Retirement not working

[JimmyDw8xb]

Well.........I made the decision. I`m retired from a small (20 truck) trucking company. My wife passed two years ago. I`m going crazy...so I`m going back out on the road.. laugh if you want, but I`ve had the itch for several months. I kept my eyes open. I found a truck I liked......After listening to friends, getting more than a few opinions, chewing on it for a bit..... I found a 2007 KW T600. Flat top sleeper 62 inch. No windscreen mounted on roof. Truck leaves a few things to be desired cosmetically, but I felt good about it, found out as much as I could of it`s history. But, cosmetics doesn`t make money. I knew I was taking a chance buying a used truck this old, but I`m an optimist, and I have had some success in life betting on my gut.

So, this is the truck. T600 flat top 62 inch sleeper, 700221 miles, 17238 hours, 238 inch wheel base, 275/95 22.5, tires measured out at 14/32 on the drives..Yokahama tires not recaps. Has nice Goodyears on front measured at 13/32. All alcoa wheels,
Cummins CM 870, 475/1850 rated, Eaton Fuller straight Ten speed. Spicer rears with 3:55gears.

So last Friday I finally got into a small local diesel shop to have it checked over. I wanted it looked over top to bottom, front to back. He spent right at an hour and forty five minutes to go over it.
Here are the things he found wrong that needed correction. Drag link, passenger side tie rod end. Carrier bearing, All the brakes are good except the left front shoe has a crack. So a set of shoes for the front. oil in rears he said rear was clean, the front was a little dark. Transmission was clean. Brakes all in correct adjustment. slack adjusters all looked good. The oil line that feeds turbo has a leak. shocks all good. All in all, I`m more than happy with his checkup. His main comment was the truck was well maintained. All three remarked that it was a dry motor.
I have an appointment in two weeks. I am having them do the carrier bearing, ( no place for a skinny old man to be crawling around under) and a new oil line to turbo. The turbo looks fairly new. Has a Cummins reman tag on it. I don`t think I want to be replacing the oil line either.
We didn`t pop the top cover cause the engine is coated with dust. I know Rawze doesn`t like engine washing, but I`m going to do it as carefully as I can. After washing I`ll have him do an overhead and then get the chance to look over the cams and rollers.
I can however, do the drag link and tie rod end as well. I can do the brakes on front.
I don`t thing the last owner (A farmer) ever washed it. Frame has a layer of rust and when I power washed the rear frame, the paint just peeled off. This weeks task is media blasting the frame and painting it.

I`m not in a hurry. My sis who lives with me is recovering from surgery and it will be several weeks till I`1m ready to hit the road.
I`m going to pull a dry van pretty much only in the eastern two thirds of the country. And as little as possible in the Northeast. I`ve unloaded too many times all over the City and have no desire to ever cross the GW again. But one should never say never!

So........I`m in the truck for Fifteen grand plus getting it on the road funds that are not totalled yet. I can`t see it getting over twenty thousand all in to hit the road.

The only thing else is the egr valve being unplugged...For the time being I am going to leave it that way. I`ll get advice here on that matter I am sure.

so what did I miss? I`m going to try to post pics, if not, Ill figure out why not.

[tree98]

Definitely need to have a look at the cams, retorque all the wheel bearings, it's about due for bottom end bearings. There's a few things that came to mind.

[JimT]

500,000 was when the crankshaft damper was due for replacement. very often overlooked.

Otherwise, your not missing anything by staying away from the GW or NYC. Just as bad as ever. The bridge on 287 that replaced the Tappanzee is really nice though, and it's 1/3rd the price of the GW. Though if your coming across 80 or up 81 into the northeast it's only a couple extra miles to come up and across 84 to CT, MA, RI and the rest of New England. Also, be advised that RI has tolls all up and down 95 and 295 and will cost you well over $30 each way through the tiny state. On the flip side if you continue up 84 to 90 the tolls on the mass pike are a fraction of RI and the road conditions are nicer too.

I live in CT and do my best to avoid NYC, NJ and the entire I-95 corridor as much as possible.

700221 miles / 17238 hours = a lifetime average of 40.62 mph. A little low for a highway tractor, but for a farm truck that's probably better then average.

[JimmyDw8xb]

Thank you for reminding me why the Northeast is not on my list of desirable runs. I was a meathauler for too many years. All over there city and up to Boston. One nice load i did regularly out of RI were loads of battery back ups from American Power Conversion.
This truck ran all over the midwest only for a small trucking company in a small town south of me. They used the truck from April of 07 till July of 12. TheFarmer farmer bought it then.company put on 600,000 approx. Farmer used approx 10,000 a year. Said he changed oil every year. Truck body and all seem solid, but I only drove it 50 odd miles home and another 30 or so to a local shop.Rawze was kind when he said I know very little of diesel motors. I have to admityt that I rarely actually worked on my trucks. I do know trucking as a driver that has delivered all over the country with an abundance of NYC and Jersey loads under my belt. My boss often said " If you can deliver in NYC, you can deliver anywhere"

The truck may be solid, but the salt we love around here has done it`s damage. So the week is being used to media blast the frame and paint. Paint doesn`t make money, but what it does make......is me taking pride in the truck I drive. Time will tell...The balancer has been a thought in the back of my mind but getting a look at the cams and rollers is highest on my list. PLUS!!! It has about 140 gallons on board! That just made the deal a little sweeter.

[JimmyDw8xb]

So lets see if I can post pics

[JimmyDw8xb]

OK

[Chamberpains]

At a quick glance I see 3 things that absolutely need addressed.

1. Passenger side hood guide is gone. All that's there is the bolt that holds it. If it's not in place this will allow the hood to move far to much and break the front hinges and supports

2. I see factory red paint on the front pulleys. Pull the belts of the front and give all of the pulleys a spin and wiggle test. I'll bet you find some that are shot. You'll hear grinding, see wobbling and/or feel movement. Don't hesitate. Just replace them. The can be found for really reasonable prices.

3. More factory red paint on all the sensors all over the engine. Check out Rawze video on an egr tune up. You'll all most certainly find that all of those sensors are due to be changed for 1 reason or another. They are very important. Just change them and don't look back. Link to rawze videos. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ08qn4...LSQ/videos
Scroll down till you find the 6 part series for the EGR tune up. You don't have the exact same engine but you'll find similar sensors in similar places.

[Waterloo]

The EGR being unplugged is a YUGE red flag. You really need to inspect the cams, that soot is going somewhere. If the EGR valve is an issue, they can sometimes be removed and cleaned, it may still be operational. I would do that, make sure it is operational.

If it were me, I would run the truck by your local PACCAR dealer and have them flash the ECM with the latest software, that way you can eliminate any bad programming that may be in there when you address the EGR Valve.

I would get the EGR valve working/replaced and install an oil by pass filter, Amsoil makes a universal kit, and you can use any oil filter that fits, you do not have to use theirs. If you want to fix that issue for good, get a load to Atlanta and go see Mr Hagg...

If the cams look good, do the overhead too, you have a solid motor. The lower end too, like Tree said, I would do that while you are getting her ready for the road.

Myself, if you can find a top fairing, will make a huge difference in MPGs, and if the motor is solid, you should be able to get 8+ mpg out of her all day long if you keep your foot out of it. My buddy just bought an 07 Volvo with the 870, and he is doing just that, up to 9+ at times. One week of hauling freight will pay for that fairing, should be an easy find at any salvage yard or even a dealership, they may have something laying around they would gladly get rid of.

[tree98]

If it's got the stock program in it, the egr being unplugged shouldn't hurt it. I think It just runs a different strategy (chi4) with a little bit of a derate.

As far as the egr valve goes, I would just demandate the thing right now and forget about it. The 870 egr valves weren't a great design and it seems like they only last about a year. That was my experience with it anyway.