c/diesel-mechanics

Bought a cheap injector puller set off Amazon and it snapped after 3 uses

Figured I'd save a few bucks on a $40 set instead of spending $150 on the OTC one... big mistake. Snapped the threaded rod on the third injector and had to spend 2 hours drilling it out of a 6.7 Powerstroke. Anyone else had luck with a specific brand that actually holds up?

Old timer at the shop told me my torque wrench was junk after I snapped a bolt on a Cummins ISX

I was doing a head gasket job on a 2015 Freightliner at Pritchard's Fleet down in Denver, and a 5/8 bolt just twisted clean off at 90 ft-lbs. A retired mechanic named Walt walks over, picks up my old Craftsman torque wrench, and says this thing hasn't been calibrated since Clinton was in office. He handed me his Snap-on and I finished the job in half the time. Anyone else had a seasoned guy save your bacon with a simple tool swap?

Why does nobody talk about how bad injectors fail in the rain...

Last Tuesday I was on a job outside Lafayette, working on a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia. It started raining halfway through and the truck went from running rough to dead in the water real quick. Pulled the valve cover and found water creeping into the number 4 injector wiring harness, corrosion had built up over time. I dried it out with compressed air and replaced the harness connector, fires right back up. Anyone else run into moisture getting into their injector plugs like that?

Warning: My shop's oil analysis numbers flipped after I switched filters

Been running the same fleet of 6 Freightliners for 4 years, always used the cheap spin-on filters from the local parts house. Last fall I swapped to a Fleetguard brand on a whim for my personal truck. At the 500 hour oil change the lab report showed iron levels dropped from 42 ppm to 11 ppm, insane difference. The old filters just weren't catching the fine wear debris I guess. Anyone else seen big changes in their oil reports after switching filter brands?

Warning: Ditch the generic fuel filters for Fleetguard before you lose a pump

Spent 6 months running cheap Napa filters on my 7.3 Powerstroke. The day I pulled the old one and saw the bypass valve had started to fail I switched to Fleetguard. Who else has nearly toasted an injection pump running budget filters?

I was dead set against those synthetic oil blends for years, then I tore down a 7.3 with 350k on one

Back in '08 my buddy kept telling me to run Rotella T5 in my 7.3 instead of the straight 15w-40 I always used. I figured it was just a way to charge more for half the petroleum. Fast forward to last spring, I had to pull the heads on a truck that had been on T5 since 150k. The valvetrain looked almost new, no varnish, no crusty buildup. The guy who owned it ran it hard too, hauling hay bales out of Cheyenne every summer. I still run conventional in my old 4BT but I've been using the blend in everything else for about a year now. Any of you guys had a similar experience where you changed your mind on something?

Old timer told me my injector timing was off by 3 degrees and I argued for a week

I was rebuilding a 6.0 Powerstroke last spring and this retired fleet mechanic watched me set the timing. He said I was off by 3 degrees and would burn a hole in a piston within 6 months. I told him I had been doing it the same way for 10 years with no issues. But then I double checked his method (he pulled the valve covers and used a dial indicator instead of my usual approach) and sure enough he was right. Has anyone else had that moment where you swear by your method and then find out you've been wrong the whole time?

Turned my back on additive injector cleaners for years until a 671 blew

I always figured those fuel additive cleaners were snake oil for guys who didn't maintain their rigs properly. Then a buddy's Detroit 671 in an old Kenworth started running rough and smoking bad last month. He dumped in a bottle of Opti-Lube and after about 50 miles that thing smoothed right out and the smoke cleared. Has anyone else had a situation where a specific additive actually proved itself on a stubborn engine?

Tried running a big fuel system cleaner through a 6.7 Powerstroke and got a nasty surprise

I had a 2015 F-250 come into my shop in Denver last month with some rough idle and figured I'd run a can of Archoil through it before digging deeper. Well after about 50 miles that thing started puking black smoke and the injectors went totally out of balance. Learned the hard way that these common rail systems don't like heavy cleaners if the injectors are already worn, turned into a $3k injector job. Anyone else had a cleaner mess up an engine worse than it fixed it?

That job in Phoenix last month showed me how bad glow plug issues can get in the heat

Had a 2015 Cummins come in with a hard start when it was 110 out, and after chasing it for two days found three bad glow plugs that were swollen and stuck. The heat down there actually makes them fail faster because they never cycle off the same way. Anyone else seen more plug failures in desert climates?

Tried a used ultrasonic cleaner from a pawn shop - got way more than I bargained for

Picked up a beat up Branson 5800 at a pawn shop near Akron for $40 last month. Figured it'd be a waste for cleaning injectors but gave it a shot anyway. Thing actually stripped carbon off a set of 6.7 Powerstroke nozzles better than my buddy's $600 unit at his shop. Just had to replace the transducer for $20 off eBay. Has anyone else had luck with cheap used cleaners or did I just get stupid lucky?

Vent: Dropped $400 on a reman injector and it failed in 2 weeks

Tbh I thought I was saving money going with a remanufactured injector from a no-name supplier. Cost me $400 plus my labor to swap it into a 6.7 Cummins last month. Two weeks later the truck started running rough and smoking white. Pulled it back out and found the injector tip was cracked. The supplier said no returns on installed parts so I'm out that cash. Just a heads up to stick with OEM injectors even if they cost double. Anyone else get burned by cheap reman stuff?

Am I the only one who thinks synthetic oil in older diesels is overhyped?

I know everyone swears by Rotella T6 for everything, but I put it in my '92 7.3L and started getting leaks at every seal. Switched back to conventional 15W-40 and it's been dry for 3 years now. Has anyone else had a similar experience or am I just lucky?

Figured out why my injectors kept failing after a trip to the truck stop

I was down in Laredo last month helping a buddy with a Cummins ISX that kept dropping a cylinder. After swapping injectors twice I finally checked the fuel filters and they were packed with this fine black grit. Turns out the pump at that little station off I-35 has a bad tank liner that flakes off. Now I carry a bore scope everywhere and check filters before I even start diagnosing. Has anyone else run into tank liner problems messing up fuel systems?

Had a day last week where everything went right for once

Replaced the injector cups on a 6.0 Powerstroke and it fired up on the first crank no smoke or nothing. Forgot how good it feels when a job just clicks, anyone else have those rare perfect days?

Hot take: I tried bypassing a glow plug controller on a 7.3 Powerstroke last weekend and my truck actually started faster cold than it ever did with the factory system

Some guys swear the computer knows best for preheat timing but I got sick of waiting on a slow controller so I wired in a manual push button with a 6-second hold and now I'm wondering if all those years of relying on the PCM was just holding back the old IDI learning the hard way that a direct power feed might be simpler and more reliable than a module that costs $400 to replace, what's your take on factory versus manual glow plug control?

The injector I swapped last week dropped my fuel temp by 15 degrees

I was chasing a hot fuel issue on a buddy's 6.7 Powerstroke, pulling a trailer up I-5 near Salem. The #3 injector had a bad return line seal, dumping high pressure fuel right back into the rail. Replaced it with a rebuilt unit from the local diesel shop, and his fuel temp went from 195 to 180 after a 30 minute pull. Anyone else see big temp swings from just one bad injector?

Talking to a fleet manager last week made me rethink how I torque head bolts on 6.7 Powerstrokes

He said he never tightens them past 140 in the final pass because he's seen too many pulled threads at 160 and now I'm wondering if the manual is wrong for daily drivers, has anyone else backed off the spec on these motors?

Watched a guy at the yard try to free a seized injector with a hammer and a prayer

He was beating on the side of a 6.7 Powerstroke like it owed him money, and I had to step in. That aluminum head is not a place for brute force, you need the right puller and some heat, maybe a soak in penetrant overnight. I showed him my OTC slide hammer kit and we had it out in ten minutes without a scratch. How many of you still see this cowboy stuff on the regular?

Had a turbo feed line let go on a 6.7 Powerstroke pulling a grade in Wyoming

Oil sprayed everywhere under the hood, lost all boost pressure. I had to limp it to a pullout using just the emergency kit hose clamps and a spare quart of 15W-40. Anyone know a better permanent fix for those factory crimp fittings?

Saw a fleet of old Detroit 8V92s still running strong at the Port of Tacoma

I was down there last week for a parts run and noticed a whole line of yard tractors with those old two-strokes... they were all from the 80s. The foreman said they keep them because the rebuild kits are cheap and his crew knows them inside out. Made me rethink pushing everyone toward newer common rail engines for every job. What's the oldest engine you guys still see doing real work?

Just hit 10,000 hours on a 6.7 Powerstroke I've been the only mechanic for

Honestly, I was doing the service on my buddy's 2015 F-250 yesterday and the scan tool showed 10,012 engine hours. I've been the only person to turn a wrench on that truck since he bought it new. Ngl, seeing that number felt pretty good. It made me think about all the little things I've done to keep it running smooth, like sticking to the 5k oil change interval with Rotella T6 and catching a small high-pressure fuel pump weep at around 7,500 hours. The truck still pulls his equipment trailer every day without a hiccup. It's a solid reminder that consistent, careful maintenance really pays off long-term. Has anyone else hit a crazy high hour mark on a rig they've maintained from the start?

A loose injector line on a Detroit 60 series almost started a fire in my shop

I was doing a routine service on a dump truck in Phoenix when I smelled diesel and saw a fine mist spraying from a line nut. It was hitting the hot exhaust manifold. I shut it down and found the torque spec in the manual was way off from what I'd been using. Anyone else run into bad torque specs on older service manuals?

Question about replacing a turbo on a 6.7 Powerstroke, went with a reman unit and it's been a headache

Had a customer's 2015 F-250 with the turbo making that awful metal-on-metal noise last week. The choice was a brand new OEM turbo for $2,100 or a 'certified reman' from a big parts house for $1,400. Went with the reman to save them some cash, installed it Friday. By Monday, it was back on the lift with a massive oil leak from the center cartridge. The shop that built it is giving me the runaround on the warranty claim, saying it was an install error. Has anyone else had a bad run with reman turbos lately, or should I just start pushing new units only?

Just lost a whole afternoon and $80 on a 'universal' EGR cooler gasket that didn't fit my 6.7 Powerstroke.