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What a CAC …
What a CAC (Charge Air Cooler) … Well, in German, pronounced appropriately “CAC” could be interpretated as “Scheisse” (shit). I think that is appropriate if you have to have your CAC replaced.
We are still at Jeff’s place (ETLC in Vonore). Having had the CAC checked out a couple of days ago, Jeff determined that is is leaking and suggested to replace it within the next 6 months. I asked Jeff to do it now. Better save than sorry down the road.
Today, they started to pre the coach for the CAC replacement and they found something that shows that our decision to do this now, rather than later, was a good decision.
See the photo. The photo shows half of a hose clamp. Guess, where this was found! Chances are, we could have a catastrophic hose blowout and what then? We could have been somehwer in the tundra with nowhere to go.
Anyway, we will be leaving here in a day or two knwoing this will not be an issue to be worried about.
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12 Replies
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You could of been in deep “Scheisse” if you had postponed the repair!
Good luck and safe travels!
June
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Ronald,
Your in for a different running bus with more power, less soot out of exhaust, and smoother running engine. One more thing about .5 MPG increase in mileage with more cool air into the engine.
I know this repair is not cheap but one of the repair items which make a real difference.
AL
Here is what we found when replacing the CAC on our 1st Marathon. So much for stick on balance weights. The issue is you never know it…just as Ronald experienced finding a bad clamp.
Solved that problem with Centramatic balancers all wheels. No more stick on wheel weights…period
This panel is directly behind the tag tire. Allows access to other end of radiator.
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I’m waiting for the contact info for Prevost’s president so that I can contact him about this. Jon?
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Ronald,
Olivia is also now a movie star. Check out the latest CAC video.:)
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If you own an EGR coach and have not checked your CAC do it as soon as possible. As the video shows it is simple as letting the coach idle while you squirt soapy water around the base and header of the CAC that is located adjacent to the radiator.
If you ignore or postpone replacing a leaky CAC the turbo boost pressure loss will be seen by DDEC as a problem and it will start with a check engine light. Continued use of the coach will cause more error codes along with the check engine light and that will be followed with the DDEC derating your engine. When the computer derates your engine it cuts the power significantly to the point where it barely has enough HP to climb a hill. Slopes I could climb at highway speed I climbed at 20 MPH.
When you do replace the CAC make absolutely certain the pipe from the turbocharger to the CAC has RED or ORANGE flexible couplings and that they are double clamped. DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO BULLY YOU INTO THE USE OF BLUE FLEXIBLE COUPLINGS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
The remaining flexible couplings can be blue (about 1/3 the cost of the red ones) or the red ones.
The OEM CACs will fail, and as mine did it leaked a little for a while, but then the leaks got progressively worse very fast something I found out the hard way. Insist on the Dura-Lite replacement only.
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I’ll add this check to my list. Thanks. Does anyone know what I would expect to see as an estimated cost for this repair?
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You don’t have an EGR coach so you have no issue. The impact is on coaches from around 2004 and up.
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Kevin, your coach is most likely not affected. The problem is with the stacked CAC’s ’05 and up. That does not mean that the sandwich type could never fail, but is rare. Geo.
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So there is no confusion, the EGR coaches have the CAC next to the radiator, view the video.
The non EGR coaches have a stacked CAC, it’s mounted on the outside of the radiator.
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Knowing the chassis year is a great help. Thanks. What would one expect to pay on this repair?
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My best guess is $1300 for the CAC, around $500 for hoses, plus clamps if necessary and at least 7-8 hours of labor.
If you have the CAC out (the radiator has to come out also if you are close to needing a coolant change add that in as far as materials, and definitely check the fan clutch. If you have to replace that there is no better time.
Bottom line……….there is no one cost because if it has to be done it is also the time to do other work if needed.
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