Problem with EGR on 07 Mack Vision looking for Advice

alcoon

New Member
Thinking long shot here and looking for advice. A week ago I blew off a radiator hose and lost my antifreeze. Hose wasnt busted blew off the radiator on top. Put it back on, let it cool down for two hours and filled it with water and ran it on home. Left out two days later on a 300 mile run to Dallas and no problems running down the road. Noticed at the truck stop that night I was getting some overflow coming out the overflow tank cap. After idling a while it quit but it was sloshing out the radiator cap pretty good with the cap off. Truck was not running hot pulling a load and finished up that load and the 300 mile return home. Assumed heating up problem may have been due to mostly water in radiator and drained, flushed and installed new anti freeze coolant blend. Ran test run and several hours idling and not problems surfaced. Left out with a load 700 miles to Kentucky. Watched on the run in 95 degree heat and nothing showed up to be a problem. When pulling out of the truck stop in Kentucky the truck coughed and spit like it was running out of fuel or had water in fuel and it had never done this before. It caught up after coughing and took off. It ran 600 miles of the 700 on the return trip with no problems. About a hundred miles from home I started getting a code light coming on but it would not stay on long enough to read it. Temp was running a little high but not out of the ordinary in the heat pulling a load. (200 average mostly with fan cycle occasionally.) Made it home with no problems and finally was able to get the code that was coming up. (5-8) Egr Temp Overheat. After all I could read on the net I suspect a cracked EGR cooler. Antifreeze was two gallons low. Being a single truck independent Owner/op under a load I thought maybe it will limp on to dallas and get rid of the load I am under. WRONG. Ten miles or so from the house it coughed again, like bad fuel or water. Stopped when I got to the interstate and checked everything water wise and no leaks was not overheating (180 degrees) so took off. Didnt get far and mostly after deceleration on small grades when the cruise picked back up it would cough and spit and sputter a few times then catch and go on. This went on for ten miles or so. I pulled off a exit ramp which coasting to a stop. Before setting the brakes engine died after coasting a good ways. Raised hood and water was spewing out vent hole on overlow tank cap and sight glass on steel tanks appeared to have a lot of bubbles in it. Let it sit and cool down for 2 hours. Fired right back up idled ok and shut it back down. It held a gallon and a half of water. There was a drop yard where I load all the time across the interstate at that exit where I load all the time I decided to try and see if I could get over there to get off the side of the road. When I started to take off it spit and sputtered bad like it did not even want to take off. I drained some fuel out of the secondary and it was clear of water. Idled in granny gear across the road dropped the the trailer and after sitting there idling it would take acceleration ok. I decided to try and make it bobtail back home and see what it did without a load. Got on the interstate it spit a couple of times and finally lined out. Ran her about 55 down the interstate and it may have spit/ coughed once or twice like a miss on the 20 mile interstate ride. After getting off the interstate and due to stops and starts and more acceleration and decelaration it coughed and missed and bucked a lot more leveling out at times.

Note that when I drained some water out of it it looks to have soot in it. It does not seem to be oil because it does not seperate from the water over time.

I apologize for the lengthy description of symptoms. My question does it sound possible that upon decelaration and extended idle that water leaks our in the egr cooler getting to the combustion chamber or does this sound like I have more problems than just the egr cooler?

thanks in advance for any advice,
 
The EGR is cooled with the engine coolant. Soot in the coolant indicates the EGR cooler is leaking.

How many miles on it? Has the EGR and cooler been replaced yet?
 
The truck is at 550,000. The price of the cooler is $2050 at mack. To my knowledge it has never been replaced. I am a owner/op and my problem is to come up with the cash is to beg and borrow every dime I can from every family member I have. The miss and spitting and sputtering has me concerned with just buying the cooler and installing it and hoping to go back to work and pray for catch up time before next break down. That is why I was asking is it possible for water to enter the intake from the cooler to cause the spitting and sputtering. Has anybody out there driven or encountered this and could give me some feel for what I am looking at. Head or head gasket means moving on without this truck in our future and probably a lot more things like our home and everything we own.
 
Sounds a bit steep for just the cooler. I had an EGR done on a Cummins ISX about 2 years ago and it was around $1500.

The spitting and sputtering you describe indicate more than just a leaking EGR cooler. I would suspect the EGR itself. Is that the Renault engine in your truck?

By the way, if the EGR does need replaced, it is not a do it yourself repair. Part of the r&r involves setup using a laptop, a special dongle to connect it to the diagnostic connector on the truck, and software specific to the engine.

As far as cost and the money to fix it go, don't you set money aside from each settlement for repairs and maintenance?
 
Thank you for taking the time to reply racer x 69. I am not much in the position to gamble $2000 more dollars on this truck. I am pretty sure it will hit the auction block as is. You asked so I will reply yes I have always put money aside for repairs. For the last year this truck has had more expense's monthly than revenue. Maintenance reserves have been long ago absorbed in many repairs. Plus borrowed money on top of that. Writing is on the wall to just let the thing go back and get in a company truck and lick my wounds. After 35 years in trucking it is hard to believe one truck would completely wipe me out but it can happen. 5 years ago I was debt free when I bought the thing. Thanks to epa additions , worst fuel mileage of 5 trucks that I have owned and many other factors it just a sob story and time for me to go. I have prayed for months for God to show me a path out. Finally have realized that he is showing me but with my stubborn self I continue to fight to try to stay in . Finally found the place called Rock Bottom. I am done with it. Be Safe and God Bless.
 
Thank you for taking the time to reply racer x 69. I am not much in the position to gamble $2000 more dollars on this truck. I am pretty sure it will hit the auction block as is. You asked so I will reply yes I have always put money aside for repairs. For the last year this truck has had more expense's monthly than revenue. Maintenance reserves have been long ago absorbed in many repairs. Plus borrowed money on top of that. Writing is on the wall to just let the thing go back and get in a company truck and lick my wounds. After 35 years in trucking it is hard to believe one truck would completely wipe me out but it can happen. 5 years ago I was debt free when I bought the thing. Thanks to epa additions , worst fuel mileage of 5 trucks that I have owned and many other factors it just a sob story and time for me to go. I have prayed for months for God to show me a path out. Finally have realized that he is showing me but with my stubborn self I continue to fight to try to stay in . Finally found the place called Rock Bottom. I am done with it. Be Safe and God Bless.

Wow. Sorry to hear things have taken a bad turn for you. I wish you the best, and may your faith get you through this trying time.
 
From what I have found, when the trucks get about 500K miles then the serious stuff starts going wrong...It seems like every breakdown is between 3 to 4 thousand dollars..

I wish you all the best and we've been in your shoes before..I know the feeling..
 

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