HEY GUYS IM HAVING A PROBLEM WITH MY 2004 FREIGHTLINER CENTURY (DETROIT 60)I JUST RECENTY PURCHASED(ONE OF THEM ORANGE SHNIEDER TRUCKS)
THE TRUCK HAS 700,000 MILES ON IT.I DROVE IT BOBTAIL FOR 1000 MILES TO GET IT HOME AT 65MPH.I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT AT ALL.
WHEN I GOT HOME I CHECKED THE TRUCK BETTER...WHILE INSPECTING THE TRUCK I FIND THAT THE RADIATOR RESEVORE HAS BUBBLES IN IT AND BUILDS PRESSURE AT 1000 RPM WHILE ENGINE IS COLD ON START UP,AND THE COOLANT OVER FLOWS WHEN FILLED UP TO THE MAX COLD LINE WITH THE CAP OFF.AND WITH THE CAP ON I FEEL AIR COMING OUT OF THE DRAIN HOSE.ALSO ON START UP WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD AND IDLES AT 1000 RPM WHITE SMOKE COMES OUT OF THE MUFFLER FOR ABOUT A MINUTE AND THEN CLEARS UP...(ALSO THERES NO COOLANT IN THE OIL AND NO OIL IN THE COOLANT)(BUT THE RESEVORE IS BLACK INSIDE)COOLANT IS CLEAN)DIFFERENT MECHANICS BEEN TELLING ME THE PROBLEM IS DIFFERENT THINGS FROM:HEAD GASKET TO EGR COOLER TO EGR VALVE TO THERMOSTATS,ECT...BUT NOBODY ACTUALLY CAN TELL ME HOW TO TROUBLE SHOOT AND PIN POINT THE PROBLEM...I DONT WANT PARTS CHANGERS WORKING ON MY TRUCK TO DRAIN MY WALLET IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEEN...WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK IS WRONG WITH THE TRUCK AND WHAT SHOULD I DO TO TROUBLE SHOOT IT TO PIN POINT THE PROBLEM???

 

I would think that at 1,000rpm and it not being under a load that if it were pushing compression into the overflow tank than it would be more likely a head gasket/cracked head than the EGR cooler. In our fleet we have, MACK/Cummins and IHC but no Detroit. Our IHC bobtails have lots of problems with injector cups letting compression mypass into the cooling syst.

if you are handy, you might unhook the pressure lines going to the EGR cooler (not the coolant lines) and see if you are still getting bubbles @ 1,000.

It also might not hurt to give a Detroit dealer a call and quiz them on common problems in this area.

 

you just hit the 3 common issues there. injector cups, egr cooler, head gasket. But more likely injector cups or egr cooler than head. but if its the cups. you have to pull the head to r&r them old style brass cups anyways. and usually if you're at that point, you're better off with a reman head.

 

hey thanks for the advise,im doing research on the net to see how i can disconect the egr pressure lines...i been wanting to do this for a long time now...im a pretty good car mechanic but big trucks are a bit different and i dont have anyone to point out to me what every part is under the hood and whats the function...everyone around here is trying to keep a trucker down...im hoping its the egr cooler because it is something i can change myself with less of a risk of someone giving me a bad head/engine job...im hoping my egr cooler is the updated version because from what i here is alot of other stuff would need to be changed including the exaust manifold...i regret buying this truck cuz its probably gonna cost me alot of money to fix it...

 

those egr coolers are a common failure. for sure. and by far the easiest fix. we test them at work all the time. or if you pull the venturi pipe dip the cooler with a skinny ziptie or piece of mechanics wire to the bottom of the cooler as close to the middle as you can, if it comes out wet. its probably failed. now if its coolant, its failed for sure. But it could be fuel. but thats usually the result of a major injector issue.

 

Did the 2004 detroits have an egr vavle on them?

 

yeah i already dissconected the venturi pipe also known as the egr exaust out pipe.there was no water in the pipe runing or not...i also dissconected the egr exaust in pipe and did a compression test on the radiator resovuire with the blue die liquid with everything dissconected.the die turned greenish yellow meaning compression...

 

EPA'04 engines have egr. pre-04 emissions do not.

 

I don't understand what you did there. I dont know what die you're talking about. We remove the egr cooler from the engine, and pressure test it underwater. very simple, if it makes bubbles the cooler fails.

 

what i did was:
1)dissconect the egr exaust in pipe and exaust out pipe.
2)started the truck and looked inside the resevour for bubbles.(bubbles were found)
3)then i used an engine compression tester on the resevoure to comferm if it was air or compession...
NOTE:an engine compression tester,test for compression in a cooling system.its basicly a turkey baster with a stopper on one end to seal the resovouir for outside air,inside the turkey baster is a specail liquid that can deturmine if what the pressure is compression or air by simply turning a different color

 

im taking donations guys...i dont have enough money to buy the parts thanks to detroits patent on the sleeve liners and pistons...there charging triple of what the older model detroit 60s cost....the liners and pistons and being unemployed is holding me up from my 11-year struggled of becoming a self employed owner operator...nobody can keep a job here for more then week to a month,cuz when its time to get paid you have to chase them employeers down...they say i got my truck,i got the load delivered and i got your money...and then theres the rutine arguement finaly getting my money and then looking for another job...

 

Ah. I've never seen one. cool.

I cannot believe you can't get jobber parts for it. Try Interstate. they make everything. give me your engine serial number I'll see what i can find out for you. you want kits and HG kit? you should test the head at least while its off. actually test the head before you put any new parts in it. cause if you have a cracked head everything else is a direct waste of money.

 

Hi there I'm new to this excuse my typing. you'll need to put a small hose to overflow with a bottle and load engine up by dyno test or roadtest and put the engine under load .If it's pressuzing coolant tank it's more than likely it's head gasket,if while driving or dyno there's lots of bubbles it's cyl head.also if inj cups are weaking drain off fuel filter or pro to see if there is coolant present in the fuel. Egr cooler should'nt pressurize rad ,Could also be counterbores!

 

Oh yep, counterbores. forgot about that big one.