some concerns from forum members about the chinese cylinder head I put on it, but so far (knock on wood) it's performing well.

Before we left, I splurged on some Rotella T6 full synthetic oil to see if there were any noticeable differences... I had contacted Shell before switching, and they told me that their regular T4 15w40 would be sufficient for an older engine like this, but that the T6 5w40 would aid in cold starts and also hold up better under severe duty or high temperature conditions. I figured we would be pulling some long steep grades where EGT would be maxed out for extended periods, so I went with the T6. It was only an extra $60 to try it, so what the heck. I was hoping to see less of a drop in the oil pressure when the oil started to heat up on the long hard pulls, but it seemed about the same. If there was any difference, it was not measurable. There was no appreciable change in fuel economy... we ended up at 10.6 mpg average for the trip, which also includes fuel used for the generator. Our last trip was only 10.3 overall, but the percentage of generator use was quite a bit higher than on this trip.

I absolutely did notice that the engine starts up and runs smoother when it's cold out using the synthetic. It even idles a little faster when cold. When we left the West Gate KOA out of Yellowstone to head to Glacier, it was only 40° outside. She fired right up and away we went... no glow plugs... no heater grid... no block heater. Of course, until she gets warmed up, it doesn't burn all the fuel too good, so as soon as it was running, it was in gear and we were idling out of the campground to prevent asphyxiating the other campers.

On a more curious note... it did use a little oil.

I either lost or burned almost 3 quarts in 6800 miles. I have heard rumors that some engines will burn synthetic faster than they will burn regular dino oil, but I always thought it was a myth. Same with the rumors about oil leaks and synthetics... but I know for a fact that within 1000 miles of driving with the synthetic... I had oil leaks that I absolutely did not have prior. Since it's leaking, and I can't measure how much is leaking... I can't really know how much of the loss is from burning vs leaking. I'm not too concerned though... the air cleaner boots are still intact, and the oil is still pretty clean looking after 6800 miles.

I'm going to pull a sample and send it off to blackstone to see exactly what kind of shape the oil is in. Maybe I can run it another 6800 miles... after that, I'll probably just switch back to regular 15w40.

Of course, the exhaust brake was invaluable on this trip. I can't believe we did all these mountain passes without one in the past. I think it really added a measure of safety to the drive. I left it hooked up so that it activated with the brake pedal, and i really got used to using it that way. I have to downshift manually, but I think that's better anyways. Also, before we left, I decided the hollowed out muffler I had on it was obnoxious sounding. It was magnifying the sound of the exhaust brake and making it excruciatingly loud. I tried it with just a straight pipe, and the exhaust brake was actually quieter... but as much as I liked how it made the cummins sound, I know that most people around me would probably cringe... so I put one of those resonated Aero Turbine mufflers on it. It's got an ok sound to it, and the exhaust brake is pretty quiet now. Only down side is that it also made the turbo whistle quieter... that was my favorite sound in the whole world, and now it's really hard to hear unless I'm in a tunnel or driving along side a barrier or rock wall.

I don't think the aero muffler performs any better with regard to EGT than the hollowed out drum of a muffler I was using, but it's really hard to tell and probably impossible to measure without a dyno.

So overall, the trip went pretty smooth. We did have the tread separate on the passenger side inner dual somewhere in Idaho. Wow, what a bang that made... followed by alot of thumping and shaking. At first I thought the driveshaft broke or something. The TPMS gave no warning... it just blew... right now. We called coach net, and within an hour we had someone out mounting the spare tire I saved off the front from last summer's driveshaft-in-the-middle-of-the-road-in-oklahoma scenario that played out. It had almost exactly the same amount of tread on it as the other rear duals, so it was a good fit. Still amazes me these guys come out with a couple tire irons and mount these big tires on the side of the road. It was HOT too... Boise was 100° when we drove thru. The blowout did a little damage underneath - it tore into the outer layer of the floor... ripped the mudflap and the mudflap hanger right off... and broke the springs that hold the pad onto the bottom of the leveling jack. The pad went flying somewhere and we couldn't find it. Truth be told, the rear tires have been overloaded since we bought them... I have a tire thread around here somewhere, but long story short, Holiday Rambler was less than forthcoming about the weight of this RV... the title says 16k empty, but it actually weighs 19k empty. There are no modifications to the rig that would increase the weight either. F load range tires, which are the spec on the tag inside, don't hardly cover the weight of the rear axle when the RV is completely empty... but that's what the tire shop put on it 6 years ago when we bought the RV because that's what was on the tag. F load range tires will support 13,660 lbs on the rear axle... I weighed us before we left, and we were at 14,300... that's without any water in the black or grey tanks which are behind the duals... the freshwater tank is up towards the front, so as water transfers from there to the waste tanks, the rear axle weight would get even higher. These tires are 6 years old now, and almost worn down to the wear markers after 40k miles... I don't trust them much anymore, especially since now i know they have been overloaded, so before we go anywhere else, we will have some G load range tires put on. The duals should be good to 15,000 lbs with G rated tires... I looked up the spec on the axle itself (Rockwell) and it's good to over 15,000...

Well, I suppose that's all for now... I'm still struggling to get back into the work swing... tomorrow will be here before I know it.

-cheers

ronspradley · 07-10-2018, 09:10 PM

Great update Piker. Glad to hear you are able to get out there and travel with your family. That is what all the work was for.

ronspradley

guardrail53 · 07-10-2018, 11:54 PM

Thanks for the update, Piker! Glad you had a great trip! Rail!

olcarguy · 07-11-2018, 05:31 AM

Plus one Piker. Missed your exploit stories...

Piker · 07-24-2018, 06:08 PM

I got the Blackstone report today. They said the intake filter and the oil filter are doing their jobs. The wear metals all looked great... except for aluminum was at 10ppm. Here is what they said about it:

“Thanks for the note about the leaks and possible oil consumption. Most of the wear metals look just fine for your 6BT, but there is some excess aluminum. It shows piston wear generally, but it's hard to call piston scuffing because chrome from the rings and iron from steel parts like the cylinders are both low. 10 ppm isn't enough to call a serious problem by itself, so let's just keep an eye on it for now and see how trends develop. No fuel or coolant is present and air and oil filters are working well. Check back in 7,000 miles to monitor aluminum.”

So... my gut is telling me that I’m flirting with EGT at the high end. By 29,000 miles after the rebuild, I would think the pistons were broke in a long time ago.

Maybe it’s time to defuel the pump a little bit. What do you guys think?

Cheers