CM2250 tune up

[Thegrinder]

Hi everyone

Im going to appoligize in advance if what I'm writing gets a little confusing to most, I chose the being a driver over a writer, well because I suck at writing. But anyway, I recently purchased a 2013 pete 579 from my boss, I have been in the truck for the past 4 months before the purchase. The trucks been a decent truck the whole time I've been in it. But the biggest issue I've been working through is the soot getting into the oil. From the time I got into the truck on the first run with it I noticed that while hauling heavy, around 78000, about 49000lbs of milk, I noticed the oil pressure would drop from around 38 to 30 psi, and when this would happen the oil temps would rise to around 240 degrees, and than when I would hit the jake, I'd get a horibbible vibration. Well I looked at the records for the truck and the last oil change was around 16000 miles prior. So I had the oil and filters changed, and this helped for about 6000 miles oil pressure would stay around 38psi, after 6000 miles its start dropping and the same isssues. so I basically went 3 months were I was changing the oil every 4000 to 6000 miles. thats when I started doing alot of research. Turns out this engine has a huge carbon packing issue as you all already know, so ive known for months now I need to get this dirty oil under control. so the first thing my boss and I Decided is we tried an oil change with that valvoline blue restore, a good 1000 dollars for that oil change. And I can tell you that it helped alot, but I did make one mistake in the 11000 miles I ran it, and that was I didn't have a bypass filter setup on the help keep it clean. Also the other issue I was having and I know it contributed to the sooty oil, when I was loaded and climbing hills, I'd get this high piched whistle, and than a vibration that was basically the engine getting too much fuel and not enough air. So I replaced all the rubber charge pipe boots, pulled the intake, and noticed that their was corrsion building up between the head and intake manifold and pushing the manifold out and causing a leak. cleaned that up, new gasket, and cleaned the intake manifold and egr crossover, chaged the imap, and delta P sensors as per rawze's guidence in his videos, and the loaded vibration and high pitched noise is gone now. the truck is running great. Went from loaded and unloaded fuel milage of 5.9, maybe 6 if I'm lucky, to I'm lucky if I drop below 7mpg on a 600 mile trip loaded, and 8.5 to 9 unloaded. I do have a couple valve seals leaking I noticed when I had the intake off. I still need to check the overhead, and add a pyro gauge, and Bypass setup, and some other preventive maintence things that rawze has gone over. It never ends.

So the real question I have now that you know a little background of what I have and been dealing with, My boss or former boss now that I own the truck has purchased an extended warranty directly from cummins that goes for 2 years or 732000 miles, I have 562000 on it currently, now that I'm getting the oil under control and getting things working properly. I know it was said that I custom tune can help with the sooting issue, and I'm leaning both ways, say screw the warranty and tune it to run better, because one thing I hate is in 12th it will only go to 55mph around 1400 rpm, but when it starts going uphill, it takes a min, but it will pull in 12th all the way out to 63 or 64 and around 1600 rpm's, or wait till the inframe is done under warranty, but than the truck is down for a few weeks and not making any money, and its also one of the reasons we ran the blue restore through because it was a requirement for warranty purposes.

Any advice is welcome. and Again thankyou all for all the great info.

[Rawze]

Maybe the restore oil helped --- BUT IT IS MASKING THE REAL PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF FIXING THEM!!!

Like you said, you flushed the soot out of the oil several times and it started clearing up. It only got that way from prior neglect and the fact that no one bothered to put an el-cheapo bypass oil filtration system on it for a few hundred bucks. -- Here is what is recommended in that regard....
http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...617#pid617


Make your decision on if you want to demandate it or not. If you DO NOT WANT TO demandate it ...

*Install an el-cheapo bypass oil filter on it (like it should have had when the engine/truck was still NEW).

* Pull off the DOC and DPF and have them flow tested and baked + perhaps have the SCR flow-tested if it looks like it may have partial clogging going on. Inspect the Decomp tube, etc. while your at it. -- http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...07#pid1807

===

If you DO or DO NOT end up demandating it, you STILL NEED TO ...

* After that, pressure test the whole engine and look for air, egr, and exhaust leaks. - http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...21#pid8321

* Pull the fuel pump apart and inspect it + replace its guts if it has not been done in the last 400k miles to prevent the all-mighty fuel pump of death scenario that causes sudden total engine failure!. (reference: http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...9#pid15389 )

* RUN THAT OVERHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT, as it should be done every 200k miles or so.

* Do a leak-down test on it and make sure it passes -- https://youtu.be/eH9GRkeozTM

* Do all the of the maintenance items to the truck all the way up to the 500k listings that have likely been neglected mentioned in the maint. schedule in my book. Print it out and fill it out as you do them WITHOUT TAKING SHORTCUTS.

-- After you have done all that, you will know what shape the truck and engine actually is in. You will also NOT need to run over-priced "Band-aide" liquid-cure oil in it. That is no solution at all!. Get it straightened out, get Rotella or Delo in it, and add a gallon of gear lube at every oil change.


As far as warranty goes --- IT IS NOT WORTH THE PAPER IT IS WRITTEN ON!!!! --- YOU DO NOTHING BUT LOOSE MONEY LIKE YOU HAVE A SEVERE GAMBLING HABIT WHILE IT SITS WAITING FOR THE WARRANTY CLAIMS AND REPAIRS!. - Lost time on the roads while they lolly-gag around with it and guess at your problems is NOt WORTH IT!@@ --- AND FOR THOSE WHO THINK THEY CAN GET FREE ENGINE REPAIRS ON THE INSIDES OF THEIR ENGINE???? =---- I WOULD NOT LET AN OEM SHOP WITHIN 100-FT OF MY ENGINE --- THEY ARE COMPLETE AND UTTER MORONS WHO I WOULD NOT TRUST TO DO ANYTHING WHATSOEVER INSIDE MY ENGINE!!!!!! --- PERDIOdd!!!! ---- NOT EVEN IF THEY PAID ME!!! so if you want something done even half right, you have to completely IGNORE THAT WARRANTY and do things yourself or take it to one of the places recommended on this forum ANYWAYS!>

-- Throw the "Warranty" mentality in the trash can -- you don't need to be relying on paperwork that yields nothing but HALF ARSSED REPAIR PRACTICES and HALF-ARSSED MECHANICS digging at your issues!. -- After that ..

Go do those things that ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO IMPROVE YOUR PROFITABILITY IN POSITIVE WAYS! -- ITS CALLED OWNING A BUSINESS!. and if your Lease agreement does not let you do those things,... -tell them to shove the truck right back up their inconsiderate a-holes! AND WALK AWAY.

============

Just ask yourself -- What would Rawze do if he owned this truck,... Then ask yourself,.. If another man can do it,. Why can't I? -- and set out to solve and accomplish just that!. The day you start take control and tackling, then overcoming your own problems in your trucking business is the same day you start putting yourself into a position of better profitability.

( just my own personal view-point, no one has to agree)

[Waterloo]

I know what Waterloo would do, get rid of the mandate, unless you have very deep pockets.

[Thegrinder]

(09-27-2018 )Rawze Wrote:  ( just my own personal view-point, no one has to agree)

I do agree with everything you said in here, and just to fill you in on why I leased this truck from my boss. He had bought it about 2 years ago, had a bunch of issues with it I guess, it is an old Decker truck, had a big issue with the def system, and it basicall all got replaced, as well as the turbo charger. the paperwork he has from the work had around 460000 miles on it, I was put into the truck with about 512000 miles on it. All his other drivers kept saying he just needed to get rid of it, and I heard this somewhere around here, but they said its a throw away truck, you get 500k on them and you get rid of them. Well I got put into the truck and I could tell it needed work and was negleted. So I paid attention to what it was doing, did my reasearch everywhere, and started talking him into doing little things at a time, and it started getting better. So he decided that to make things eaiser for both of us, he'd lease it to me so I had more control over the money for the truck and fix it up. But as far as him telling me what I can and cannot do as far as the warranty is concerned, he don't care either way and will help me if I need it.

But for now the plan is to start getting the pm stuff caught up. I do have an amsoil bypass kit on the way, which I am an amsoil dealer so I can help others get on for less than most places. I am going to inspect and retorque the wheel bearings because I am getting some inner tire wear, I have already replaced all the shocks. And I am gonna pull the valve cover over the weekend and do the overhead and inspect the top end. Maybe replace the jake solnoids, and also check the scr and dpf filters and that pipe you told me about. When I get ready to change the oil next I am gonna get a new oil pump and shim it so I can get some extra oil up to the valves.

As far as demandating it, I'm pretty up in the air on that, a better tune is deffently gonna happen. but demandating it I'm not sure about, mainaly because I do go to california once in a while and I don't what to chance a ticket. And also I've seen some of the ones done around my area and most of them have a check engine light on because of it. That I don't want either. But as I have said I'm still up in the air on it. The less soot through the intake and no more 3 to 4 gallons per hour during a regen are winning that battle.

[Rawze]

(09-27-2018 )Thegrinder Wrote:  ...
but they said its a throw away truck, you get 500k on them and you get rid of them
...

As far as demandating it, I'm pretty up in the air on that, a better tune is deffently gonna happen. but demandating it I'm not sure about, mainaly because I do go to california once in a while and I don't what to chance a ticket. And also I've seen some of the ones done around my area and most of them have a check engine light on because of it. That I don't want either. But as I have said I'm still up in the air on it. The less soot through the intake and no more 3 to 4 gallons per hour during a regen are winning that battle.

It should last a million miles if you take proper care of it. For someone to say they don't last is someone who is doing nothing but abusing and neglecting them like many company a-holes do.

As fas as the communist state,... you would be the first I ever heard of,.. if it is done right, it will still pass all tests,.. usually cleaner AFTER than before.

Last, if it is done right, you should NOT get any check engine lights,.. sounds like a gaggle of bad deletes like most of them are!.

not trying to tel you to demandate it, everyone has to make that decision themselves -- just providing better info.

[Nilao]

I go to cali several times a month, have never been inspected by carb...once the clean idle sticker is seen i get waved by...I've been DOT'd and passed with flying colors

[Waterloo]

(09-28-2018 )Nilao Wrote:  I go to cali several times a month, have never been inspected by carb...once the clean idle sticker is seen i get waved by...I've been DOT'd and passed with flying colors

I have a buddy of mine, same truck I have, demandated at the same time I did mine. He runs Southern Cali to Phoenix weekly, has for four years, no issues.

[Thegrinder]

(09-28-2018 )Waterloo Wrote:  

(09-28-2018 )Nilao Wrote:  I go to cali several times a month, have never been inspected by carb...once the clean idle sticker is seen i get waved by...I've been DOT'd and passed with flying colors

I have a buddy of mine, same truck I have, demandated at the same time I did mine. He runs Southern Cali to Phoenix weekly, has for four years, no issues.

Thanks guys that's good to know, I making my decision easier. I figure either way I go, If I say screw the warranty and do all the advise given to keep the truck running and not costing me tons of money now, I'll have enough saved up I could have the inframe done, pay for it myself, Ann's turn the paperwork in for warranty coverage and if they cover it great, if not keep running and make more money.

[Waterloo]

(09-28-2018 )Thegrinder Wrote:  

(09-28-2018 )Waterloo Wrote:  

(09-28-2018 )Nilao Wrote:  I go to cali several times a month, have never been inspected by carb...once the clean idle sticker is seen i get waved by...I've been DOT'd and passed with flying colors

I have a buddy of mine, same truck I have, demandated at the same time I did mine. He runs Southern Cali to Phoenix weekly, has for four years, no issues.

Thanks guys that's good to know, I making my decision easier. I figure either way I go, If I say screw the warranty and do all the advise given to keep the truck running and not costing me tons of money now, I'll have enough saved up I could have the inframe done, pay for it myself, Ann's turn the paperwork in for warranty coverage and if they cover it great, if not keep running and make more money.

If you tune the truck properly, (get rid of mandate), you will not have any check engine lights due to the fact it was PROPERLY TUNED.