New to me low mileage ISX

[ahub86]

Hey guys! Great forum. I have been looking at topics on here while searching to upgrade trucks. I own and operate a triaxle dump and currently run a 1999 Mack RD that I retrofitted with a 1993 fully mechanical Mack engine a few years back. But times are changing and I am upgrading. This site gave me a bunch of info on what I am looking at because I am not familiar at all with newer engines.

Now here’s what I bought..... 2013 Peterbilt with a cm2250 rated at 485hp 1850 torque. It has 35,000 original miles on it. Yes 35,000. Company that owned it went bankrupt in 2015 and it’s been sitting until now. It is a cab and chassis currently and my plan is to mount my dump box and get it ready over the winter months in my shop to be ready for next summer dump truck season. So I have some time. I don’t have the truck home yet I am currently waiting on delivery.

My question for you guys is... what to check out? The truck sitting so long has me a little worried. I plan on draining the DEF and replacing with new before I do any driving with it. But other than that I am unsure. Just fire it up and go? I will be driving it around some when it gets here just to check it out and also because I am excited about a new truck!! But like I say it won’t go into real service until about April 2021.

I plan on learning everything I can about the ISX and the emissions. I do all my own work now (including that Mack engine swap) and feel like I am mechanically inclined enough to handle it. I just need more time and experience with it and some guys like you to guide me along. I am going to leave it factory (no demandate) I have switched my line of thinking in the past few years from fighting progress to learning and trying to figure out and go with the flow on the way new trucks work. I am 36 years old so I figure I better jump in and start now.

One thing I could use as well is a PM from someone who can straighten me out on Cummins insite. I think I see what I need based on searching this site but I am not real sure about it.

Thanks guys!!! I will take ANY advice you have.

Andy

[ahub86]

I forgot to add, the second thing I will look at after the def fluid change is the fuel pump. Gotta see if they had that upgrade! I wouldn’t know about that problem of not for this site as well!

[tree98]

Was it sitting inside or outside for the last 5 years? If I were you and legally allowed to do such things, I would demandate it right now. That thing will last a LOT longer and give you a LOT less problems. With only 35,000 miles on it you don't have to worry about carbon packing at this point. Just make sure you have one of the trusted few from this site do the program for you.

Have you bought an inline adapter and insite program yet? If not order it today !!

[ahub86]

As far as I know outside. Company with a fleet of trucks and pickups. Used dealer I bought from finally able to get his hands on them.

[JimT]

(07-05-2020 )ahub86 Wrote:  I forgot to add, the second thing I will look at after the def fluid change is the fuel pump. Gotta see if they had that upgrade! I wouldn’t know about that problem of not for this site as well!

If it has a 2 cylinder fuel pump from the factory then other than checking and replacing ceramic plungers (if it has them) you shoudn't need to replace any other pump parts until about 400,000 mi or maybe an equivalent number of engine hours given your intended operation. (lets say a highway tractor averages 45 mph over 400,000 miles, then that would round up to about 9,000 engine hours).

As for things to check after sitting for 5 years... just about everything! Any rubber hoses would be my first priority. Probably change/flush fluids, filters, lube everything really good. Gotta check all the wiring. Animals/insects making nests and chewing/scratching at the wires. Probably replace all the fuses, clean all the grounds. After sitting 5 years I might drop the fuel tanks and clean them out really good, probably cheaper and easier then trying to run chemicals to kill/clean the fuel. Did i mention all those rubber fuel hoses that might be disintegrating on inside? New belts.

The DEF system will likely need to be replaced, all the fluid related parts. Pump, reservoir, filter, DEF lines, doser valve. The Decomp tube should also be inspected for DEF buildup from slow leakage. All due to the DEF drying out, crystallizing.

Keeping the mandate then you'll want to get a bypass oil filtration system on there to reduce soot buildup. The next biggest thing is to keep up on EGR tuneups. Keep the soot buildup low and the sensors functioning properly and you'll maximize the engine and DOC/DPF life.

Probably check all the wiring/plugs/electrical connections. Might need to clean tarnish/corrosion off some of the pins/contacts. Sometimes just unplugging them and plugging them back in will be enough to clean them up.

These are just a few things that pop in to my mind. Basically you'll need to go through nose to tail and check everything.

[ahub86]

Excellent, yes I am making a list now. I was thinking all fluids but you brought up some things I wouldn’t think about.

I am used to bringing home old equipment and going through it to fix it up. Get a better understanding of it before putting it to use. I am excited to do this with this “new” truck too. Told the wife “IT NEEDS NOTHING”. But I imagine she knows how much “NOTHING” costs in my shop by now. Lol

[JimT]

Every time I repaired/fixed something on my truck my wife used to say 'i think you bought a lemon' to which I would respond 'no, it's just normal upkeep'. Eventually, after comparing maintenance on her car/miles driven to my truck/miles driven, she started to accept the reality.

[Rawze]

if your going to retrofit it with a dump box, your going to need a proper set of rears, like 4.11's, maybe 4.36's or even 4.86's if it is going to d a lot of local hauling. - ISX does not like being driven hard below 1500 rpm unless you are hell bent on shortening its lifespan.

as far as getting it running properly,.. pull the emissions cans and have em baked, flow tested and de-ashed. -- Whatever is in there is not going to come out by itself if it has really sat around that much.

EGR tune-up should be done too, and replace the IMAP sensor.

the entire DEF system, all hoses, the injector, tank, def filter, every part of that system is going to be problematic if you don;t flush/service it thoroughly.

[ahub86]

Awesome! Thank You guys I will keep you updated as I go. Hope tohave the truck home by the end of this week. Then I can get my hands dirty! Plus I think that having the engine in front of me will make it easier to understand the workings of the system. Get a lot of info from your videos Rawze, keep up the good work!