My dad is going to try and get a '88 Kenworth 22-210 flatdeck (Cummins 6CT8.3) that was retired after the turbo failed. I don't know the details behind the failure - The truck suddenly put up a "smoke show" and the company's mechanic told me it looked like the impeller disintegrated. If we get this, it needs to travel 75km to our place before it can get the proper TLC. I can work on it on-site to get it going and make sure there are no bits in the cylinders (If the impeller did disintegrate), but how can I bypass the turbo? One thought I have is to plug the oil lines and "Gut" the turbo. Another thought is to bolt a replacement turbo on it or rebuild the old one before it comes home (Any thoughts on these ebay auctions?) Thanks!
I don't think that you would want to take the chance driving it without the turbo on it because it would smoke so bad the law would nail you.Even at night there would be a trail of smoke behind you that someone would chase you down.The injection pump does not know that there is a problem with the intake being low on pressure and it keeps delivering the same volume of fuel that it was told to do when installed and you have a very rich mixture.I would change the blower and drive it or tow it/haul it home.Ron G
bad turbo I havent had any experience on the 8.3, but Im sure its got a air charge cooler (thing that looks like a radiator, in front of the radiator) MAKE SURE you take it off and clean the inside. I always take it to a radiator shop and get them to flush it out and pressure test it. Make sure your hose connectors are good. I have heard of people just flushing them out with a water hose, but I dont want to risk it by not doing it correctly. Now to the turbo, if the bank account can stand it, buy a rebuilt one. If it cant stand it buy a used one, make sure it is the correct one for you application and that its in good condition. Most salvage companies can help you out with a used one and they know how to check them. Expect to pay about $600-$800 for a used one and $1600 up for a rebuilt one with a warranty. Most shops charge you a core charge, until they see if yours is rebuildable, then they refund the core charge. You can tie up a bunch of money like this, so I guess this is why I usually go used. I would make a trip to the truck and remove the turbo and air cooler, bring it back and get the cooler cleaned make up your mind about what you are going to do about the turbo Then go back and install the good parts and drive the truck home Good Luck If you need some phone numbers, let me know and I will look them up
well i would say you have two choices then - put a working turbo on and run the risk of a piston or valve falure on the way home because of the blown turbo debris being induced into the engine or put it on a float or tow it home , either way you gotta rebuild the motor
Pull the exhaust manifold, rotate the engine, look thru the exhaust valve openings with a borescope to see if any pistons got broken from the debris. And to get it home - rent a lowboy and trailer it.
We got the truck home. The shop owner was pretty eager to get it out of the yard, so the shop's mechanic plugged the turbo oil line and it managed to limp home without anything nasty happening. I took the turbo off yesterday and found that the bearing shaft had broken off near the exhaust turbine some time before the smokeshow and spun around for a while (the break is well-rounded) before the turbine ejected into the muffler. The compressor wheel is a little dinged up from running around loose, but it is intact and I don't think the engine injested very much aluminum. Willis - this 8.3 doen't seem to have an intercooler, just a straight pipe to the intake manifold.