Cat C12 service intervals

[MarylandRich]

Does anyone have a list/ spreadsheet of all service intervals on a Cat C 12 RV. I have looked everywhere on line with limited results. Oil and filter every 12 months or 15,000 miles. Air filter by gage or every 2 years? Fuel water separator and filter? Coolant conditioner? Air pump filter? What else am I forgetting?

[Rob_M]

Yearly or 10,000 oil change, fuel filters too. Don’t need the coolant conditioner if you’re using CAT lifetime coolant (pink stuff). Air filter every 2 years or every other oil change or sooner if the sensor says so. (it won’t unless you’re in extremely dusty environment).

Call your local CAT dealer truck shop, or Thompson CAT truck shop in LaVergne TN (I highly recommend them if you’re in the area).

Oh and pull oil samples right before every oil change. Buy the kits from your CAT dealer... cost of the kit covers the analysis. Everyone with a diesel should be doing this.

[2 Stroker]

When it comes to Cat coolant, you should pull a sample and see how good it is. I send in a sample to Cat every 2 years and should of add bottle of extender at 5 years but forgot about it. Just before we were ready to head to Arizona at the 7 year mark the sample came back High on Copper & Steel so I had to make time to do a coolant flush and refill with Cat ELC-1 Cat Extender Every 6000 Hours* Cat ELC (Truck Engines) Cat Extender Every 500,000 km (300,000 miles)* S •O •SSM services for early problem detection 12,000 Hour Life or 6 Years** (whichever comes first) * Or one-half of the coolant service life. ** These coolant change intervals are only possible with annual S•O•S Level 2 coolant sampling and analysis.
2 stroker

[MO Fred]

Originally Posted by Rob_M

Yearly or 10,000 oil change, fuel filters too. Don’t need the coolant conditioner if you’re using CAT lifetime coolant (pink stuff). Air filter every 2 years or every other oil change or sooner if the sensor says so. (it won’t unless you’re in extremely dusty environment).

Call your local CAT dealer truck shop, or Thompson CAT truck shop in LaVergne TN (I highly recommend them if you’re in the area).

Oh and pull oil samples right before every oil change. Buy the kits from your CAT dealer... cost of the kit covers the analysis. Everyone with a diesel should be doing this.

Agree, take it to a CAT dealer. They will have all the right parts and right filters. An oil analysis is part of the cost of an oil change by them. They can also give you the information you need about maintenance intervals. I go to Fabick cat in the St. Louis area. They do a great job.

[CountryB]

One reason to do an "oil sample" is to see if the oil needs to be changed. If you don't put a lot of miles on your Coach, you probably don't need to change the oil as often as the recommended schedule.

There are a lot of factors to be considered, not jut miles and time - especially when an oil and filter change costs upwards of $300 - doing the work myself (my engine holds 40 qts.).

Send in an oil sample, and the test will tell you if the oil needs to be changed or not.

I use Blackstone Labs, but the other labs are fine too. https://www.blackstone-labs.com/

[MarylandRich]

First let me say thanks everyone for all the replies to my post, the knowledge on this forum is always appreciated, and I could not own my RV with out you all. However when it comes to engine maintenance there is a lot of theories and old wife's tails, and much contradicting info. That is why I was looking for a sheet from CAT that was RV specifics, as these are not the same as OTR trucks because of use and mileage. I have a mechanic who in Anal retentive, so everything is always 110%(I feel I can drive across the country any time with no hesitation), but he could not fit me in for service this January, and my business is down 90% do to covid, so doing my own maintenance is the more fiscally responsible move, I am forced to learn more about my rig, I am capable, and I have the time. But even my mechanic has his own theories about maintenance intervals that I'm not sure I agree with. After continuing my search this weekend, I finally hit GOLD. I found a sheet online from CAT that deals particularly with RV maintenance with CAT C9 - C15 engines. I am still unsure if the air filter should be changes at least every 2 years, or just when the filter minder says, but that is only a minor problem. Here is what I found for anyone interested. Again thanks for all the input, I really do appreciate it.

[Rob_M]

Originally Posted by MarylandRich

First let me say thanks everyone for all the replies to my post, the knowledge on this forum is always appreciated, and I could not own my RV with out you all. However when it comes to engine maintenance there is a lot of theories and old wife's tails, and much contradicting info. That is why I was looking for a sheet from CAT that was RV specifics, as these are not the same as OTR trucks because of use and mileage. I have a mechanic who in Anal retentive, so everything is always 110%(I feel I can drive across the country any time with no hesitation), but he could not fit me in for service this January, and my business is down 90% do to covid, so doing my own maintenance is the more fiscally responsible move, I am forced to learn more about my rig, I am capable, and I have the time. But even my mechanic has his own theories about maintenance intervals that I'm not sure I agree with. After continuing my search this weekend, I finally hit GOLD. I found a sheet online from CAT that deals particularly with RV maintenance with CAT C9 - C15 engines. I am still unsure if the air filter should be changes at least every 2 years, or just when the filter minder says, but that is only a minor problem. Here is what I found for anyone interested. Again thanks for all the input, I really do appreciate it.

Your air cleaner was chosen by your chassis manufacturer. Ask them. There is a thread on here somewhere that talks about air cleaners coming un-glued after too many years of service and allowing dirt in where they separated inside the housing.

I’ve worked for CAT dealers (earth moving side) since 1980 btw.