KDog Trucking

I need some help (or guidance) on a question perhaps someone here has encountered:

I have a trucking fleet (Midwest Motor Express out of Bismark, ND asking for assistance from our "supposed experts", who seem to be stumped.

They've seen a lot of DEF sensors saying "bad DEF" when you hook up the laptop, full yellow dash complete with warning lights and all, and I'm curious what could this mean? I am thinking the DEF is fine, and other trucks within the same fleet operate normally, with the same sensors in place. They run Cummins ISX and Volvo D13's. 

Could this be dirt, contamination, or other debris in the DEF lines?

It's usually coming from high volume, high quality truck stops and I'm curious as to what the problem is if not the DEF fluid? (Pilot, Flying J, T/A's)

I've heard there are NOx sensors that are prone to fail and ambient temp sensors in the bumper. Any discussion on this would be useful, considering I know very little on the subject.

I agree the number of moving parts/gears and potential for things to go wrong seems to be much greater in this more complex design. The youtube videos (1-4) were really good and help you to see how they are achieving this. 

Good points. I guess I'll still have a job for a while longer.

I read an article about a variable compression engine, with the statement that this technology could kill the diesel engine. 

It's basically a gas engine that can change it's compression ratio on the fly. (Ranges from 8:1 all the way up to 14:1).

"The ingenuity of VC-T engine technology lies in its ability to transform itself and seamlessly raise or lower the height the pistons reach. As a consequence, the displacement of the engine changes and the compression ratio can vary anywhere between 8:1 (for high performance) and 14:1 (for high efficiency). The sophisticated engine control logic automatically applies the optimum ratio, depending on what the driving situation demands."

Just thought this was cool and wondering for anyone who has a deep understanding of mechanical workings, is this really a breakthrough that could threaten the diesel engine or is this just hype?

The full article can be found here:

https://jalopnik.com/worlds-first-variable-compression-ratio-engine-could-ki-1785295848

Ate the bugger whole. That's pretty cool. Watched it while eating my lunch (don't recommend this).

Happy birthday big guy! Have always enjoyed reading your posts. All the best!

All those pictures are highly unsafe, it's comical to think - babies wrapped in cellophane?! If you like dead babies I guess being delivered by a stork. Wierd how people thought. Hey, give that kid a cigarette and a beer!

This guys man cave was pretty dang cool. made me think of owning a pinball machine. 

Winter is almost over, and in celebration of that, I'd like to share some ice fishing posts from our recent  Leech Lake MN trip. I know Mack Technician has some pictures from our recent trip. I'll post a few here and anyone else want to share ice fishing stories or just fishing pictures, etc. feel free to jump in. 

On 1/31/2018 at 9:15 AM, Mack Technician said:

Coincidence?, doubt it.

Amazon decides to makes an announcement that drives the market 400 points into the ground on the day Trump was going in front of the nation to get a slap on the back for what he has done for the economy. Keeping in mind owner Jeff Bezos is a staunch, west coast, liberal who publically criticizes Trump. Hate to see that much market persuasion in the hand of a liberal, but give him points for a clever manipulation. 

Sad.

This will be the technological revolution that eliminates millions of jobs. 

After that, we might have to go to the 3-day work week. 

According to the government, 100 cars today produce the same amount of PM (particulate matter) and NOx as 1 car prior to 1970.

For HD trucks, the amount of PM generated per 100,000 miles was 470 pounds before EPA standards were enacted. Today, the amount is measured in grams. So that is something like a 4,000 to 1 ratio of emissions before and after EPA/CAFE standards were enacted. 

So, while crappy and old ran without problems, it doesn't work anymore with a population approaching 10 billion globally. 

I think there is an unseen cost to electric, however the upside for OTR trucks is 1 million miles in between major maintenance, such as they are claiming on the Tesla trucks.

I think the best part of automated trucks/cars is that *hopefully* my kids will never have to get a drivers permit.

I understand, and that's  a good example of gov't stupidity...because electricity has to come from somewhere...and most of it around here is coal.

It's not actually zero emissions that seems to be driving the market towards electrification, ironically it's all the exhaust after treatment junk and the desire for a more reliable lower maintenance engine (post 2007 emissions controls).

Tesla says you will be able to convoy 3 electric trucks together (with a single driver). That kind of innovation will really kill jobs.

I haven't really seen anything (yet) that says Trump will be overturning CAFE standards, and phase 2 seems to be in the works, which will require more emissions reductions. If it does in fact go through, we'd be looking at most passenger cars getting 50 mpg by 2027.

I found this article on big oil and biodiesel execs getting together to decide how best to kill the electric truck.

As you may have heard, most OEM's have been introducing electric versions of their semis, they can go up to 400 miles on a 30 min charge and supposedly go 1 million miles between maintenance intervals. Tesla reports 3 trucks can be convoyed and controlled by a single operator - eliminating the need for each to have it's own driver.

When asked about electricification, big oil exec's responded:

"Another type of disaster—not natural but instead policy-driven—is the political momentum driving electrification. The consensus on the panel was that the liquid fuels industries must mend their differences and work toward a larger goal of exploiting the benefits that liquid fuels offer and exposing the myth of zero emissions vehicles."

http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/2516262/big-oil-biodiesel-join-forces-to-combat-electrification

We are all witnessing the changing of the guards...women are the new men and men are the new women.

I think the takeaway from all this is that every man who is in a position of power in this country is a potential rapist/molester and should be locked up (to prevent further incidents). 

Thank you for the discussion. Fascinating! Not knowing much about Mack's I am surprised to hear Volvo/Mack only recently adopted the High Pressure Common Rail instead of unit injection. I was thinking Paccar was the last to abandon unit injection in 2013. 

Awesome post! Thanks!

A friend owns a fleet of 65 or so Mack MP8's, less than a year old.

Has been having a lot of issues with the DEF systems. Trucks will derate and have to go in for warranty work. Of the 65 trucks, over 20 have had this issue. Some with as low as 40k miles. Some have been dosers, others sensors, others total def system tear off and rebuild. All the issues have been with either the SCR or the DEF system on these trucks. 

These are Frak sand trucks, so think similar duty cycle to the paver trucks hauling asphalt for consideration.

Anyone know is this OEM issues, duty cycle, just poor design?

Really any insight at all would be helpful. Trying to wrap my mind around the issue and what's causing it. 

Thanks in advance!

I remember seeing ads for the green fuel. We called ours GHP - for Greater Horse Power back in the 50's and 60's. Then red became the color for premium diesel and that was called Ruby. The gov't started adding red dye to off-road and now the only way you know you're getting a premium fuel is that it's on the bill of lading or you're adding it yourself or to purchase from a trusted supplier.

A lot of people still reference Amoco Premier diesel around here, but that hasn't been available since early 2000's. It was a very good fuel and they did a great job marketing it.
 

Interesting post about the oil in the truck stop fuel Farmer52. I've never heard that. I would assume anything is possible if they can get away with it.
 

I know most of the truck stops around the Midwest use biodiesel blends up to 20% to achieve a lower price point. Be aware that animal based bio blends begin to gel at 50 degrees F, so you should avoid filling up where this is sold at all costs if heading north (a B10 blend would start to gel at 10-15 degrees!).
 

A B20 blend of bio might start gelling up at 15-20 degrees. Soy and vegetable oil blends should gel around 14 degrees, assuming it was B100, which it typically isn't. So if you fill at Love's or Flying J, expect that your #2 fuel will gel around that point, and any additive will get you to around 0 degrees with no #1, assuming you have a 10 micron suction stage filter. 

Not sure how you can know what the source of biodiesel is - vegetable or animal based. Depends largely on the location. For example IL is all vegetable based bio blends.

Happy Birthday Lisa!