Community Forums

Journey cat · 04-18-2019, 07:02 PM

A couple months back . I decieded to get down and dirty .
I pulled the radiator & air to air to clean things up . This led to doing all bearings , hoses , water pump , greasable fan bearing , belts and valve adjustment
All went well and I had it back running with distlled water in it . Every thing seemed Ok . So now a flush and addd coolant .
Heres when things went south . It may have been a co winkie dink .But now its bellowing white smoke !

Special thanks to Fire UP for help on getting the Password to the Medallion info center . But no codes were found .
So I decieded to go back to what may have been causing the Cho cho cho sound from the exhaust .
I proceed to remove the valve cover once again . Low and behold I find my problem .
Now im super disappointed in myself . As Ive done valves on exotic sports cars to Hi po V8s
I find the bridge to the intake valves of # 1 just lying there on the floor so to speak.
It must not have been seated proper . I guess and worked its way off.
The tops of the valves are not damaged .

By no means am I a diesel mechanic , but Im learing quick !
The push rod was removed , I find a few rub marks , and a slight bend in it . And a little ware to the bottom of the adjusting bolt.
Next I proceed to rotate the rocker itself . The valve end of the rocker moves free up to the position in the picture then it needs a little help to rise the rest of the way .
This I can understand due to ware pattern .
Next , thinking V8 style . I use an extendable magnet to remove the tappet .
And realize something down there is different . Its called a Cam Follower .
Luckily that moves freely up and down.

Id like to ask if I should just replace the push rod and the adjuster bolt .
Which I believe by the grace of God Ill be OK with just doing that .
Or as preventive procedure , should I go further with this ?

FIRE UP · 04-18-2019, 09:40 PM

Yahooo James,
Glad you got down and dirty and found out the issue. I thank you for the nice comments by the way. Chris Beryl (I think that's how you spell it) has displayed the 8127 numbers for "cracking the MEDALLION safe" now for quite a few years. I think I myself have plugged them in once or twice and as of yet, have not found anything worth worrying about.

As for what you should do about the bent of damaged parts, well, If it were me, I'd take a few minutes and straighten that push rod out. We're not talking a horse shoe here. We're talking what, maybe a 1 or 2 degree bend. Now, is the bend in that push rod, a weakening element? In other words, if you straightened it, would it just spring back to being bent? I don't have a clue. Again, this is something you'll have to decide on. Not a clue on what one of those push rods would cost at your local Freightliner or CAT dealer.
Scott

Journey cat · 04-18-2019, 10:06 PM

I have checked on E bay one new sold used oh 15. But I’d rather get new I’m more concerned of what I can’t see Meaning the followers As it’s difficult to see but what I can see and feel seems to be well. Hoping for some first hand opinions on this Some time you just have to take a step back and evaluate but when the frustration sets in it plays on ones mind

Cat · 04-18-2019, 10:22 PM

You need to replace the push rod. They can be a pain to install because its hard to get your fingers in to install push rod. The cam followers are not usually damaged by a miss installed push rod. The cam followers are bolted to the side plate. Located on the block. I think there are two cylinders cam followers on each side plate. To inspect them you would have to remove the push rods associated with that plate then just remove the plate. Good luck Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Cat · 04-18-2019, 10:35 PM

See drawing. AA is the lifter. And you can see the side plate. Hope this helps. Safe Travels.

Journey cat · 04-18-2019, 10:41 PM

Thanks Cat for your opinion . Not being fimillar with diesels . I looked up what I thought it had to be .
Being me , I would not re use a bent rod .
Also in my pictures there was a bit of damage to the adjuster bolt also .
Look close in the past photo .
I want new parts only !
Here are a couple new photos so others can see what we are talking about .
Although Im still upset that I did not catch that even after checking them twice .
These are the reasons I do my own work . I can only imagine what the bill would have cost if it were brought to a shop to repair

Cat · 04-19-2019, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Journey cat

Thanks Cat for your opinion . Not being fimillar with diesels . I looked up what I thought it had to be .
Being me , I would not re use a bent rod .
Also in my pictures there was a bit of damage to the adjuster bolt also .
Look close in the past photo .
I want new parts only !
Here are a couple new photos so others can see what we are talking about .
Although Im still upset that I did not catch that even after checking them twice .
These are the reasons I do my own work . I can only imagine what the bill would have cost if it were brought to a shop to repair

You aren't alone in bending a push rod on C7-3126. It actually happens fairly often especially when someone is installing the rocker arm assy. Very difficult to see and then get your fingers in to align it. Safe Travels

Journey cat · 04-19-2019, 10:39 AM

I may not have been alone on this .
Here is how I got my fingers in there and also was able to get to the bottom and move the follower.

Although Im still curious as to how I managed to adjust the valve in the first place .

One side of the bridge has a slot the other side has a hole
It amazes me as to how it came off on the slot side and managed to pop up and pver on the hole side .

Of course similar to a sea saw , it could .But without leaving a mark on the valve stem ?
Maybe i should count my blesssings and not do as I normally do and over think things .
Ill be on my way now to Freightliner to purchase the needed parts .

Journey cat · 04-20-2019, 05:34 PM

Cat ,
In watching a couple videos on C7 Valve adjustments .
I noticed in the videos that the bridge for the intake valve .
Were installed in different directions . One side has the slot the other a hole .
IN ONE , video I saw the slot side of the bridge was installed to toward the outside of the head.
Mine came installed toward the middle of the head , hole to the outside.
Does it make any difference or could they be either way ?
Just curious .

Cat · 04-20-2019, 08:48 PM

No, it doesn't matter on the bridges which way they go.

Journey cat · 04-20-2019, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cat

No, it doesn't matter on the bridges which way they go.

Thanks !

Journey cat · 04-23-2019, 03:47 PM

It all started with wanting to check the fan belts .
That led to cleaning the radiator and inter cooler . Changing the fan bearing to a greasable style , new bearings in all the idlers , a new water pump , new belts , all new hoses , valve adjustments .
New headlight housings with LED lighting . . And a new monitor cable due to a hungry squirl .
And finally a nice clean up . The Cat runs like new once again .
With all done and behind me Ill start saving my pennies for a Heui pump filter .
But first Ill close it up and test ride it . Before leaving for a long over due Road Trip !
Thanks to the forum and the members for all the help I recieved

Cat · 04-23-2019, 04:10 PM

Great! Good job!!!and Safe Travels

CountryB · 04-23-2019, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Journey cat

Cat ,
In watching a couple videos on C7 Valve adjustments .

Did you use the "Pining Tool" to locate the correct engine position for doing the valve adjustments?

That's assuming the C7 (and C9) use the Pin method like the C13 does.