Turbo charger/waste gate

[Larry]

This is for readers to add to their files for further reference. On my Cat 3126, just below the turbo charger is a small cup size metal container, which contains the waste gate for the turbo. One of the functions of this valve is to relieve the pressure in the turbo, so as to keep seals from being blown. The part is a thin walled construction and is suseptable to rusting through. My unit was 410,000 miles and the valve was rusted through. This can result in the valve being frozen open or closed, neither of which is good for the engine. The usual result is loss of power. I went to the Novi Catapillar dealer to see about replacing it, and found out that the entire turbo charger has to be replaced. The cost for a rebuilt turbo charger (after core trade in) with seals is about $500.00 plus another $200.00 for labor.

Drive Safe

 

[Weave]

I have noticed this too on just about every diesel I have seen with wastegated turbos. Hy old Cummins with the Holset turbo had a little mechanical arm on the wastegate that liked to rust up a lot, but it never did jam or stop working. After this nasty winter, I noticed the wastegate on my Detroit w/Garret turbo was awful rusty for a truck with only 150k miles. Only a matter of time I guess:'( -Weave-

 

[Larry]

It just doesn't seem right that this $10.00 part results in having to spend several hundred dollars to get a new (rebuilt) turbo. The only saving grace is that my mechanic only charged me $50.00 to install the turbo.

Drive Safe

 

[Weave]

I looked at my Detroit's trubo again today, and know why- the wastegate's valve and arm that go to the vacuum diaphragm are part of the turbo casting, thus must be replaced as one.
-Weave-

 

[Larry]

On my FL70 the waste gate is a seperate part that is attached to the turbo via 2 hoses and then mounted to a bracket with 2 screws. Yet when I went to Catapillar, they said that the waste gate could not be purchased separately, that it is adjusted to the particular turbo. Sounds like a pile of dung to me.

Drive Safe.

 

[Freight_Shaker]

well thanks for that post larry very intersting i'll have a look at the condition of mine on ,my 3126 it has 66 thousand some odd miles on it and it's a 97 but i'll check it anyhow seems everything else had to be changed on that truck since it was a repo hehehe thnx again

 

[streetsweeper]

Hey Gang;
I'm working on a Cat3126,lol. That wastegate actuator looks very damned replaceable to me. I'll be posting on what I find out from Caterpillar (Not Freightliner, hehehe!) about having to replace the whole damn turbo, cuz it's the next thing to be done.

Its suffering from a case of bad bearings & a leaky seal. Will let ya know what I find out!

 

[Weave]

The wastegate diaphragm might be a cheap part, and possibly available form CAT. But.. looking at 'em as a whole, with repair warranties in question, I agree with what your mechanic did there, Larry. The wastegate valve is an internal part of the turbo. Do you see the concern there? Picture the whole mechanism in your mind, all rusted and deformed, with the repair warranty your responsibility. What would you have done?
-Weave-

 

[Larry]

First of all, I cannot honestly recommend going to Freightliner for any repairs. I put them in the same class as the United Nations. Give them simple things that they can hopefully not mess up and in which there is little chance of them finding a way to get inside your wallet.

I went to the Novi Cat dealer and they checked to see if the waste gate could be purchased separately. It could not, and to replace it required that the entire turbo be replaced. Now the turbo had 400,000+ miles on it, and probably was due for replacement. However, if the cheaply designed waste gate had not rusted through, I probably could of gotten some more time out of the turbo.

Drive Safe.

 

[Weave]

I can see your point with the Freightliner dealers. I don't bother with them myself unless absolutely necessary or to just order my parts and have my local guy install them. I have found the engine shops, esp. Cummins, to be honest for the most part.
Might want to start thinking about trading that truck off, Larry. The longest I have seen a CAT 3126 go to date is 560K miles before needing replacement, around a $15k job. I don't mean to scare you, but from this point on you'll probably start experiencing the really fun stuff with it, a lot worse than the turbo.
-Weave-

 

[Larry]

Yes Weave I am very familiar with the horror stories about the 3126 Cat. When I bought this truck I was doing some expediting, as well as using it for a new business I started (got bored with being retired). Anyhow, my new business keeps me busy and I expect to put about 40,000 miles on the truck anually. So if I make it to the 560,000; that means I would get about 4 more years out of the truck. Since I only paid $16,000 for it 18 months ago, I do not feel that it owes me anything. When the engine goes, I'll sell it for a few bucks or just bury it out back.

Thanks, Larry

Drive Safe.