Opening Pandora’s box. How to protect yourself from escalating repair bills.

Have you ever taken your truck into a repair facility, received an estimate for the repairs and when you return the invoice is much greater than the estimate?  Now you have a pit in your stomach.  Your adrenaline starts to flow and you became angry.  The same thing happens to the person that has to give you the bad news.  It’s an extremely uncomfortable situation for both parties and you can’t get the truck until the bill is paid in full.  Without the truck how do you make the money to pay for the repairs?  Back in the 70’s most owner operators had excess money.  Freight rates were high and the cost of parts and labor was low.  Today freight rates are extremely low and the cost of parts and labor are very high.  Labor rates in large cities are half the rate that lawyers and accountants charge.

How do you protect yourself from escalating charges?  #1. Review the estimate with the shop foreman and make certain that he is able to look you in the eye.  If he stares at the floor be careful.  In fact this holds true in all business transactions throughout your life.

#2.  Stay with your truck during the disassembly process.  Once the failed parts are removed and cleaned for inspection the actual cost of the repair should be obtainable.  Please keep in mind that mechanics and service managers do not have x-ray eyes and cannot see inside your engine, transmission and differentials until it’s disassembled.  If you’re not allowed in the shop, stay in your bunk or drivers lounge and ask them to show you the parts upon removal.  Its impossible for anyone to give you a firm price until the failed parts are removed and inspected.  Now you may ask for a signed quote and please explain that this amount is all that you are going to pay.  If the repair facility has a problem with doing the quote you only have to pay the tear down labor.  Gather your parts and have the truck towed to another repair facility.

Now allow me to explain to you what happens from a mechanics standpoint.  This is a true story and it just happened to us.  We receive a phone call from Mr. Owner operator asking about a 100 + horsepower tune up.  The price for this procedure is $1600.00 for this particular engine.  When the truck arrived there was a small amount of white smoke pulsating from the stacks.  After removing the injectors we then removed the injector push rod and with a long magnet we are able to lift the injector cam follower arm to inspect the roller, which rides on the camshaft.  The roller on #3 injector lobe was pitted.  Now the fuel pump and center cam follower are removed only to reveal a bad #3 injector cam lobe.  The camshaft must now be removed which requires 40 hours of labor to remove and install the camshaft.  The original tune up was quoted at 10 hours of labor.  The owner of the truck did not know he had a bad camshaft.  Our mechanic, after looking at the pattern of the exhaust smoke, suspected a faulty cam.  Fortunately the owner operator was with us during the entire diagnostics procedure.  To remove the camshaft the harmonic balancer or vibration damper has to be removed and that item is supposed to be replaced every 380,000 miles.  This damper had over 1,000,000 miles so now that it’s off it should be replaced at a cost of $490.00.  Once the cam gear is removed from the camshaft you must inspect the gear for fretting.  If the fretting line is greater than 1/8” the gear must be replaced.  This one was and the cost is $466.00.  If the gear is reused with fretting it will work its way loose on the nose of the cam and when this happens the valves are driven into the pistons and all of the pushrods will bend along with the valves.  So do you replace it now that it’s off or do you cut the corner, reuse the gear and hope that the gear doesn’t come loose for as long as you own the truck?  Remember; the corner that you cut may come back to bite you!

Now you need a camshaft and with an NTC Non STC Cummins you have two choices, a standard camshaft for $596.00 or a high lift cam for $1049.00.  If you enjoy horsepower you’ll choose the high lift cam.  After all, this cam will produce in excess of 800 horsepower with the proper fuel pump, turbo, injectors and timing.   

Timing: To protect the warranty of the new cam you must install three recon cam followers at a price of $749.00.  Or you have another option.  For $1600.00 the MVT (mechanical variable timing) system does an excellent job to eliminate white smoke during idling and extended engine life while pulling mountains.

Now you can see how a $1600.00 estimate over the telephone can result in an $8000.00 repair bill.  We haven’t mentioned all of the small parts involved while performing this repair like cam bearings, antifreeze, oil and filters.  Should the radiator be cleaned and checked now that it’s out?

Protect yourself; be there when the failed part of the truck is being dissembled.  Speak to the mechanic and service manager and discuss what other options you have.  Would an exchanged transmission, differential or engine be the best avenue for you?  To keep the repair cost down many times good used parts can be installed and the average price is one half the price of a new part.  Keep in mind that used parts do not have a warranty and the labor cost remains the same.

Here are a few ways of approaching service managers and mechanics; use statements such as, “If you were me what would you do”?  “I don’t suppose that it would be possible for you to give me a written quote once the failed part is dissembled?” or “May I please see the parts”?  They have a job to do just like you do.  Treat them with respect and kindness.  They will return the same to you.  It’s a two way street.  What you put out is what you’ll get back.

Stay out of repair facilities that have a poor reputation.  It may be more economical to have a friend rent a lowboy trailer and haul your truck home.

The question of the month is from Jack Post of Idaho.  Jack wrote to us asking what gear ratio we would recommend for this new Signature Series 565 H.P. Cummins engine.  Jack mentioned that his truck dealer recommended a 3:55 gear ratio.

I felt that 3:55 gears were much too low for the 16-6-18 Eaton transmission which has a final gear ratio of .85 with low pro 22.5 tires which have 518 revolutions per mile his cruising speed at 1600 RPM would be 63 miles per hour.  Jack lives in Idaho and their speed limit is 75 MPH.  A 63 MPH cruising speed would be unacceptable for most owner operators.  By the way, the best fuel consumption from the signature 565 and 600 horsepower engines is between 1500 and 1600 RPM.

With the Eaton .85 overdrive 18 speed transmission a 3:08 gear ratio would be necessary in order to cruise at 1600 RPM at 74 miles per hour.  Eaton informed me that with 11R 24.5 tires the speed would be 76 MPH.  My experience has been that the difference from low pro 22.5 tires to tall 11R 24.5 tires is between 5 and 6 MPH.

Now, why did Jack’s truck dealer recommend a 3:55 gear ratio?  On Monday July 26, 1999 I called Eaton to discuss transmission and differential gear ratios.  I was informed that the 16-8-18 transmission, with a final drive of .85, has been replaced with a RTLO 20-9-18B transmission.   It has a final drive ratio of .73 and with low pro 22.5 tires and a 3:55 rear end a cruising speed of 75 MPH will be possible at 1680 RPM.

Now my next question to Eaton is with the large gap between direct and overdrive gears, how much of a drop in speed will there be when pulling a mountain in direct vs. overdrive?  As it turns out there is another overdrive gear in this transmission, which is a .86 and is only to be used for pulling hills and not cruising on the level or the transmission can possibly overheat.  Do not spec the truck to use the .86 overdrive gear as a cruising gear.  Use the .73 gear for cruising in level terrain.  Eaton does not consider this transmission a double over 18 speed even though there are two overdrive gears.

My next question to Eaton was: Can you use the first overdrive gear (.86) to pull long 18 mile grades such as Baker mountain in California without overheating the transmission?  The answer is yes.

Now I’m confused.  In my mind a lot more heat is generated while pulling for 18 miles up a grade as, opposed to cruising on the level ground.  Eaton clearly stated to me to spec the truck for your cruising speed using 18^th gear, which is .73 overdrive.  So now 16^th gear is the direct gear, 17^th gear is .86 and 18^th gear is .73.  With this in mind just how fast will we climb a grade in 16^th or direct gear with a 3:55 ratio and low pro 22.5 tires.

            16 gear (direct)                                       17 gear (.86 overdrive)

            1600 RPM 52.5 MPH                             1600 RPM 61 MPH

            1700 RPM 55 MPH                                1700 RPM 65 MPH

            1800 RPM 58.5 MPH                             1800 RPM 68 MPH

            1900 RPM 62.5 MPH                             1900 RPM 72 MPH

            2000 RPM 65.5 MPH                              2000 RPM 76 MPH

It appears that the RTLO 20-9-18B Transmission has approximately a 300 RPM drop between gears just like its older brother the 16-6-18, however with 18^th gear being a higher overdrive, the final gear ratio in the differentials can be lower to make it easier to start out on a hill, in sand, gravel or mud.  I think your going to like this transmission.

Please keep in mind that everybody does not want to have an average speed of 75 MPH at 1680 RPM.  If this is your scenario and 68 to 70 MPH is your ideal speed compare the 3:70 and 3:90 gear ratios.  Also ask your truck dealer for a print out of the speed versus the RPM of the transmission and rear end gears and the tire size that you choose.  Go to your local Cummins distributor, Eaton and Rockwell and request the same information.  You may find that each company’s figures may vary somewhat.  Eaton’s phone number is 1-800-826-4357 and Rockwell’s number is 1-800-416-8199.  Enjoy your new Signature Series Cummins engine.

Doug Forraht sent us an E-mail asking if any of our performance products for the NTC engines would work on the L-10.  His truck is an IH2375  L-10-270 HP.  Our answer is yes.  The fuel system on the L-10 engine is the same as the NTC engine.  Since Doug's engine does not need to be rebuilt we are going to outline external changes that will result in an increase of horsepower and torque.

            #1:  Not knowing the age of Doug’s truck our first recommendation is to replace the fuel suction line and increase the size by two numbers.  The stock size is #10.  A #12 will allow more fuel to pass with less restriction.

#2:  Send the fuel pump and injectors to our shop in Pittsburgh, PA. to be re-calibrated.  It takes fuel to make power and without a matched set of high flow injectors and a high volume fuel pump there will be no power.

         #3:  Install a liquid filled fuel pressure gauge, turbo boost gauge, exhaust manifold pressure gauge and pyrometer so you will be able to monitor the performance of the engine while driving.

            #4:  Remove restrictions from the exhaust system and especially the baffles inside the muffler.  Dual exhaust always helps to relieve backpressure.

#5:  Air cleaner: We will determine the CFM (cubic feet of air per minute) requirements of the engine and you will have to call Donaldson with the part number of the air cleaner housing to obtain your current CFM rating.

            #6:  Turbocharger: With the turbo boost gauge and exhaust backpressure gauge installed we can now determine if the turbocharger is large enough to supply air to the engine.  The truck should be loaded and driven up a hill at wide-open throttle and the gauge readings recorded.

           #7::  Always use Lucas fuel conditioner with every tank of fuel.  Diesel fuel is very dry today and does a poor job of lubricating the fuel system.  The Lucas fuel conditioner does an excellent job of lubricating the barrels and plungers in the fuel system.  Many owner-operators have reported back to us that an increase of 2 to 3 pounds of turbo boost is noticed after using the Lucas.  Also, the Lucas oil stabilizer helps to protect the rod and main bearings in a performance engine.  Added power increases the load on the bearings and its nice to have that extra lubrication in the oil.

Doug, remember this: Trucks are like racecars.  They work their heart out on every hill they come to.  All of the changes we have listed do not have to be made at once.  Do one change per month and with each change you will notice an increase in performance.  With each change there will be a cumulative effect. However, each change will be small.  The final result will be a huge increase in performance and the truck will be fun to drive.  The fuel pump and injectors will result in the largest increase in power.

When its time to rebuild the engine we have a genuine Cummins performance piston available.  The advantages of this piston over the stock piston are as follows:

1.      Dual Ni ring lands.  The two top rings have the steel insert.  

2.     The wrist pin bore has been contoured to more evenly distribute the stress loading on the piston.

3.      The wrist pin is 4mm longer.

4.      The top of the piston has been anodized to relieve stress.

During the rebuilding process a different cam key will be supplied to retard the timing.  The retarding of the timing allows the piston to be closer to top dead center before the injector fires.  The retarding of timing reduces the combustion pressure on the piston.

Camshaft:  If your camshaft needs to be replaced the new design camshaft is microfinished and must be used with microfinished cam follower rollers to achieve durability improvements.

Head bolts:  If your engine currently has flange style cap screws they must be replaced with the new design head bolts and washers.  The new bolts are torque-to-yield style cap screws.  If your engine is equipped with this style cap screw you must use gauge part # 3823546 to check for proper length.  Head bolts do stretch.

            Water temperature: With the addition of horsepower the water temperature may rise an additional 12 degrees.  During the rebuild process it is advisable to replace the water pump and have a radiator shop clean and flush the radiator.

            The block:  It is recommended that your engine block be 1988 or newer.  Starting with serial number 34569763 the structural integrity of the block is greater.

Strictly my opinion: The L-10 is a great medium duty engine and should be used as such.  To me, medium duty is 60,000 GVW or less.  Remember the old saying from back in the 60’s “You can’t beat cubic inches.”  If you’re around 80,000 lb. build an NTC 14-liter engine.  Heavy haulers: The 1150 cu. Inch “K” series is still the ultimate engine.  Don’t ask a boy to do a man’s job.