TTP Responds To Complaint About Rebuilt Engine

TTP Responds To Complaint About Rebuilt Engine ENGINES Engines 23-5-16 "I'd like to respond to an article in the last issue of FARM SHOW written by Greg Paplam, a mechanic for Strutz Farms in Two Rivers, Wis.," says Doug Dickerhoff, vice president of TTP in Warsaw, Ind. "He was unhappy with the oil consumption of a remanufactured 3208T Caterpillar engine we sold to Strutz Farms in February of 1998. Because it is our policy to stand behind our products 100 percent, we felt it important to respond to the article and defend our reputation. We have been in business 19 years providing top quality remanufactured engines to thousands of satisfied customers in agriculture, trucking, and other industrial markets. "Strutz Farms purchased a 3208T remanufactured engine to replace a non-turbocharged 3208 in a White 2-180 farm tractor. This model was not originally available from the factory with a turbocharged engine. Soon after the engine was installed, it started using a relatively high amount of oil usage. We had the customer perform a few rudimentary checks attempting to determine the problem. The customer reported that, æthe engine ran great, did not smoke, and had no shortage of power, however the intake side of the turbo was wet with oil.' "TTP requested that the turbo be returned. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the intake side of the turbo had ingested foreign matter. TTP notified the customer of such and requested that the engine itself be returned for more comprehensive diagnosis. Since the tractor was in service and still needed by the customer, the turbo was rebuilt and returned at no charge (a $290 value), so that the tractor could be used in a æreserve' capacity until the engine could be removed and returned. "The engine was later returned, disassembled and the piston rings sent to the manufacturer. The failure analysis was conclusive: The rings were worn out due to air-borne abrasives being ingested into the engine. As a courtesy to the customer, TTP reduced the engine repair cost by $654 making the total charge for the non-warrantable repair $3450. We installed new rings, bored the block, and basically rebuilt the engine back to remanufactured status. The final step was to run the engine on our computer-aided engine dynamometer under load for 2 hrs. During that test it did not consume any measurable amount of oil. "After Strutz Farms reinstalled the engine in the tractor, it began to use oil again within a short period of time. This time, a factory rep from the piston and ring manufacturer went on site to evaluate the installation. He removed the air cleaner found the outer filter not sealing at the base. Copious amounts of dirt were found laying on the inside of the filter canister where it could be ingested directly into the engine. This was noted to the customer. No oil leaks were found and all other engine operations appeared normal. "It was decided that the excessive oil usage was not going to get better, so the engine (along with the air cleaner assembly) was brought back to TTP for detailed analysis. The engine was received and disassembled. The pistons and rings were sent back to the factory for analysis. Again, the report was conclusive and documented by magnified pictures: Failure due to air-borne abrasives. There were scratches on the rings. "The air filter canister was disassembled and dirt was present on both sides of the sealing area. The inner filter seal was marginal. The filter housing was physically too small for the 3208T air filter element. Because the customer was still using the original (naturally aspirated) housing, only 7/8-in. clearance was available around the outer filter. After discussing this issue with engineers at the filter manufacturer, it was learned that this reduced clearance impeded the filter's capacity. It was further noted that the customer's installed outer-primary air filter element was only rated at 758 cfm. Caterpillar Inc. verified a minimum requirement of 864 cfm is required for the 3208T. "Hence, the customer was att

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