Are you a quitter? Do you settle for mediocrity?? Do you drive a truck that you are unhappy with because of it’s performance and fuel mileage??? When you make a minor change to your truck or engine, sometimes the results are minimal. When you make another minor change, sometimes the results may be hard to notice at all. At this point, a quitter will give up and say his engine (or truck) is junk – he will settle for a mediocre truck. Don’t be a quitter!
Many people think that strange problems only happen to them. Let me tell you about my new 2012 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic with the 110 cubic-inch engine. This new motorcycle was a dog when I got it – when I cranked on the throttle, all I got was noise (the government has these engines so lean they are dangerous). When starting out (and sometimes in a turn) the engine would cough and stall. This bike is 900-plus pounds and, with two people aboard, the weight is about 1,250 pounds, which is a lot of weight for just one leg to hold up. My Harley dealership explained the problem as being in the calibration of the ECM and the exhaust system. I made several changes to the engine and exhaust system of this motorcycle to make it run without surging but didn’t see much improvement. At my age, I wanted to give up and sell the motorcycle, but I am not a quitter! I knew that if I persisted, I could make this motorcycle perform up to my expectations. The final “fix” I tried (after seven somewhat failed attempts) was to install a set of true dual pipes – and that was the answer. All other seven changes helped, but the eighth change was the icing on the cake. My persistence, as will yours, finally paid off.
Speaking of quitting, many people have given up on their DD5 14-liter EGR Detroits. We have been told by many Detroit dealers that curing the problems with these engines is impossible. However, since we are very persistent, we have never given up on the DD5 engine. As of this week, we have found a solution to the problems that have plagued the DD5. We do not have any fuel mileage improvements to report to you just yet, but we will update you as soon as we have them. We can however tell you that we have solved many of the Cummins ISX issues. Recently, on a company-driven truck with a 2006 ISX, we were able to cure its problems and improve the fuel mileage by 1.3 tenths MPG. This truck has also had zero breakdowns and no “check engine” lights come on since we worked our magic.
This summer has been a hot one all across the US. Many of you have told me that you have experienced exceedingly high coolant temps when pulling a hill in temperatures above 90 degrees. If it’s too hot for you to be laboring outside, then it’s too hot for your engine to be lugged up a hill. Those of you out there who don’t want to downshift and lug their engine in high gear, please give your engine a break and move the splitter or gear shifter, bring up the RPM’s, and back your foot off the throttle (lugging your engine is one of the worst things you can do to it).
Excessive heat has forced many owner-operators to purchase a new radiator. Many owner-operators are buying these new rebadged radiators at a very cheap price. These guys are getting what they paid for – a cheap “made in China” radiator. Furthermore, many of you are not asking the right questions when you are radiator shopping. You need to know how many tubes per row the radiator has, how many fins per inch, what the dimension of the tube spacing is, and if the tubes are straight through or dimpled. If you can see through the radiator, then it’s not going to cool your engine. Good quality radiators cost between $2,000 and $3,000 – not $1,200 to $1,500. If you purchased a radiator at a cheap price, I suggest that you call the radiator shop where you got it and complain about your high coolant temperatures.
On a different note, I’d like to introduce you to John Bohata, a metal artist out of Long Island, NY who has designed a two-stage muffler. With the flip of a switch (on your dash), you can go from open exhaust to a standard muffler. The name “Silent Roar” sort of speaks for itself – it can be silent or it can roar. This muffler is fabricated from stainless steel and should last the life of your truck. The price is about $1,250 and we currently have one in stock. Being a metal artist, John can make you anything that you desire out of metal, including boat trailers, elaborate entrance gates and railings, custom mail boxes, wall art, heavy duty equipment accessories, and even a miniature semi-truck that is actually a barbecue. These BBQs are designed to be hauled on a trailer to the tailgating parties of your favorite sports teams (see photos) and make a great advertising display for your trucking company. Be sure to check out John’s website to see a bunch of other cool stuff he has designed and built (www.customdesignsbyaj.com).
As usual, if you have comments or questions, feel free to contact me at Pittsburgh Power Inc. in Saxonburg, PA at (724) 360-4080 or via e-mail at bruce@pittsburghpower.com. Don’t be a quitter – your persistence in life and with your truck will pay off!
