When does the fun end? Repairs....

[PEIFamily]

Not sure how this was missed in the yearly inspection of the truck when they did the front tierods, etc a few weeks ago. When they went over the truck, they almost failed me for a leak in the compressor view plug (non replaceable part btw) , any drip larger then a quarter over 20 minutes fails. I fixed that with Jb weld.

 

I was going over the truck with the whisper today and saw this, it's not leaking but caught me off guard as I never saw it before. How hard are they to replace, safety wise, etc.. What do you do with the old chambers? Is this something best left to the professionals to replace? Since it is not leaking, how high priority is it to replace?

 

Thanks

Jason

[Hewhoknowslittle]

Jason,

The hardest part is getting the nuts off, the rest is a piece of cake.

I pm'ed you my phone number, give me a call and we can discuss, I can get the parts at a wholesale price here in Wichita, and help replace if work will allow.

 

Roger

[PEIFamily]

Thanks

[NeverEasy]

Just replaced all my cans. Yep, hardest part was getting the old ones off. Had to use the "hot wrench".

Mine were not quite as bad condition as yours but close. The new ones will come with a long stem and must be cut to the length of your old ones. Youtube has some videos on the process.

[runaway parents]

Makes me wonder what condition is the rest of them are in this should of been caught during your preflite inspection this just did not happen over night.!!!!!! I think I would be fireing my mechanic.

[dan412]

Makes me wonder what condition is the rest of them are in this should of been caught during your preflite inspection this just did not happen over night.!!!!!! I think I would be fireing my mechanic.

I would replace all of them.

[PEIFamily]

Thanks guys. I have no idea how I missed it either. I am always looking over things. Is it possible that it just blew out the top but was rusted underneath for awhile? It don't look like fresh cracks anywhere, but find it hard to believe it was never seen before. Also had the brakes all done 2 years ago so they should have been showing age then? Even had the dmv guy go over the truck with me about that time.

[Scrap]

It happens. If it has happened in a couple of years you might want to step up to some of the corrosion fighting chambers instead of the off the counter usuals. You'll get a lot longer service out of them. I buy 3030LP3THD and they work well. If you have some extra order lead time available you might look into 3030LP3TSHD as they ought to be pretty indestructable. LTR-T chambers are also really good but you are getting pretty fancy there. Of course these are rears and you need a front but they all follow suit. I buy their stainless clevis pins too. You may have found your air leak and lack of brakes too.

 

http://mgmbrakes.com/files/5014/2496/8441/5031.pdf

 

http://mgmbrakes.com/files/2314/2429/4272/5038.pdf

[Big5er]

Jason, that's just downright nasty. I've seen worse but not often.

That front, single chamber (non parking brakes) is not too hard to deal with. If you find yourself looking at a parking brake (dual chamber, spring brake) that is in that condition, make sure you know what you are doing. The spring brake side can be under pressure and quite dangerous to a novice. If you get a chance to chat with a trusted mechanic, ask him to give you a quick safety lesson (ie; show you what to do) on how to handle them.

[dennisvr]

Damn, that has to be the worst one I have seen in 40+ yrs of working on them. But I'm on the west coast so I didn't have to deal with that much rust. As Phil had mentioned if you have to do the rear maxi pots make sure you know what you doing, they can be very dangerous. If a maxi looked any where close to that the pucker factor would be pretty high for me when I went to cage it.

[Ronbo]

If I had a rear that looked like that, it would be plasma cutter time to the spring through the holes before removal.

[PEIFamily]

I agree that it is nasty. I seen lots of rust before, but even this caught me off guard. I have no idea how it was missed by me, and a few different shops that worked in that general area.

[bags]

in my 7 years of HDT ownership I would say the repair bills never stop. some are bigger than others. Just the nature of the beast. However once you make a repair you usually will not have to revisit that repair again.

 

JB

[Jack Mayer]

in my 7 years of HDT ownership I would say the repair bills never stop. some are bigger than others. Just the nature of the beast. However once you make a repair you usually will not have to revisit that repair again.

 

JB

That is a wise observation. There will always be something - EVEN on a new truck. The interval of repair will just be longer on a new truck

 

But seriously, there are always things to fix on these trucks. No way around that.

[GlennWest]

Yea, I need to take some air leaks now.

[redcrzr]

My on going maintenance/fixes have continued throughout the year. January was a partial engine rebuild, Springtime was a new starter, Fall was a rear brake can and yesterday was a new alternator.

Mine being a '99 it will continue to be a challenge, however I started with a pretty low initial investment. Whenever I mention a repair to my mother she says "I think that guy saw you coming when he sold it to you." I just shrug it off, get it fixed and head down the road. Very thankful that I have been from North to South this summer & Fall & have been treated fairly & quickly by all of the truck facilities that I have used. I'm not a HDT mechanic so I have to "pay to play."

Safe travels,

 

Todd E.

[sclord2002]

We all pay to play to some extent.....some with just money and some with money and time. I try to go the money and time route but sometimes we don't get to choose due to unforseen issues. All in all, I'm not sure the total cost of ownership for HDTs is much more than for LDTs ?? It seems a roll of the dice in many instances. I guess that I have been pretty fortunate with my HDT, so far.... Charlie

[Pete Kildow]

I had one years ago, it looked fine a few weeks before. But I had steam cleaned the whole truck that day And all that was hold the rusty covered mess on was dirt & rust . As soon as the dirt & rust mixture came off. I then could look and see the spring. That was on a Log truck, Replaced both cage cans on that axle. Other one looked good, until I hit it with a hammer and it was so thin it was unreal.

I had been through 2 inspections within weeks of finding it. The next week was pulled in for inspection #3. Asked the guy (Friend of mine) that had done the others about it. He told me that they looked good when he checked them. That evening he stopped in at the shop. I showed him how bad it was. And lets just say, it turned out bad for a few people after that. AS he started checking those closer. Not just going by it looking good. He had a screwdriver that was used to test them. And found over a dozen in a month on older Log trailers. He told me they looked good, but looks did not always tell the whole story.

Pete

[GoldRush]

Internal rust/corroson is a nightmare!