2013 pete 386

[Dizzy1]

Hello all and thank you Rawze for having this forum.
First, I've been an o/o for 5 years now. First truck was an 08 Prostar with a cummins isx that was good for the first couple years but ended up having to many problems so I traded to a 2013 pete 386 with a cummins also. First truck was de-mandated about 2 years ago when I had an emissions issue so I elected to go that route.
Now, I've had the 386 for only 3 weeks and already having an emissions issue. Shop says it's a problem with the doser.
Dealer I got it from says they will "work something out" with me but I'm concerned this will be a reoccurring problem.
You guys have any suggestions?

[DLC]

Either educate yourself on how to perform the repairs or go to a good repair shop and have them do it. If you need new software its in your best interest to get Unilevers, Mr Haggai or someone else recommended to do the upgrade.

I like pulling wrenches on my own stuff as much as I can. It's too expensive to pay for someone else's mistakes.

[Rawze]

(10-31-2018 )Dizzy1 Wrote:  Hello all and thank you Rawze for having this forum.
First, I've been an o/o for 5 years now. First truck was an 08 Prostar with a cummins isx that was good for the first couple years but ended up having to many problems so I traded to a 2013 pete 386 with a cummins also. First truck was de-mandated about 2 years ago when I had an emissions issue so I elected to go that route.
Now, I've had the 386 for only 3 weeks and already having an emissions issue. Shop says it's a problem with the doser.
Dealer I got it from says they will "work something out" with me but I'm concerned this will be a reoccurring problem.
You guys have any suggestions?

Let me get this straight and put it into the harsh perspective of an outsider here ...

So you had one of the most profitable highway trucks on the roads you could own,... did not know how to take care of it, abused it through sheer neglect, likely put a bad delete in it making it worse, then continued to run it into the ground instead of learning how to properly maintain and keep it road worthy/profitable. So then you pawned it off, only to get something that has a slightly lower profit margin -- only to repeat the process? -- That is what went through my mind when I read your post.

Welcome to truck ownership! Perhaps what I said will get you pissed off because it is the harsh reality that many people refuse to face. Most people who want to own their own truck(s) have no clue that owning your equipment means you get out and fix on it BEFORE IT BREAKS DOWN instead of complaining about how broke down it is all the time.

Your story is EXACTLY how 85% of owner operators run their equipment,.. and WHY they all struggle, complain, have no money to show for their years of efforts, and basically get nowhere.

My harsh words are merely a wake-up call towards anyone who owns a truck and has nothing but problems. Seems here lately, I have seen a repeating rash of equipment that has been severely neglected and run into the ground, the owner doing nothing but having problems as a result, not understanding that the problem is ACTUALLY THEMSELVES!.

-- Any reasonable person would not get onto a sail-boat for crossing the atlantic ocean with someone who has a run-down leaky, problem-prone boat,.. so WHY WOULD YOU DO IT ON DRY LAND WHEN YOUR INCOME SOLELY DEPENDS ON THE HEALTH OF THAT EQUIPMENT?


START by getting that truck back in good shape YOURSELF!. If you have not already done so,.. start by giving it an EGR tune-up and replacing all the sensors on the engine that ensure it will run right. Pull off the DOC and DPF, take pictures of their faces,.. post em here for some opinions. Then send them off for a couple three hundred bucks to have them baked and flow-tested. - Clean and check your Doser injector for leaking, or replace it if it is more than 250k miles old. Run the overhead valve adjustment, Clean out the soot from the intake and EGR circuits, inspect everything. Also - FIX THE DAMN REST OF THE TRUCK like new shocks, re-torque wheel bearings, replace the power steering filter, water filter, etc. etc. etc.etc. -- and MAYBE ,.. just MAYBE you will start to figure out that a LOT OF TRUCK OWNERSHIP ACTUALLY INVOLVES KEEPING AFTER THINGS BEFORE THEY BREAK AND PUT YOU OUT instead of chasing the failures.

[Dizzy1]

I guess if you don't know the issues the prostar had then it would be difficult to understand other than to assume like you did. I worked on the truck, fixed what I am qualified to, and had others do what i couldn't. Same as anyone else. Did you know everything about trucks when you started? No, so how did you learn? Ask questions?
As far as pawning the truck off my question would be do you ask that of every person that sells a truck? I suspect not so why ask? I came to this forum to gain knowledge just like everyone else. My question obviously struck a nerve with you but for what reason I have no idea. If so then what's the purpose of such a forum if you can't ask questions?

[Nostalgic]

(11-02-2018 )Dizzy1 Wrote:  I guess if you don't know the issues the prostar had then it would be difficult to understand other than to assume like you did. I worked on the truck, fixed what I am qualified to, and had others do what i couldn't. Same as anyone else. Did you know everything about trucks when you started? No, so how did you learn? Ask questions?
As far as pawning the truck off my question would be do you ask that of every person that sells a truck? I suspect not so why ask? I came to this forum to gain knowledge just like everyone else. My question obviously struck a nerve with you but for what reason I have no idea. If so then what's the purpose of such a forum if you can't ask questions?

It was probably the statement "I've had the 386 for only 3 weeks and already having an emissions issue. Shop says it's a problem with the doser.
Dealer I got it from says they will "work something out" with me but I'm concerned this will be a reoccurring problem."

Really, if you're handing over the reins completely to shops and dealers, you're going to have a rough go. Re-read what Rawze wrote, and put personal feelings aside. He speaks the truth, albeit, a little rough at times, but a lot of important lessons in life are harshly learned, and he's one of the VERY FEW people out there that give a crap about you/us and our success with these monsters.

[Dizzy1]

Nothing harsh about it when someone assumes and don't know the facts. Gotta ask questions before you know an answer.

[Rawze]

start educating yourself...

http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...1#pid23991

and..

http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...121#pid121

and..

http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...122#pid122


Don't feel singled out. Just about everyone gets the same treatment when they first show up. It lets them them know that Yes, I am full of hot-sauce and have strong opinions towards people ACTUALLY MAKING A PROFIT THEY CAN KEEP without giving it to over-priced repair shops and to the already rich oil companies unnecessarily because of excess fuel consumption. That is my protest towards big oil and the over-priced repair shop/OEM rip-offs!. Some words about this: http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...8#pid21288

moving on...

You say you just got the truck 3 weeks ago. How much of the maintenance report mentioned here do you think your truck would pass?

http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...0#pid26680

How much of this stuff did you do BEFORE PUTTING IT ON THE ROADS!??

How much you want to bet that if I had just purchased a used truck, I WOULD HAVE DONE EVERY DAMN SINGLE BIT OF THOSE THINGS!. All those things are required to get that truck in tip top shape before putting it into service. WHY WOULD IT TAKE THE TIME TO DO ALL THAT STUFF?? -- Not because I just simply want to waste my time,... IT IS BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT IT ACTUALLY TAKES TO STAY PROFITABLE,.. and that is keeping the truck road worthy , making sure it consumes the least amount of fuel possible, and preventing any sort of downtime.


NEXT: Your obviously having emissions system / engine issues right out of the gate. THAT IS EXPECTED 100% OF THE TIME when buying used equipment, and solely is caused from sheer neglect of those systems by the previous owner. 75% of the time, IT IS WHY THE TRUCK WAS SOLD TO BEGIN WITH! because trucks typically do not get sold if they are running good and making someone a decent profit. It is when they start acting up, or something start going wrong, not worth repairing by the previous owner, they are sold. This falls right in line in why you sold your last truck. The next poor bastard who purchases it will end up right here on my forum with the same complaints you had. This time though, they will be able to turn it around and make the money with it that you lost out on.

Do the things mentioned above in my previous post(s) to get the emissions systems back into an operable state. It just takes some bit of effort to do, and no shop is going to do those things because they are usually too stupid, nor care about making your truck run ok, just want to make a quick fix and take your money.

Your first post heavily implies that you never learned the lessons necessary to being successful on the first truck you owned. NOW you can move forward because you have found this place, and some A-hole (Rawze) has pointed this out harshly and directly that YOU are the only one who can make your equipment profitable, not anyone else.


You have a second truck, a second chance (though you should have just likely straightened out what you had properly, that would have been more profitable) ... NOW GO SHUT IT DOWN AND AND DO ALL THOSE THINGS mentioned on the maint/ schedule I posted a link for. That is a good start. Print that schedule out, grumble, and curse and work through it. Spend a few days to ACTUALLY DO ALL THAT STUFF AT LEAST ONCE very thoroughly and you will start to get a picture of what I complained about in my post above.

Say to yourself,.. "If that A-Hole Rawze can do this,.. SO CAN I!". - Make me look bad, because that is you goal,.. TO BE ABLE TO DIRECTLY COMPETE FOR FREIGHT AND RATES AGAINST PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE ALREADY VERY SUCCESSFUL IN TRUCK OWNERSHIP!.

I give away all the know-how freely to anyone wanting to take their truck and do with it exactly what I would do with it. - What I do is repeatable, and you had better believe me when I say I could take exactly your truck and make it into something very profitable. This is even if I had to start from the bottom with not a dime to my name.





- In life, people can take away your stuff, but they can never take away KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL!. - It is the one thing that if you don't invest in for yourself as much as possible,.. you only hurt yourself and your wallet.

[Dizzy1]

I take nothing personal and like opinions and feedback.
To clarify, I liked the prostar and would have kept it but it had an electrical problem that I and 3 different shops could figure out. Only reason I got rid of it was we couldn't figure it out and I got tired of the down time plus run out of money to fix it.
Anyway, I'm always looking to gain knowledge which is why I'm here. So much info in this forum to read and take in can be overwhelming to say the least. The phrase "something always happens" is something I'm very familiar with, like alot of people in this line of work. Gonna start on the tune up you told me about and go from there.