Detroit Series 60 Engine Replacement.

This Freightliner truck was purchased from an auction at a really good price.
Only challenge was that the engine did not turn over.
So after a number of checks it was decided to remove the complete engine and investigate further.

All ancillaries removed, engine hooked up and Nathan ready to extract the Series 60 engine.

Draining the oil - sorry water and coolant out of the engine.

Something very wrong here.

First "tell tale" signs of disaster.

Off came the cylinder head - and this is what we found.

 yes., that is a hole right through the piston, a noticeably common failure with this type of piston configuration.

As can be see in the illustration below, this piston assembly comes in two parts, held together by the piston  pin.

All things considered, not bad for lugging 23 tons around for 1,6 million kilometres.

And so off we go into the shed and what do we find?

Well I never, a whole stash of Series 60 Detroit engines,,

Cleaned up and transferring all the ancillaries over to the exchange motor.

Silicone hoses, turbo charger and coolant pipes replaced.

Ready to be fitted.

Although this is not the longest term solution, an engine swap out is the cheaper and faster way to go.

 We buy and rebuild Detroit Series 60 Engines.

Speak to Daisy.

Freightliner ColumbiaCylinder Head Gasket Leaking.

Freightliner fitted with the Mercedes Daimler MBE-4000  engine reported for a coolant leak.
There appeared to be no coolant in the engine oil, tests confirmed this.
But still each day all the water in the coolant reservoir bottle seen in the photo below was empty.
A pressure test revealed  that there was a leak somewhere, especially when cold, the pressure dropped off fast.
Only one option left, strip down the engine and find the leak.

Mercedes Daimler MBE-4000 engine fitted to Freightliner.

The image below indicates the task at hand, Remove and replace 6 separate cylinder head and all ancillaries.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO FIND THE OFFICIAL DETROIT WEB REPAIR MANUAL.

After stripping down most of the ancillaries we found the results of a problem.

Coolant leaking between the engine block and the cylinder head gaskets.

All 6 Cylinder Heads removed and given a light clean to enable inspection.

New individual Cylinder Head gaskets - prior to installation.

6 Cylinder heads cleaned up for inspection.

This image shows condition of the block face, notice corrosion arround the water ports, poor and incorrect coolant would be a good diagnosis.

Had the coolant concentrate been correct, the engine block would never have corroded,

this would have prevented any future gasket failures.

My trustworthy assistant - My Daughter Meg helping prepare the block before we replace the cylinder heads.

Meg giving each cylinder head it's first stage torque as we assemble the top end.

Shortly after repairing this engine the owner sold the truck, we hope the repairs lasted for some time, 

BUT

1. Better coolant care could have spared the faces of the heads and the engine block.
2. There is no real quick fix for corrosion damage.
3. Long term and lasting repair requires the block and heads to be machined.
4. Maintenance along with the correct coolant can save a lot of money and time.
5. Choose Wisely!

Kenworth Engine Replacement - C12 - Hallam Truck Center.

September 2005 while working at Hallam Truck Center as the workshop supervisor I took a day off my usual routine and joined the men on the workshop floor replacing an engine in a Kenworth.

At hand was Geezer, the older block of a chap and two apprentices Tom and Aaron.
Together we tackled the engine change-over and some 16 hours later the truck was back on the road.

Here are some photos of our fun filled day.

Engine out, now the fun begins.

Remove all the ancillaries, ECU and controls.

Removed the cylinder head to allow the customer to see where his money was going.

New caterpillar engine arrives, fresh out of a crate.

Getting ready to mate the engine to the transmission and fit both together.

No rest for the witched.

Engine and transmission mated together.

Geezer and myself making final adjustments before the engine and transmission go back into the truck.

That night at about 11:30 pm the truck was ready for a test drive.

Aaron was the designated driver and off we sped into the rain.

Our boss had stayed behind for the evening for moral support / crack the whip.

I could not resist the urge after a long day to have some fun and so after a great amount of begging Aaron agreed on the plan.

We parked the truck outside the Truck Center and walked back in the rain.

Pretending to be absolutely motherless we kept quite while everyone asked what has happened.

Eventually Aaron announced that the engine had blown up and we need to organize a tow truck.

We both learned quickly that not everyone shares our sense of humor at 12:30 at night.

We started laughing and all of a sudden no one believed us that there was nothing wrong with the truck.

So off Aaron went in the rain and fetched the truck.

Our boss was strawberry red in the face when he saw the truck purr into the workshop.

What can we say "boys will be boys"

Thank guy's  - great day working with your.

 

CRANE FIT-OUT MERC 1517

We have been requested to fit this brand new Fassi F80 crane to this Mercedes Truck.

The crane needs to be fitted between the cab and the tray.

This is a tilt tray - so the tray will need to be shortened and the sub-frame needs to be extended.

Brand new Fassi F80 crane.

Where the crane is now , that's where it needs to go on the truck chassis.

The tray has been cut shorter, old pieces are seen strapped to the tray, and the crane is mounted in position.

Crane folded up and ready to go.

All the hydraulics , fabrication , and welding on this project have been done in-house.

This truck was tested and certified, passing all inspection criteria.

Tray tilted - crane erect.

Ready for work.

Crane Fit-out - Isuzu Truck.

Fitting a new crane to a tilt tray.

Crane is situated up front between cab and tilt tray.

Crane on it's way into position.

Fits in like a glove, on-top of a fabricated sub-frame that goes the whole length of the truck.

View of the sub-frame - all the way to the rear of the truck.

Tilt tray tipping cylinders are mounted into the sub-frame.

The completed job - tray tilts and crane fitted and operational.

All the hydraulics, fabrication and welding done in-house.

Front view, truck used for delivering timber to building sites.

Side view - brand new remotely operated crane ready to work.

International Navstar Crankshaft Oil Leak.

International Navstar fleet vehicle arrived with a nasty oil leak.

After steam cleaning the engine it was determined that the front crankshaft oil seal had failed.

All the v belts and ancillary items were removed.

Also the front crank pulleys.

Notice the oil on the inside of the crank pulley, this was being slung out and all over the machine.

Removint the front pulley hub with 3 leg puller.

The source of the oil leak.

New speed sleeve fitted the the oil seal face to eliminate the wear grove cut by the oil oil seal.