Why to have your top end looked at!

[dale farley]

I see there are other systems out there that are supposed to do the same thing as the Pre-Luber. Some systems cost less, but don't appear to be as effective.

I am wondering how long it actually takes for all the oil around the bearings to actually drain out or dry up? As close as the fit is, I don't really see how "all" the oil can possibly drain out from around the bearings? It seems for some reasonable time, there should be some oil between the mated surfaces even if the oil has basically drained from the open surfaces. I suppose if left long enough the oil between the mated surfaces either dissipates or turns to a gummy substance.

[James]

Wishing you the best my friend, hope you are successful in your endeavor. Take no offense in my comments, just pulling your, ... a little.


JIM

Jim,

No offense taken, we're just trying to figure out this, new to us, Detroit Diesel engine.

Although it may have existed we never heard about a similar problem with the C13 CAT we operated for several years. We had a lot of problems with the rest of the motorhome but never the C13. It just purred and purred

And, knock on wood, we haven't had any problems so far with the DD.

[jack14r]

I have seen a lot of owners crank their series 60 and go straight to high idle,I read somewhere that we should let the engine idle at the lower speed for about 3 minutes before increasing the idle speed in order to make sure that all metals are lubed.If an engine does not have enough lubrication at start up I wonder if roller rocker damage like Kevin has shown us could be a result of high idle just after start up.

[James]

An update.

I talked to Valley Detroit, Gene I think it was, about pre lubrication and he stated they do the pre lubrication using a drill pump connected to the oil hose at the compressor.

He stated that any place you could get to a oil line or port would do, they just use the one at the compressor because it's easiest to get access to it. He also stated that there was a Detroit pre lubrication tool that did the same thing but that they just use the drill pump.

[Kevin Erion]

Did he say when and why they would do the pre lube?

[travelite]

James,

That's all I need. I'd be quite happy with the DD solution. Did they mention whether the pre-oiler is sufficient to lube the cam and the followers?

David Brady
'02 Blue Bird Wanderlodge LXi,
Series 60 Equipped,
Asheville, NC

[James]

The Valley Detroit guy indicate that they prelube the new engines or ones that have been inactive for a long time. He didn't seem to think that 30 days was long enough to need prelube however it couldn't hurt.

He also indicated that the oil went all through all the engine, including the top end.

[travelite]

He didn't seem to think that 30 days was long enough to need prelube however it couldn't hurt.

Well there you have it. So people, get out there and drive your bus once every 30 days, and if you can't do that, consider a pre-oiler, and if your travel season is over, in preparation for storage, dump that old acid laden corrosive oil and put in fresh stuff.

David Brady
'02 Blue Bird Wanderlodge LXi,
Series 60 Equipped,
Asheville, NC

[James]

One thing I forgot, the Valley Detroit guy did stress that you need to follow the manual on changing the oil if you're going to let the engine sit for awhile.

Seems you want to drain the old oil out when the engine is cold to make sure you get all of the condensation that is in the old oil, fill with new oil and only run the engine for a couple of minutes with the new oil so it lubricates everything but doesn't get hot enough to cause condensation when you shut down.

[travelite]

Seems you want to drain the old oil out when the engine is cold to make sure you get all of the condensation that is in the old oil, fill with new oil and only run the engine for a couple of minutes with the new oil so it lubricates everything but doesn't get hot enough to cause condensation when you shut down.

Excellent, that's the clearest explanation I've heard on why to do it cold and shut it off early.

There's so much mythology surrounding the concept of engine/oil warmup, synthetics and dino oils, pre-lube, storage and periodic driving. This thread has gone a long way to putting many of these myths to rest.

1) There's no substitute for daily/weekly driving.
2) If number 1 can't be achieved, then at least drive it every 30 days.
3) Get that old oil out of there, especially if storing for greater than 30 days.
4) If storing for greater than 30 days, consider a pre-oiler, and
5) synthetics need to be treated the same way, no distinction is made.

David Brady
'02 Blue Bird Wanderlodge LXi,
Series 60 Equipped,
Asheville, NC