It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Topic: It broke 5 hours into ownership... (Read 3618 times) previous topic - next topic

It broke 5 hours into ownership...

October 07, 2017, 09:54:47 pm

So I recently bought my first motorhome. 93 U300 with a 6V92. It came from a man that I know takes very good care of everything he owns (certified mopar muscle car nut). I'm from Fort Smith Arkansas, work in Wichita Kansas (for now) and bought it from Kent Washington. My father and I drove up, put new tires on it and headed back. 5 hours into the return trip about 60 miles west of Spokane, we pulled into a truckstop to grab some snacks, give it a once over, check fluids and what not. The thing had lost every bit of its off idle power but was running fine on I90 at like 1800 rpm. Our truck we were towing was covered in oil and so was the back of my new baby.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #1 – October 08, 2017, 09:46:00 am

Don't know what to say to that except for wow. Hate that feeling in the pit of the stomach.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #2 – October 08, 2017, 09:56:40 am

Are you "dead in the water"? Spokane would be your closest town for service. Good luck!

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #3 – October 08, 2017, 10:13:17 am

REALLY sorry to hear about this breakdown. The 6V92 has always enjoyed a loyal following on this Forum, and I don't recall ever reading about a supercharger coming apart. Was there any indication of a overheat condition prior to failure? I found one old thread where heat management was discussed as critical to 6V92 engine life.

Don't know what else to say...

6V92TA DDEC Overheating

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #4 – October 08, 2017, 10:20:10 am

Quote from: mike leary – October 08, 2017, 09:56:40 am

Are you "dead in the water"? Spokane would be your closest town for service. Good luck!

Look at the blower housing and blower lobes. He won't be driving anywhere.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #5 – October 08, 2017, 10:21:56 am

The more important concern than just the supercharger is that the engine "ate" all the metal ground off the supercharger.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #6 – October 08, 2017, 10:22:41 am

Our Forum buddy "bigdog" has had work done in Spokane, might send him a PM.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #7 – October 08, 2017, 10:31:48 am

Looks like bearing failure. Make sure to check the oil feed to the supercharger. Hope the motor didn't ingest enough pieces to kill it.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #8 – October 08, 2017, 10:48:56 am

After ingesting all that metal, an ebay engine may be your best bet unless you want to tear into it yourself. Guaranteed metal made it into the engine and would bet on damage. Thats a terrible failure, a new one to me. Sorry!

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #9 – October 08, 2017, 11:27:44 am

I've blown a turbo, but I heard it go and saw no oil pressure so was able to quickly. pull over. I just took the laptop down to the rv office and uploaded the OP pics to their large screen mainframe; holy crackers, that thing blew! I'm sure all of us are on the edge of our Flexsteels wondering WHAT caused that?

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #10 – October 08, 2017, 11:30:48 am

Yes, an in-frame is what you are looking at. And, make sure they flush all oil lines.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #11 – October 08, 2017, 11:35:33 am

Bummer, it would have been nice to have another foretravel in Wichita.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #12 – October 08, 2017, 11:48:32 am

When we first got all of our Detroits, the factory sent a team to get us up to speed on the engines. Oil changes with the correct oil were at the top of the list. The blower lobes just barely clear each other and if a bearing at either end fails, it will allow the aluminum lobes to touch sending a fine aluminum powder into the engine. It usually causes the compression ring to stick and you end up needing a set of cylinders and a blower. If the blower lobes continue to rub against each other, you will get what you see in the photos.

This failure has been coming on for a long time. A pre-purchase oil analysis would have caught it. While it is very rare, it's a good reminder what should be done when buying a coach. Easy to put a contingency on the sale until the results come back from the lab. I have to admit that I didn't do it on ours but should have.

None of the parts are very expensive but if you don't use Mercedes/Detroit factory kits, Clevite makes excellent cylinder kits for this engine. Lots of others but shop around.

Just wondering about the seller...

Pierce

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #13 – October 08, 2017, 12:02:08 pm

That is a mess! I know a shop that did some work for me near Missoula, but that's probably too far. Spokane is probably your best bet. I hope you got it at a good price. It's a nice looking coach, and hate to see it sidelined.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #14 – October 08, 2017, 12:02:55 pm

Here are the Clevite kits at $205 each or $1230 for all six. This is for the turbo engine with 17:1 compression. Clevite 77 226-1738 Cylinder Sleeve Kit Detroit Diesel 6V92 8V92 12V92 | eBay

See this page for blowers for the 92. About $1000. Also, complete engines on the page also: detroit blower 92 | eBay

Pretty easy to do an inframe yourself but probably not on the road.

If I were in your situation, I would probably have a Detroit specialist shop ship you a re manufactured engine and then just have it installed. Too easy for a run of the mill shop to do a poor job or try and sell overpriced parts, etc.

Pierce

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #15 – October 08, 2017, 12:31:59 pm

In over fifteen years of FT ownership This is only the second engine disaster that I have heard of. This is very rare. Sorry that your were the one to win ( lose ) this lottery. Good luck with the repairs.
Gary B

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #16 – October 08, 2017, 12:44:55 pm

Wow, what a shame! The rest of the coach looks really nice.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #17 – October 08, 2017, 02:04:20 pm

Find a Detroit Diesel shop. Not too many left that know this engine.

Maybe this one? http://www.cylex-usa.com/reviews/viewcompanywebsite.aspx?firmaName=pacific+detroit+diesel+allison&companyId=9722057

Pacific Detroit Diesel Allison, Spokane Valley, WA - Cylex® profile

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #18 – October 08, 2017, 02:19:20 pm

Taking a look at the photos on my big screen, I looks like the blower may have ingested something. Usually, when the lobes start touching each other, they get a finer finish on them instead of the very rough appearance these have. Thinking a possible foreign body went through the turbo. How about asking the PO if there was any recent maintenance work done? Check the air cleaner and intake system for integrity and if something has been modified. Very easy to pull the element after opening the rear side compartment. Check turbo vanes on the compressor side. You can easily see any damage to the vanes. Blower failures are rare. Any overheating will not be a cause.

We were on a big brush fire that spread into the city. One of the Detroits sucked burning material into the air cleaner, which, in turn, caught fire and was sucked into the blower. That cost taxpayers a new engine but we put screens on the intake after that. It had also did the same to a 817 Waukesha a couple of months earlier.

Pierce

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #19 – October 08, 2017, 02:21:31 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – October 08, 2017, 02:19:20 pm

Taking a look at the photos on my big screen, I looks like the blower may have ingested something. Usually, when the lobes start touching each other, they get a finer finish on them instead of the very rough appearance these have. Thinking a possible foreign body went through the turbo. How about asking the PO if there was any recent maintenance work done? Check the air cleaner and intake system for integrity and if something has been modified. Very easy to pull the element after opening the rear side compartment. Check turbo vanes on the compressor side. You can easily see any damage to the vanes. Blower failures are rare. Any overheating will not be a cause.

One new owner called me and wondered if it was OK that the PO had removed the entire intake system and installed a small K&N "to give it more power" on his U300.

We were on a big brush fire that spread into the city. One of the Detroits sucked burning material into the air cleaner, which, in turn, caught fire and was sucked into the blower. That cost taxpayers a new engine but we put screens on the intake after that. It also did the same to a 817 Waukesha a couple of months earlier.

Pierce

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #20 – October 08, 2017, 03:00:37 pm

Quote from: mike leary – October 08, 2017, 10:22:41 am

Our Forum buddy "bigdog" has had work done in Spokane, might send him a PM.

Only drive line chassis work on mine was a mere 2 hours after I bought it. But that happened in Mt. Vernon Washington over on the wet side.
The Foretravel tech at RnR RV (they are a former Foretravel dealer) might know of a good HD truck shop that wrenches on the two strokes. Otherwise Dans (AC7880) suggestion of Pacific Detroit would likely be the best place to start.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #21 – October 08, 2017, 04:02:38 pm

I'm a big fan of pryrometers and boost gauges, but I'm not sure if those could had even helped. I wonder if he and Dad are drinking men?

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #22 – October 08, 2017, 04:18:56 pm

No magic words, just:
Holy Crap

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #23 – October 08, 2017, 05:07:24 pm

Yikes, I'm very sorry.

Re: It broke 5 hours into ownership...

Reply #24 – October 08, 2017, 05:58:18 pm

You are a long way from them, but Stewart & Stephenson in Houston is probably the best on these engines. There are literally thousands of 92 series engines in marine service right now--- a very popular yacht engine, so shops that deal with marine engines are very familiar with the 92 series. You should have no trouble finding parts or a reman engine. Doing the engine swap is a bear. An inframe overhaul if the engine is truly gone is the fastest, cheapest way out and is not difficult. How many miles were on the engine?
Blower failure is Extremely rare. The cause is almost always foreign object ingestion or rotor bearing failure. The bearing failure will be due to oil starvation / low oil pressure. Had the engine been run low on oil or was the oil pressure low at any time that you noticed.
Detroit 2 cycle engines are amazingly durable. Do a compression check on it before you give up on it. They can ingest a lot of crap and keep running.

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