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Waterloo

This is for the new guys here... Most of us just do this out of habit, we have too... Don't be a VICTIM like so many of us have been here.

Winter is when everything fails guys, trust me on that, and it will. You are the only one that can do this, there are no shops that will take the time to do what only you can do. This is your business, do not trust it to some flunky at a dealership or truck stop.

Do it, open the hood and start inspecting, stand there and just stare, look for ugly things, or things that may go ugly on you. Fix the leaks, pull and inspect the sensors, go around and look for wiring and lines that are rubbing or need to be secured, pop the top and inspect the cam(s), lobes and rollers and run an overhead.

Get under the truck, Inspect the u-joints, brake lines, brake chambers, air bags and slack adjusters. See what takes grease and what does not. Could be a bad zerk fitting, or the part is toast. Take care of it now before it bites you in the rear. By all signs, this is going to be a long winter...

Anyhow, gorgeous weather this week up here in Detroit, contractors at house, long story, so I tore apart my motor, getting ready... WINTER

Oil leak in the front gear housing cover, no clue why, I put UV dye in the motor oil and discovered the leak was on the driver side, at the second bolt on the down side. I pulled the cover and replaced that silly gasket. The gears looked good, nice and clean in there. The old gasket looked fine, no pinch marks... Used a fine bead of RTV and a new gasket and sealed her up. Worse part was cleaning the oil up, it went all the way down to the pan... Buckets of hot water, gasoline and Dawn dishwashing soap, Rawze's solution, if you have been to the compound, you know it well. laying on the ground and she is clean. That was not fun, and a real mess.

Seeing as I had everything tore apart for the front cover, I did the overhead, looked good in there.

On the intake side, pulled the intake, inspected the CAC, no oil or signs of trouble. Inspected the Venturi for leaks (MM tune), and found my Differential Pressure sensor was not closing properly, allowing air into the EGR valve side. I plugged it with RTV gasket sealer and cleaned things up. iMap (Intake Manifold Pressure Sensor) was toasty, part #2897334 $57... Then down towards the EGR valve, found the heat shield was rotted, part #3683536 $55. Secured a few loose ends with zip ties, and will be closing her up when the parts arrive.

Exhaust side, found the Exhaust Back Pressure sensor was toast, part #4928594, $127. A lose bolt in the thermostat housing, re-torqued to 33 ftlbs. Pulled the metal lines, they were clear. Inspected the turbo, this YTS Turbo is still holding strong YEAH! No slobbering of oil like the past two Cummins remans this one replaced, nice and dry in there. Kudos to YTS!

New AC compressor installed, pulled a vacuum and she held. Need to get the rest of the motor together and will charge... TA wanted $750! The AC compressor fan clutch spun a bearing when I pulled into their parking lot... $400 to charge the system, $350 for the compressor... FleetPride, I bought a compressor and refrigerant, $160. Kind of a NO BRAINER there. Put new serpentine belts on. Damn they are pricey at around $100 for the pair, Gates belts, made in Mexico... Fingers crossed.

She is still in pieces in the driveway, a few things left to do, but she will be together tomorrow. Well, maybe Friday... LOL!

Bottom line, I saved a boatload of cash, did the work myself, found things that would have never been found in a shop and I know the job was done properly. I am the warranty station. Seriously, if I would have taken the truck in and let some parts changer have his way with me, I would be out what, $4000+ give or take? And I would have had to come home and fix all of the things they missed. Been there and done that. I know what it is like to be a victim, don't you be one.

Oh, need to install the heated wiper blades... http://www.everblades.com Get a set, it may just save your life.