Diesel Pusher broke down on hiway July 20 11

[pavepaws]

Need advice/assistance. (Have four young grandchildren in RV.) Pulling out of rest area near Opelika Alabama, engine revs, has virtually no horsepower, dark smoke from exhaust, turbo registers zero. Now at TRUCK REPAIR FACILITY, says air filter likely culprit and will have one in 24 hours. Is this reasonable? Could it be something else? If so, what? Thanks

[Mr_D]

No reasonable UNLESS the filter material disintegrated. But that would probably destroy the turbo on the way through. Have you looked at the restriction meter?

It would also help to know the make and model of the engine. If you have a Cummins ISB then you may or may not have a meter.

[B Bob]

No that is not the likely culprit. I just spent the whole day at Diesel Technology in Cortez CO having my turbo replaced. Yesterday I had identical symptoms to what you describe. You have one of two things wrong with your motor. 1. Air hoses to and from turbo have become loose and need to be cinched up to be air tight. That is the best possible. 2. Your turbo is history and needs to be replaced.

The air filter if clogged would restrict power but your boost would not be zero.

[pavepaws]

Thanks Mr_D. I have a Cummins 400 ISL; Turbo meter is visible on dash, it registers zero. Is this the restriction meter you mentioned?

[pavepaws]

BBob - thanks, I did notice a hose not in the usual position. Will check in AM. Much too dark now.

[Flyer]

Had a similar problem and it was a pacbrake stuck closed. Just a thought.

[srt20]

Intercooler line or boot came off. Should be a easy fix. Not the air filter if boost gauge says zero.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by pavepaws

Thanks Mr_D. I have a Cummins 400 ISL; Turbo meter is visible on dash, it registers zero. Is this the restriction meter you mentioned?

No the restriction meter is attached to the incoming air feed between the air filter and the turbo in the engine compartment. It has graduations on it and should read somewhere between 5 and 20. The higher the number the more restricted your air cleaner is. If it's reading in that range then your problem is not the air cleaner.
As mentioned it could be a stuck ebrake but that's not likely on an ISL 400 they usually have a true jake brake.
If the line is off between the turbo and the intake you will see no boost and no power with black smoke so that's real possible.

[Ronnie Bledsoe 2006 Dutchstar 43']

My 400 ISL has a bubble type gauge in the motor access area above the hinges for the air filter. It is green for good, yellow for caution and red for filter replacement. This is a bellows type gage and when I push the bellows it resets to green/ I then chck it after a drive and see where it resets. I only do this when the bellows is in the caution area.
On a previous Cummins I had a loss of RPM and no acceleration with black smoke and it was the Pac Brake being stuck closed. A hammer tap on the butterfly and problem was resolved.

GOOD LUCK...keep us updated on resolution.

[Automobilist]

Probably not the air filter, but it's very easy to simply remove the filter and see how the engine responds. If it's normal, it was the filter. If it still bogs, something else... Whole procedure should take all of ten minutes, max.

[Flyer]

Mr_D
My PacBrake problem was on an ISL400. Black smoke, loss of power.

[1ciderdog]

About the thing happened to me with an older GM diesel. Extreme black smoke, very little power and it was the air filter. It had become dusty and then it picked up moisture from the rain and choked off the intake air.
Bob

[Camping4fun]

Originally Posted by Flyer

Had a similar problem and it was a pacbrake stuck closed. Just a thought.

That sounds more like it to me than a air filter, good luck on repairs.

[chipline]

FWIW......I had a similar problem occur on a 8V92.....loss of power and black smoke. The smoke is probably coming from un-burned fuel because of sufficient air into the turbo. I found that tree leaves had gotten into the intake and restricted the airflow. Good luck!