Community Forums

2016RoadglideCVO · 03-29-2015, 06:21 PM

So I decided to go to the local FINNING Truck Centre to get the oil changed in my C-9 400 hp Caterpillar engine in my DP. They had a special on for $350, change the filters, Caterpillar oil, check for fault codes etc. Sounds good right? Wrong!!!

Apparently, the spigot came out with the oil filter (which happens now and again they say). I and was told they could thread the shaft back in and use Lock Tight and it should hold. Here come the "BUT". "But I have to tell you, you could be driving down the road and your oil filter would fall off and you would lose oil pressure which would shut the engine down".....

Well, that is comforting isn't it? To make a long story short, I told them to fix it properly so that I could have piece of mind while driving. The final bill was $3316.00. BOY does she run smooth now!!!! Can you believe it? YES, 3316 Canadian dollars....that is about 2400 USD. 3316 more air miles..lol

It is only money...............

Mr. Dave · 03-29-2015, 06:23 PM

Ouch!

Dave and Young
2003 Revolution 40c
Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

CampingCajun · 03-29-2015, 06:44 PM

WOW.

What was the proper fix, a new filter mount?

2016RoadglideCVO · 03-29-2015, 06:53 PM

Ya, they had to put a new "oil filter mounting base" in. The part wasn't so bad...$425.00 + seals. The problem was the location. They had to do all of the work from underneath and to compound it, the mounting base was jammed in next to the frame which made access even more difficult. They actually spent 16 hours of labor on it but only charged me for 12. The guy initially quoted my 8 hours labor, called me with the bad news about it taking longer so we settled on 12...(cuz he felt bad asking me for more money) lol Their shop rate is about $140 per hour. And of course we have to pay the Government their 12% tax on everything....

The engine really does run great though....

dennis45 · 03-29-2015, 06:57 PM

Too bad you couldn't corner the mechanic outside on a smoke break and ask him what he would do if this were his engine. I'm not really familiar with this housing but something doesn't sound kosher about this.
What kept the spigot from coming out in the first place?

2 Stroker · 03-29-2015, 07:09 PM

It may run good but someone got shafted

A good reason to do your own service work.
2 stroker

dpinvidic · 03-29-2015, 07:22 PM

Very sorry to hear that.
Are you talking about the center threaded nipple which the filter screws on to?
Sounds like it just came unscrewed. So how is a new one put together to keep it from coming apart?

Dan

89sandman · 03-29-2015, 11:09 PM

Man those diesels sure are expensive...

firedoc · 03-29-2015, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 89sandman

Man those diesels sure are expensive...

Just had Caterpiller change oil, and all filters, adjust the valves, lube chassis, test motor oil and transmission fluid, look over everything they could see when in to do valves, cost $830.00. Less than I expected but.....

Shaky · 03-30-2015, 02:47 AM

There's an upside to having a gas powered rig. I could darned near drop a factory rebuild into my coach for that kind of money.

2016RoadglideCVO · 03-30-2015, 10:14 AM

Hi Dan,
Yes, it was the threaded shaft that the oil filter screws onto. I was told that the oil filter may have been put on too tight during the previous oil change or there may have been a crack in the oil filter mounting base. They were supposed to keep the part so I could look at it but the service guy that I dealt with was not there when I picked the coach up. The part ended up buried in the scrap metal bin.
I spoke to the owner of a diesel repair shop in Kelowna and he did say that they do Lock Tight them back in and as long as it torques up to specs "it should be okay" but I am not comfortable with a half assed repair.
We just had the Hydralift motorcycle lift installed and all the towing system for the CR-V and haven't had a chance to test all that yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly.

Old Car Nut · 03-30-2015, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newintown

I spoke to the owner of a diesel repair shop in Kelowna and he did say that they do Lock Tight them back in and as long as it torques up to specs "it should be okay" but I am not comfortable with a half assed repair.
We just had the Hydralift motorcycle lift installed and all the towing system for the CR-V and haven't had a chance to test all that yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly.

That would not have been a 1/2 ass repair. More like the way it was put together at the factory. Had they put locktight on the nipple going into the housing and properly tightened the filter to specs the filter would not have fallen off. Were that the case oil filters would be falling off everywhere.

Just goes to show you need to find a shop you can trust. Or be like me and do as much as you can yourself. Oh, and if the shop does not show me the part they took off when it was agreed they would before hand, I'm not paying them.

dpinvidic · 03-30-2015, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newintown

Apparently, the spigot came out with the oil filter (which happens now and again they say). I and was told they could thread the shaft back in and use Lock Tight and it should hold. Here come the "BUT". "But I have to tell you, you could be driving down the road and your oil filter would fall off and you would lose oil pressure which would shut the engine down".....

It is only money...............

HI Ron,

All of this is subjective, so you need to be comfortable with your own judgment.

Please don't take offense at this.

I look at it this way. During manufacturing, the filter base is machined, and then the nipple is installed. Very likely with High Strength Thread lock. It comes in different strengths.

Two likely reasons it came out.
1. The surface was not clean when they applied thread lock, or did not apply enough.
2. A cracked filter base (pretty unlikely, but not impossible)

It should be simple to clean both male/female threads, and apply new thread locker. The nipple could have been examined to see the remains of the old thread locker to see how much they used.

Here is the significant point to me. I would bet my house that your filter would not fall off. If anything, something might start to loosen, and you would develop an oil leak. It would start by a few drops on the bottom of the filter, and then could get worse over quite a few miles. You could easily check by looking under the coach every hundred miles.
On top of that, you have the filter gasket providing resistance to turning. You usually need a filter wrench to loosen during oil change.

Again, in my opinion, the repair shop tried scare tactics to make it a bigger job.

Too late now, but just be cautious with them in the future.

Regards,

Dan

Mr_D · 03-30-2015, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaky

There's an upside to having a gas powered rig. I could darned near drop a factory rebuild into my coach for that kind of money.

Then try the $29,000 bill (less $10,000 that Cummins is paying, so "only" $19,000) for the blown engine in our Magna. Got to drive it 2,600 miles and at 44,000 miles this is the second repair for the same failure and the third turbo on it. Spent a lot of our life savings to buy the rig and now have to close out an IRA to fix it. But, hopefully it'll be fixed this week.