2006 Monterey C9 power and smoke issues

[Don Colapietro]

Hi, I have a 2006 Monterey Laguna III with a C9 400hp. My problem is an apparent lack of power off idle, and light black smoke. my Silverleaf monitor shows 398hp under full throttle but the power from standstill is poor. Just changed the primary fuel/water separator which seemed to help a little.  Turbo boost under WOT is around 30psi. I got to drive a 2006 Monterey 36' with the same engine and it really moved. I realize there was a lot less weight, but geez, whats wrong?  any suggestions or hints will be appreciated. Thanks, Don Colapietro 239 940 6100

[Richard Davis]

Don
I have the C9 in my '06 Monterey.  I was having similar issues with mine.  With a little research, I found that the C9 has a minimally adequate mechanical fuel pump.  CAT suggests that the fuel tank be installed within 9 feet of the fuel pump or an auxiliary fuel pump should be installed.  Motorhome manufacturers ignored that consideration.  To make it worse, 17 years of deterioration of the plastic fuel connectors allows air into the fuel lines when the fuel pump tries to "suck" fuel from the tank that is 30 some feet away.  The best solution I have found is to follow Dave Atherton's suggestion to install the CAT priming pump as an auxiliary fuel pump/water separator replacing the factory water separator filter.  The parts requirements and installation directions are available on the BAC Forum.  When I installed this unit on mine, I also replaced the plastic push on connectors with brass compression fittings to minimize air intrusion into the fuel lines.  I have been very happy with this system for the last 4 years.  I suggest you do a little research into Dave's recommendations.
Richard
p.s.  I have no idea if just replacing the old plastic connectors alone would have solved my problems, but I wanted the problem fixed, so I went all the way at one time.  The lack of power and low RPM stumbling had gotten old.
   

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Don,
The fuel pump installation guide is found in Common Problems on the BAC web site. Log in, select Technical, then Common Problems. Title of write-up is "CAT Fuel Priming Pump Installation Tips"
Steve

[Joel Ashley]

I have to agree, from what I’ve read here and elsewhere over the years, that it could easily be you would benefit from the added fuel pump that Richard advises.  I often scratched my head when reading such complaints because our coach never displayed such power issues, Don, until realizing our 36 foot Monterey’s pump wasn’t all that far away from the fuel tank, relative to 40 footers.  That reflects your own experience.

As suggested, review Dave Atherton’s guidance that should be available here as a search of past Forum posts, and in “Ask Dave” under the “Technical” tab on the main club site.

Joel

[Don Colapietro]

Wow, thanks everyone. I'm fortunate to have a Rotary 4 post 33000 lb lift next to my shop.  Gonna take a hard look at that pump install.  thanks again.  If any members are in SW Florida and my lift could be of help, give me a call.  I hope to be on the road till mid Sept, just let me know.

[Don Colapietro]

Hi everyone. I finally got the water separator/ aux fuel pump installed on my C9 Cat. learned a few valuable things along the way.  First and formost, you absolutley must pre fill the new filter with clean fuel. I did'nt because the filter had the symbol of the filter with a nozzel and a line thru it. the instructions did'nt mention it either, just said to crank it up, but the engine pump was'nt able to pull the fuel thru and it died. finally got it to prime by powering the pump for around 20 min. when I did get it started, it ran pretty rough for a while. It took around 3 days of highway driving before the performance improved. hope that was the ECM recognizing the extra fuel available. drove from Southwest Florida to Hungry Horse, Montana with no further issues.                                                   Safe travels, Don Colapietro '06 Beaver Monterey  239 940 6199

[Joel Ashley]

Great to hear, Don! 

Wish I had a lift nearby too.  Getting under there can be a job in itself;   I have to air up my “stored” rig by using my little garage 2 gallon compressor remotely.  It can take awhile.

Joel