Capt._Chaos
May 2nd, 2005, 16:30
Since I don't have any work to do today, I thought I would share a bit of wisdom about having engine work done on a truck. This is something I've learned from my own experiences as a Diesel Technician, and as an Owner-Operator.
I've seen a lot of people try to cut corners in many areas of their trucks to save a few bucks. In this time & age, that's pretty understandable. There is, however, certain areas of a truck that one should never do this. Most importantly, that would be the truck's engine.
I've learned to, whenever possible, NEVER let anyone other than a particular engine brand dealer work on my truck's engine (unless it's something I can do myself).
Why? For one thing, it's a hell of a lot easier to get warranty coverage nationwide for engine work done by a Cummins, Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel, Volvo, or Mack dealer than it would at most independent truck repair shops. Case in point: I had some engine work done in Florida a few years ago, and the part failed in Oklahoma a few weeks later due to improper installation by that shop in Florida. I called them up and told them that the water pump I had them replace had began leaking again. I called up that independent shop in Florida and they told me "If you can get the truck here, we can look at it". I told them I was in Oklahoma, and that I had to have the problem corrected THERE before I could go anywhere. They told me that they couldn't do anything for me unless I got back there. I asked them "Are you ready to pay a helacious tow bill for me to get my truck towed back to Florida?". The jerk hung up on me! I ended up repairing it myself like I should have done the first time.
In a nutshell, if I would have went to a Detroit dealer, they would have taken care of me without the hassle and expense I went through to buy another water pump and the coolant needed to fill my radiator back up.
I blew a turbo in Wichita, KS about three years ago on the truck I own now. I had it towed to the Detroit shop there, and they replaced it.
A few months later, I decided it was time to replace the injectors while I took some time off in Salt Lake City. I left the truck at the Detroit dealer there while I went fishing :) . A few days later, they did a dyno test on my truck and determined the turbo was bad. I got them in contact with the Detroit shop in KS that replaced it before, and within 30 minutes, the SLC shop had their mechanic start replacing my turbo as a warranty deal. No hassle, additional downtime, or added expense there.
In summary, about the only time you might not experience any hassles with independent shops is if they're someone you've known for awhile, and you don't go too far away from home that often.
If you're running OTR, you're likely to be better off going to a dealer for repairs, regardless of where you're at, to avoid warranty hassles.
This isn't to imply that all independent shops are bad. There's just too many of them with the "Who cares! We'll never see that truck again!" frame of mind, and they're often careless in their work as a result. When mechanical problems take place on the road, hardly anybody has the chance to know anything about those shops before getting their trucks repaired. I have learned to keep two dealer network guides handy- one for Detroit Diesel dealers, and the other for International dealers.
I've seen a lot of people try to cut corners in many areas of their trucks to save a few bucks. In this time & age, that's pretty understandable. There is, however, certain areas of a truck that one should never do this. Most importantly, that would be the truck's engine.
I've learned to, whenever possible, NEVER let anyone other than a particular engine brand dealer work on my truck's engine (unless it's something I can do myself).
Why? For one thing, it's a hell of a lot easier to get warranty coverage nationwide for engine work done by a Cummins, Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel, Volvo, or Mack dealer than it would at most independent truck repair shops. Case in point: I had some engine work done in Florida a few years ago, and the part failed in Oklahoma a few weeks later due to improper installation by that shop in Florida. I called them up and told them that the water pump I had them replace had began leaking again. I called up that independent shop in Florida and they told me "If you can get the truck here, we can look at it". I told them I was in Oklahoma, and that I had to have the problem corrected THERE before I could go anywhere. They told me that they couldn't do anything for me unless I got back there. I asked them "Are you ready to pay a helacious tow bill for me to get my truck towed back to Florida?". The jerk hung up on me! I ended up repairing it myself like I should have done the first time.
In a nutshell, if I would have went to a Detroit dealer, they would have taken care of me without the hassle and expense I went through to buy another water pump and the coolant needed to fill my radiator back up.
I blew a turbo in Wichita, KS about three years ago on the truck I own now. I had it towed to the Detroit shop there, and they replaced it.
A few months later, I decided it was time to replace the injectors while I took some time off in Salt Lake City. I left the truck at the Detroit dealer there while I went fishing :) . A few days later, they did a dyno test on my truck and determined the turbo was bad. I got them in contact with the Detroit shop in KS that replaced it before, and within 30 minutes, the SLC shop had their mechanic start replacing my turbo as a warranty deal. No hassle, additional downtime, or added expense there.
In summary, about the only time you might not experience any hassles with independent shops is if they're someone you've known for awhile, and you don't go too far away from home that often.
If you're running OTR, you're likely to be better off going to a dealer for repairs, regardless of where you're at, to avoid warranty hassles.
This isn't to imply that all independent shops are bad. There's just too many of them with the "Who cares! We'll never see that truck again!" frame of mind, and they're often careless in their work as a result. When mechanical problems take place on the road, hardly anybody has the chance to know anything about those shops before getting their trucks repaired. I have learned to keep two dealer network guides handy- one for Detroit Diesel dealers, and the other for International dealers.