Spudgunner
Gold Member
The tech had been sent here to repair the main boom cylinder. It had been leaking for some time but the leakage had increased as of late...so it was time to get it fixed.
The following covers several items, some of which may be relevant to you and your TC. The items: 1) the leaking cylinder, 2) installation of a block heater, 3) discovery of cracks in the exhaust system (post turbo), and 4) what the tech said about extending the exhaust system to circumvent gassing yourself when working against a tall (>30") bank of snow along the right side of the TC.
1) The leak was where the "upper" line attaches to the cylinder. There is a hex-headed bolt/attachment/whatever that simply required tightening. Simple fix. I thought the problem would require repacking of the cylinder. Fortunately I was wrong.
2) Since the tech was here I asked him if he had enough time to install my block heater (p/n 6720736). He said it would be no problem and had it done in a jiffy. This would have been an easy DIY mod as it simply requires removal of the muffler/pipe assembly and knocking out the old freeze plug. The tech said that it's important to run a finger around the inside of the freeze plug hole to ascertain which orientation of the heater element would work best (most clearance between heating element and block casting). We ended up running the power cord into the area behind the engine access door and fastening it in there. It seemed like a fairly protected area. The heater element is 400W. I'm going to use one of those X10 Appliance Modules to allow me or my computer to turn the block heater on. I've done this before on a couple of my rigs and it works great.
3) Installation of the blk heater required removal of the muffler and pipe. Not a huge deal but the tech discovered 1 cracked weld and 2 cracks where the muffler mounting bracket is attached to the muffler. Not big cracks yet, but he ordered me a new muffler right on the spot. I made mention that the cracks didn't seem huge and he agreed; however, he said that when the part fails it would leave pretty much the whole exhaust system hanging from the turbo and that this would likely lead to turbo failure($$$). Heads-up: When it's convenient, you might want to check the exhaust system mounting brackets where they attach to the muffler. BTW, my TC only has 580 hours on it and has been used thoroughly but not at all in an abusive fashion. I'm hoping this is an isolated problem.
4) My biggest complaint about Toolcat usability this snow season is that when I'm running "flush" up against a snow bank taller than about 30" and on the right side of the TC, the exhaust gasses have a tougher time escaping and some end-up in the cab. Enough to stink and be very annoying. I asked the tech about any potential issues if I were to get a muffler shop to extend the tailpipe to the back of the TC. (I was concerned about backpressure effects on the turbo.) He basically said that with such a small mod, the effects might actually be positive but to make sure the pipe was solidly fixed to the TC.
That's about it. Hopefully my experiences with the exhaust system will save somebody some bucks.
Kevin
The following covers several items, some of which may be relevant to you and your TC. The items: 1) the leaking cylinder, 2) installation of a block heater, 3) discovery of cracks in the exhaust system (post turbo), and 4) what the tech said about extending the exhaust system to circumvent gassing yourself when working against a tall (>30") bank of snow along the right side of the TC.
1) The leak was where the "upper" line attaches to the cylinder. There is a hex-headed bolt/attachment/whatever that simply required tightening. Simple fix. I thought the problem would require repacking of the cylinder. Fortunately I was wrong.
2) Since the tech was here I asked him if he had enough time to install my block heater (p/n 6720736). He said it would be no problem and had it done in a jiffy. This would have been an easy DIY mod as it simply requires removal of the muffler/pipe assembly and knocking out the old freeze plug. The tech said that it's important to run a finger around the inside of the freeze plug hole to ascertain which orientation of the heater element would work best (most clearance between heating element and block casting). We ended up running the power cord into the area behind the engine access door and fastening it in there. It seemed like a fairly protected area. The heater element is 400W. I'm going to use one of those X10 Appliance Modules to allow me or my computer to turn the block heater on. I've done this before on a couple of my rigs and it works great.
3) Installation of the blk heater required removal of the muffler and pipe. Not a huge deal but the tech discovered 1 cracked weld and 2 cracks where the muffler mounting bracket is attached to the muffler. Not big cracks yet, but he ordered me a new muffler right on the spot. I made mention that the cracks didn't seem huge and he agreed; however, he said that when the part fails it would leave pretty much the whole exhaust system hanging from the turbo and that this would likely lead to turbo failure($$$). Heads-up: When it's convenient, you might want to check the exhaust system mounting brackets where they attach to the muffler. BTW, my TC only has 580 hours on it and has been used thoroughly but not at all in an abusive fashion. I'm hoping this is an isolated problem.
4) My biggest complaint about Toolcat usability this snow season is that when I'm running "flush" up against a snow bank taller than about 30" and on the right side of the TC, the exhaust gasses have a tougher time escaping and some end-up in the cab. Enough to stink and be very annoying. I asked the tech about any potential issues if I were to get a muffler shop to extend the tailpipe to the back of the TC. (I was concerned about backpressure effects on the turbo.) He basically said that with such a small mod, the effects might actually be positive but to make sure the pipe was solidly fixed to the TC.
That's about it. Hopefully my experiences with the exhaust system will save somebody some bucks.
Kevin
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