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7.3 Engine cover

5/11/2016

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Cavitation can be a serious problem...

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Cavitation is defined on Wikipedia as: The formation of vapour cavities in a liquid – i.e. small liquid-free zones ("bubbles" or "voids") – that are the consequence of forces acting upon the liquid. It usually occurs when a liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure that cause the formation of cavities where the pressure is relatively low. When subjected to higher pressure, the voids implode and can generate an intense shock wave. Cavitation is a significant cause of wear in some engineering contexts.

We had a customer bring in their 7.3 with a coolant leak on the front cover. Our mechanic was concerned it could be a cavitation issue. We have seen cavitation wipe out an entire engine. Thankfully, that was not the case for this customer.

The front cover showed minor signs of cavitation in the water pump mounting surface and the water pump impeller cavity. The oil cooler was found to be leaking at the seals and the exhaust manifolds had 2 broken bolts. The customer opted to have those repairs made as well while the engine was out. Taking care of all 3 items at the same time helped to save the customer on labor expense in the future.
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Source credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavitation

We have seen some extreme cooling package issues and

Proper coolant maintenance can go a long way...

Our shop recommends coolant flush every 2 years or 50,000 miles.
Ford sells a coolant additive that helps to reduce cavitation in the Super Duty.
Test strips are available to check the pH of your coolant. Improper pH creates a bigger risk for cavitation.
Remember when filling your coolant to use the proper ratio of water to antifreeze and use distilled water. Tap and well water can throw off your coolants pH.
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you must add tap or well water to your coolant, be sure to have your coolant completely flushed as soon as possible.
Remember to regularly check your coolant. Make sure to check only when your engine is completely cooled. A hot radiator cap can blow off and cause severe burns if checked when hot or under pressure.
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Setting the overhead on a L10

5/6/2016

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When an engine has all it's components in good working order

It makes any necessary repairs easy.

A Cummins L10 came in for injector replacement.

Injector replacements are, generally speaking, an easy repair. You remove all parts in the way of pulling and replacing the injector and re-install all good working parts as they were.

Not on a L10. When you are reinstalling parts the push tubes don't stay put on the rocker arms like other engines and have to be constantly reset to complete the injector install.
Once the injectors are all installed, after much sweat and swearing, it's time to run the overhead.
This is one of those steps that are made easier by the engine components being in good order to begin with. The overhead is set by matching timing marks up on an accessory pulley and the engine front cover.
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This engine's accessory pulley is broken, so the timing marks must be found using a dial indicator.
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This is a tool that is useful for mechanical engines, like the L10. The plunger of the dial indicator was set to rest on an injector rocker arm. The engine is then turned over by hand with a breaker bar.
The mechanic watches the dial indicator to see when the hand stops moving, or before the hand starts to travel in the opposite direction. When the hand stops moving is when the rocker arm is at Top Dead Center (TDC). Every time TDC is found, the mechanic makes not of it by checking which rocker arm is at the correct position and marking the pulley with a 1,2 & 3  OR A,B & C for a 6 cylinder engine.
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