3126 cat n an ambulance chassis

biggy238 said:
Thread title should read "Man buys old truck, proceeds to ***** because it's old".

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At least its not me........

Check voltage at alternator, then bat stud on starter and bat stud on firewall through block on the PS side.. mine had 6 and 8 gauge wires I ran new 4 gauge between those three posts.. found good bit of voltage drop across the wires thus replaced then
 
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mhuggler said:
After looking up your serial number(8YL72401), I see that yours has the old V-belt drive water pump. This belt is hard to get to and easily overlooked. By the time the belt fails, the tensioner pulley bearing is either toast or close to it. 100% worth replacing along with the belt. I didn't bother looking up the Cat serpentine belt number because I figure you could get whatever brand you want, but I have the numbers for the idler pulley and the tensioner which I would highly recommend replacing. A new belt won't help you if it's not tight and slips. As far as the fan clutch goes, that's a tough one since most trucks are too loud to let you hear if it has engaged. Even then they only lock up 70% of the way. And then there's the obvious stuff like dirty radiator cores and blocked(or missing) shunt lines. It's surprising how many people think you don't need that little 3/8" hose! Anyway, here are some Cat part numbers:
036-6775 - Water pump V-belt
115-4204 - Water pump belt tensioner
138-2514 - Serpentine belt tensioner
253-4525 - Serpentine belt idler pulley
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thanks man..yea it doesn't have an air clutch. its a thermostatic pos....ill have to take it out and get it hot and see if its working or not...spins pretty easy cold. I could even deal with th oils use if it wasn't over heating....I buy all the parts from ringhaver cat in Sarasota. I was told the dampner needs pulled to replace that bely..289000 mi..ill replace all thos eparts..thank you sir...appreciate the help...overheat first..then voltage ..then oil useage...cuz I think the belt will fix the temp and voltage...I hope...

not sure what a shunt line is...lotsa halfassed crap on this truck considering it was an ambulance
 
dieselbeef said:
thanks man..yea it doesn't have an air clutch. its a thermostatic pos....ill have to take it out and get it hot and see if its working or not...spins pretty easy cold. I could even deal with th oils use if it wasn't over heating....I buy all the parts from ringhaver cat in Sarasota. I was told the dampner needs pulled to replace that bely..289000 mi..ill replace all thos eparts..thank you sir...appreciate the help...overheat first..then voltage ..then oil useage...cuz I think the belt will fix the temp and voltage...I hope...

not sure what a shunt line is...lotsa halfassed crap on this truck considering it was an ambulance
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The shunt line is a small hose going from behind the thermostat to the coolant overflow tank. It keeps air purged out of the system. Without it, air builds up behind the thermostat and eventually the wax bulb isn't submerged anymore and she won't open. If you can't get the water pump belt over the damper, it's not a big deal since the damper is easy to unbolt. It's usually a separate piece from the hub. I think your belt tension is a big factor in your current issues.
 
yessir..that and the belt..fl just went on a lockdown so idk how that's gonna go
 
hope this is readable....see anything else I might need for both belts..both tensioners...both thermostats...a thermostat regulator gasket...still figuring out capacity on it....any low sil antifreeze good or gotta be cat stuff....

gonna be a pricey job from cat looks like...
I appreciate the help guys....new to the bigger trucks stuff...thanks
 

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Some of those items are available from Gates, also, if you want to check them out at RockAuto for locally.

You can go here and type in your VIN:

VIN Search Landing Page

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sweet man...thanks YEA BOTH BELTS ARE GATES STUFF...even have the therm and gaskets..awesome. ill get vin and try it out.....i have the engine serial is all right now...figure cat would be most expensive...

can I use any low silica coolant? or cat stuff..
 
I would suggest going with the HD Gates belts. That's what we use here at the shop.

As to coolant, we use Chevron Delo ELC in the buses.
 
hey while I'm at it...gimme a ball park on coolant capacity...6 gallons concentrate and top off with distilled...or more than that for antifreeze....also some have a coolant filter..guess I need to look into that too...

for f's sake...I mean.................... I guess its worth it in the end but dang...then onto the oil issues I guess...ugh
 
I'm guessing 8-10 gallons. Been a minute since I refilled a 70


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I was thinking it is about 20..so I'm gonna get 6 gal of concentrate to make 12 gallons and then just top it with distilled...im in fl...and the mileage wont ever wear it out..probly wont whats in there ..was a fleet ambulance...probly good stuff..i oughtta check t first huh...
 
According to my Freightliner dealer, coolant capacity is 16 quarts, 4 gallons.
 
Depending on the arrangement of the cooling system, total system capacity should be somewhere between 6-8 gallons. Probably closer to the 6 given you also have a viscous fan clutch.
 
thanks fellas..well ill have plenty then...gonna have a look in there first..as I said..ill test it...should be good was an ambulance til 2 yrs ago so hopefully that was on the list...

id have thought much closer to 20 gallons..but wtf do I know...thanks scott for making them calls...

oh btw...that v belt on the water pump is cracked and so loose idk how it stayed on there....so theres my overheat problem...but either way I'm changing tensioners and belts..cuz the serp aint much better..cracked too...all the old parts will make good spares
 
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