For those of you who were with us on our rolling rally (Rolling Waters) and at Wisconsin Dells and FMCA in Madison Wisconsin, you know we had some white smoke replace our normal black smoke in our diesel exhaust. There is no more chilling feeling than seeing that white smoke. We had Roy Muller look at our exhaust at the Wisconsin Dells rally. He felt it was a problem with one of our cylinders and he recommended we find a diesel repair facility in Madison and get it all checked out after FMCA.
Following Roy's advice we made an appointment with Polk Diesel and Machine, Inc (a Cummins dealer) in Deforest a small town just north of Madison. The tech determined we had a problem with cylinder 4 which is the cylinder where the air comes into the engine. We tried the easy fix which was to replace the injector. No luck. They did a compression check on the engine and sure enough cylinder number 4 was at about 1/4 the compression (100 psi) instead of the normal 350 to 400 psi. Peter called the closest Cummins distributors which were at least 200 miles away, they couldn't fit us in or couldn't do the job. We felt comfortable with the folks at Polk Diesel. They had showed us all the results of each test and talked with us about the options. They also were the local shop which rebuilds diesel truck engines in this area.
Decision time.
We decided to have Polk Diesel take the head off the engine. That was really the only way to be sure of what was the problem. Sure enough where the head came off cylinder number 4 was dark and different looking than the other cylinders. The two rings on the piston were broken. We decided it was time. So we authorized an inframe overhaul and an upgrade from 250 to 300 HP on the engine. Since the engine was all apart anyway and we had 228,000 miles on the engine we decided we might as well upgrade all 6 cylinders. This meant our coach stayed in their bay and Peter, Elsie cat and I moved into the Red Roof Inn for 9 days. UGH!!!!!
We now have 6 new cylinder sleeves, new pistons, a new head, new injectors, other new stuff, an upgraded engine to 300 HP and some very empty pockets. However, we were able to leave Madison on Friday August 26, travel 900 miles and make it to Gillette, Wyoming for Escapade on Sunday August 28. We are sure glad to be back in our coach and back enjoying this wonderful lifestyle.
We would tell anyone who needs their engine looked at or repaired when they are in the Madison, Wisconsin area that Polk Diesel and Machine, Inc is a great place. The techs and staff are great to work with and they really know their stuff. So we are back together and the engine is humming along. Of course now our cruise control is being cantankerous and the voltage gauge is acting up. But these are small problems compared to our BIG problem which was really a need for a rebuild of the engine in place.
So we will see everyone again at the next Beaver Rally we will attend, Albuquerque Balloon Galore. Enjoying Life, Hugs, Connie B.
