Help !!!
Hope some of you were dealing with similar problem (and are still in biz) . My 2011 prostar is on going through turbos like it was candy . I'm currently on 5th turbo this year only , replaced egr cooler , baked the dpf , rebuilt the head and cams , changed the radiator (was cracked) 7th injector and nothing helps ! Still after about 1-2 k miles after turbo replacement calibration and forced regen it throws 5018 -18 and 5018 - 11 , and in another 3-5 k turbo starts leaking despite the weekly forced regens . At this rate i'm pretty sure i won't be able to stay afloat and by the end of the year will go out of business, any help appreciated
Outside of Chinese copies/fakes, I have never seen repeating turbo failures that were not caused by something else. They are generally pretty tough unless they have been abused in some way.
The fastest way to put yourself out of buisness is to take it to the stealershits. Sounds to me that is the biggest problem more-so than the resulting failures. Don't be quick to blame the equipment on incompetent repairs. A Prostar is one of the most profitable, most fuel efficient trucks out there for highway use. This is especially true if it has a red engine in it. If you can't make it in one of those, there is no hope for doing any better with something else. I can bet you that I would have that truck making me a ton of money if I owned it,... and if one man can do it,.. so can someone else. It is all a matter of know-how.
You need to first find out what has failed on them with some detail + pictures and why.
Maybe you should take the truck to Mr.Hags shop or Gearhead and have those problems diagnosed and some help investigating them properly?.
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More details would help. In 2011, there were trucks with only DPF (CM871 engines) and trucks that had SCR(CM2250 engines). What kind of engine do you have? DPF only? or DPF and SCR? --
Mileage?
Where you have taken it and some details on each failure, etc?
Is the engine de-mandated? -- Any of those crappy "delete kits" installed? -- or is it 100% stock with the emissions system still functioning?
has anyone changed the HP settings from factory?
Are there any after-market components on it like after-market egr cooler or CAC or other things?
The first step towards real success is to throw that "take it to someone else when the CEL light comes on" in the trash can and get together with people who can help you learn to take control of your own problems.
The second step is to listen and follow those truck owners who are already very successful, put any ego aside, and be prepared to get your hands dirty + learn new things. The wheel of success with these aero trucks with red engines in them has already been invented, you only need to follow it. I have met guys who were living in their trucks, family left them, completely broke, can't make their Leese payments any more, are down more than they haul freight, and have nothing left but their dignity. I have met and helped plenty of those guys over the years. Unfortunately, that is where most truck owners finally start to realize that what they are, and have been doing simply does not work in todays trucking industry. There are at least 2 dozen truck owners on this forum alone that have been right there with you, that later have become so successful in what they do, that they now go out of their way to help others do the same thing. The most difficult struggle for most O/O's these days is to stop blaming their equipment and everything/everyone around them and to start looking in the mirror, telling themselves that only they can ultimately solve their problems and make themselves successful again.
You should have done this after the very first failure, long before you have gotten to the point you are at now. A repeating failure that is costly should never have happened a second time. if I owned it, I would have torn that engine into a thousand pieces if necessary to find out why it failed to begin with.
I had someone call me up not 3 days ago that said something went through their turbo, chewed up the turbine, destroying it. Then it happened a second time in a row a week later after its replacement. I asked them if they pulled the manifold and all the other components apart upstream to see what broke loose, and they said "no one bothered"... Well,.. I told them,.. expect another failure, that is the path you and your mechanic choose. I would have pulled every single component off that bit#$tch and found where it came from, and I would have pulled injectors out and boroscoped it, looking for a valve to be cracked if nothing else was found. Turbos aren't cheap and neither is sitting roadside a second or third time.
That is how I feel about repeating failures. Sometimes they are not avoidable, nor foreseen, but you had be assured upon that second time,... I would have gotten to the bottom of it long before putting another expensive component on it.
I PM'd you my number if you want to chat.
I'm one of those O/Ops... LOL! Rawze saved my ASS! Listen to him, he knows what he speaks of. ;-)
Yeah jeez, that's no good. Rawze is right on the money here but first we need info. 871 or 2250, exhaust temps? Regen numbers as you said you baked the dpf.
We have all been through the ringer and came out the other end with help from others here.
Rebuilt the head is my first warning sign... We know how that always seems to play out... Which motor have you got?
Hey thx for a quick reply
Nah i would never make the mistake of taking my baby to the stealership , I mostly do the maintenance and minor repairs by myself for major stuff i have a team of pretty knowledgeable ( or so ithought ) ppl who are taking care of over 50 trucks ( all isx prostars) on a daily basis . They are also baffled by this and say they never seen this issue before !!!????. When we popped the head up last month , everything seemed to be in a pretty good shape (other than the fact it was cracked and developed a leak)considering 738 k on this engine( i own it since it was under 300 k Last year i got a new egr cooler and dpf was recently baked . I'm running out of options and the money i set aside wont last forever ....
Oh sorry its the one with dpf 871 , the website did not refresh i didn't see all the replies... thank you for the interest.
Ok now that i have a better connection ill try to come up with more coherent answer
- mileage 732k
-engine 871 dpf only
- running stock no modifications deletes or other aftermarket bs
- exhaust temp don't remember but i will get it monday when i get back to chicago
- same with regen readout
-totally willing to get my hands dirty as a matter of fact i would totally pay you any amount of money if you would take the time and do it with me
- no ego whatsoever thats loooong gone
- disregard my post about knowledgeable mechanics just by the questions you ask i can tell you guys are on a different level
- absolutely open for any suggestions, have nothing to loose at this point
- i just wish i found this forum sooner im well over 25k down the drain (this year alone)and i bet you nothing is really fixed
- made a small donation to help the cause ill make it a monthly habbit from now on
a few things needed either way but im pretty sure I have a good idea whats going on.....
Do you have insite and a inline adapter?
do you have access to one?
I wanna know egt and boost numbers to rule things out.
ive seen a guy burn out turbos cause the head rebuilder didnt seat valve guides properly.
but thats neither here nor there, here is what i think you need....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhnRiNdDh7w
do this and report back your numbers, do it first to give yourself a baseline of just how fucked up your engine really is..... then do this....
http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=34
dont skip anything, do it all. those codes (if i read them correctly) are saying your regen is failed because it cannot get up to temp to do a regen. what happens then is it keeps trying while you drive and burns extra fuel for no reason while it tries to unsucessfully warm up. you nicely baked dpf is now plugged again from failed regens and your back pressure is building to severe levels where guys like rawze and unilevers will tell you to expect to buy a new head if you dont fix it.
you will be amazed at that egr tuneup will do my friend. if i sound like in know what im talking about here, i can assure you it isnt because i am smart but rather that i am dumb and went through the exact same thing. one of my first posts was something similar and the tuneup wqas night and day differencee.
i ended up demandating mine anyways afterwards. i never wanted to but i can tell you now without a doubt..... i have never been happier, i am so glad i did.
your in good hands here, lots of guys able to help you out. where are you located?
good luck