Well, I noticed a little wetness around the area where the trans and engine connect? Originally I took it to the Frieghtliner dealer ( Wolverine truck group) in Ypsilanti, MI. a couple months ago for its first oil change and to look for a oil leak. They charged me to look for the oil leak, which they said they couldn't see one ( ( funny I could see it). So after our last trip last two weeks ago I noticed there was still a issue. Took it to the local Cummins repair facility to have it looked at, and re- route a coolant hose that Fleetwood pinched when the installed the MH body. So I heard today that it's the rear main seal and the water filter/separator had a crack in the plastic bowl. I find it disturbing the Freightliner boys missed the boat on both. The rear main had the telltale sign even from my observation. I guess there is a access window to look at the rear main. All they did was pull the plug and there was oil all over. They sprayed what ever cleaner they use and started the engine and it was seen leaking again. So it's drop the transmission to get at it. According to the guy I talked to he said it's a huge job. Three full days to repair this (30 hrs). I thought that seemed like a lot of time??Not liking this, nor did we expect it so soon on a engine with only 3200 miles on it and one year old. Cummins warranty is covering the whole cost of the rear main. The water separator is on my dime. That would be $4000 just in labor costs. It always puts in the back of my mind nothing else can be trusted associated with a repair like that. Trans problems next, will the fix hold, etc?

Hey, I just blew an engine (10,000 is the replacement estimate) so.... Join the feel bad club.

wa8yxm wrote:Hey, I just blew an engine (10,000 is the replacement estimate) so.... Join the feel bad club.Understood. At nine years old it would hurt so bad. But 1 year? Is it that hard to put a seal in right and torque it correctly?

The bigger the toy the more things that can go wrong and the more they cost to fix. Problems are always a pain.

It's interesting about your water separator bowl having a crack. I've had several crack over the ages (just fixed one on an International truck several weeks ago). All of them have been from when I'd catch a big slug of water during the winter. The engines ran alright because the separator caught the water, but then after engines were shut down and sat over night, or longer, the bowl would be cracked or busted open from the water freezing. The engines would then usually start, but quickly die when air was sucked in through the cracks in the bowl. I now try to carry extra bowls for my Racor filters and my MH filter.I'm surprised your MH still started and ran OK because it should have been sucking air in. I would have thought there would have been fuel on the ground? And you shouldn't have been in freezing temps since last winter. Any idea why the bowl cracked?Bill

Why is the water separator not under warranty?David

Oh - nooo. Not the engine repair you want to hear so soon

Gjac
Explorer III
Aug 14, 2014
et2 wrote:
smacdiesel wrote:
I'm afraid about the newer diesels. Mine has been reliable but with the recent emission standards, problems and repairs are very high in the newer DP. I hope this is the only major issue, good thing it is still under warranty.

Me too, and yes it is. I plan to see how it plays out over the next 4 years ( engine warranty over) with this repair. If things seem to keep going wrong I'll be in the market for a new rig. Why keep dumping dollars into a fix that has caused more problems for me to start paying for that can't be fixed correctly. The money spent could go towards a new rig with hopefully less worries.
It is easy to feel like this when things go wrong. If you can take the emotion out of what is going wrong, which is hard to do when your in the middle of it, a more positive way to look at it is once it is fixed it will be better than new and will last a long time and serve you well. My friend bought a brand new Bounder DP and had multiple problems with it. He lost confidence in it thinking that it would break down every time he drove it so he sold it. The problem was he lost a lot of money in deprecation, and the next new MH he bought had problems. The company I worked for made helicopters for the army, and they had a MTBF( mean time between failure) on all parts based on years of data. They also had data on "infant mortality" phase of the life cycle of parts, which is the early phase of the use period. Once these early failed parts were fixed/replaced they would meet their MTBF. Let them fix it under warranty let the emotion wear off and enjoy your MH. Hope this helps.
BurbMan
Explorer II
Aug 14, 2014
I wouldn't paint the whole RV with a bad brush because of a seal issue. Any machine is man made and as such not perfect. Let them replace the seal and be thankful it's not on your nickel. FWIW, that seal could have been one in a million provided by the seal supplier that was defective...it may not have had anything to do with how it was assembled.

Also seals dry out from sitting too long. It's a good idea to run the engine once a week or minimum once a month when either parked or in storage to circulate the oil and keep those seals pliable.
JetAonly
Explorer
Aug 14, 2014
I had a seal on a new car leak. Fixed under warranty and no issues during our ownership. A leaky seal is not a thrown rod. Relax.

New doesn't guarantee no worries.
BobR
Explorer
Aug 14, 2014
At least the repair is under warranty. I had to have an after cooler gasket replaced on an engine with 40 hours due to it being double gasketed from the factory. Since an air leak didn't show up on error codes, it took Cummins 12 man hours to diagnose the problem and 3 hours to repair. I was thankful for warranty on that one.
BUB1988
Explorer
Aug 14, 2014
I feel the pain as well. We purchased a DP with a CAT 330HP engine with only 40K miles. Due to lack of maintenance of the air filter 6 weeks after we made the purchase we had to replace the engine, head, and turbo. Air filter had a hole in it you could stick your fist through. 18K later the RV runs like a champ.
Any new item can break but if maintained properly that item should last a life time
et2
Explorer
Aug 13, 2014
smacdiesel wrote:
I'm afraid about the newer diesels. Mine has been reliable but with the recent emission standards, problems and repairs are very high in the newer DP. I hope this is the only major issue, good thing it is still under warranty.

Me too, and yes it is. I plan to see how it plays out over the next 4 years ( engine warranty over) with this repair. If things seem to keep going wrong I'll be in the market for a new rig. Why keep dumping dollars into a fix that has caused more problems for me to start paying for that can't be fixed correctly. The money spent could go towards a new rig with hopefully less worries.
smacdiesel
Explorer
Aug 13, 2014
I'm afraid about the newer diesels. Mine has been reliable but with the recent emission standards, problems and repairs are very high in the newer DP. I hope this is the only major issue, good thing it is still under warranty.
et2
Explorer
Aug 13, 2014
Well I had a more detailed discussion with the RV coordinator and my repair and what's involved. In contrary to what the last service guy told me it's not the rear main seal, it's the rear seal to the engine. The trans has to be pulled, fuel pump and other hardware removed, converter, the rear main seal removed & bell housing just to get to this seal.

Not happy. I know it's under warranty but it still doesn't make me feel more comfortable about it. I tend to be more pessimistic on repairs like this. More things to go wrong or not done right. Even he told me nobody is waving their hand to tackle the job. Probably because of all the things that could go wrong. I do like these guys, they've done me good over the years.

Makes one start wondering what to do after the 5 year warranty is over.
et2
Explorer
Aug 13, 2014
Daveinet wrote:
et2 wrote:
Daveinet wrote:
et2 wrote:
dsteinman wrote:
Why is the water separator not under warranty?

David

It's a maintenance item. That's what I was told. Just like fuel filter and oil filters. $120.00 labor & parts.
NO IT IS A DESIGN PROBLEM If frozen water can crack the plastic bowl, then it is a really stupid design by incompetent engineers. In what grade does one learn that water expands when it freezes?

I didn't say frozen water caused the crack, and neither did Cummins. The bowl is plastic. Maybe a stone or road debris caused the crack. It is located behind and up from the rear wheels. The water separator in my last Dodge PU was plastic as well. It never cracked.
Probably more directly in response to another poster who discussed water causing a crack. In your case, it sounds like a poor location if its near the tires. Stuff needs to survive common road conditions. You did mention they claimed it was a maintenance item, which implies it is expected to crack regularly.

It's open under the coach and on the side of the engine near the bottom. Yes they're behind the wheels, a few feet. Tires can throw things in to your DP engine after all it's not like a front mounted engine in a car. Your radiator , oil pan, filters and a whole bunch of other stuff can get hit by a number of different thing coming off the road or tires. Ever see the dirt & stuff on the top of your engine? It's not like its a sealed environment back there.

It's a maintenance item because there is a filter to replace and a water bowl that needs attending to ( by the owner or technician if hired to do it). A filter just like the fuel filter, oil filter, and water separator filter, on all DP's. Designed failure .... Really?? If if were such a bad problem then they would have a recall due to all the engines they've had to fix or replace.
Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Aug 13, 2014
I wouldn't get too worried about the main seal. Chances are it was nicked a little during installation and it's showing up now. Have them pop in a new seal and you should be good to go.