obscure mechanic question

[5.4MarkVIII]

lol

our back up delivery van is a 2002 Chev E3500 with a unicell box.

it has the 5.7 (350?)

we have owned it for 4 years ish. and only put about 40000km on it in that time. (currently only has 160,000 ish kms)

we have had to replace the exhaust manifolds twice now for cracks once for the initial safety when I bought it and once a couple years ago. now the damn thing has started ticking again.

is this a common thing? sounds stupid for a work delivery truck but I have half mind to order a tubular header for the stupid thing so I don't have to deal with this every 2 years on the cast iron ones.


on that note anyone know if a tubular header would fit? or os there a better option to replace than the after marked cast ones my mechanic has been using.

thanks.


oh also on a side note with stupid mechanical questions. Why the Fu#k do mechanics not turn rotors any more? our main delivery vehicle (2013 Izuzu NNR) is in getting its yearly stupid commercial check. all the break rotors and drums are glassed over and pitted. pads have tones of life left in them the mechanic says they need to be replaced I saidokay how about we turn the rotors and drums and put them back on. he said no. no one does that any more we just replace them. I said how much.

HE SAID WITH LABOUR WE ARE LOOKING AROUND FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!!!!! "it took him all day to get the drums off because of the lip in that back and the calipers were seized.

I said again. okay how about replace the calipers clen up the shoes and turn the fucking drums. NOPE all needs to be changed for the cert. oh and also new fucking drip free safetys. so waiting on some obscure coolent line because it had a drip on it.

[Ponyryd]

Headers should be available but you would need to adapt them to the current exhaust I’m sure. I haven’t had too many issues with SBC manifolds, a few have cracked but not that frequently.

As for the safety, the rotors only actually fail if they are cracked, undersized, badly pulsating, or very badly rusted. Some places resurface still, (we do) but once they’re rusted or pitted it’s pointless, machining won’t help much and the condition will return within a few months.

[5.4MarkVIII]

needs a restock lol

find it funny. just in my travels today. say a car with no working break lights or turn signals. another one spewing blue smoke everywhere and a pick up that I literally could see threw both sides of the bed. like stand on one side of the truck and can see the person standing on the other side threw the damn truck.

and Im held up on deliveries because a single tiny leak, that has NEVER cause a puddle. or required a refill of the coolant.

also on a similar note. if you have told your employed the required maintenance schedule and assured them of the importance of it and clarified with them that it is in their job description to ensure said truck gets its required maintenance. it is STILL not safe to assume the required maintenance is getting done

[5.4MarkVIII]

Headers should be available but you would need to adapt them to the current exhaust I’m sure. I haven’t had too many issues with SBC manifolds, a few have cracked but not that frequently.

As for the safety, the rotors only actually fail if they are cracked, undersized, badly pulsating, or very badly rusted. Some places resurface still, (we do) but once they’re rusted or pitted it’s pointless, machining won’t help much and the condition will return within a few months.

thanks for the input. I just remember always machining rotors. I can understand most cars now since white box is relatively cheap vs time. but for giant commercial truck rotors I guess is just assumed it was still a thing,

[hammerhead]

The Chinese have, I think somehow managed to veneer steel..lol especially rotors - in my experience it has been best to replace all at once or your pulling the wheels regularly to replace the things you should of the first time...

to be honest I have this suggestion and I tell this to a lot of people with commercial vehicles who aren't delivery people and this comes from being in the trucking industry for a long time - contract out your deliveries with someone who has a truck and maybe a small trucking business for local deliveries - I don't know how busy you are for delivery but this may be the best option for you - consider all the nonsense and expense needed to have and maintain delivery vehicles and also the time your losing now because of having no driver or poor driver employee's...there's a ton of reason to do it this way.

[ZR]

Cracking manifolds on GM vans, dramatic reduction if you remove the rubber inner fender liners on both sides. Carpet trucks we service have gone from one broken manifold after another to haven't done one in several years. Another common cause is a partially plugged Cat, on those trucks first sign is detonation then reduced power. Also worth keeping in mind, while the 5.7 hauls those trucks around just fine when driven realistically, drive it firm to hard and it's working it's bag off making huge heat, yes cracking manifolds.
Turning rotors, while to your eye they may look like a skim n all will be fine. Rotors these days start to show rust from the inner n outter edges which somehow turns the steel into acting like it's a veneer (as said above). You know those small pin holes you see on the surface, start to machine the face and they go from pin holes to craters. I have one of the very best lathes on the market, machine few if any rotors anymore for exactly that reason. You can blame crappy sub standard steel used to make em combined with this ridiculous slop they slather our roads with each and every winter.

[ZR]

Oh and when replacing manifolds, opt for OEM used before using a set of those cheapest of cheap made in gosh knows where, they are doomed to fail but yes the price on them looks attractive.

[ZR]

As for the Isuzu, look to Rock Auto or similar ahead of it's next inspection, might be shocked how affordable non OEM stuff can be.

[5.4MarkVIII]

thanks for all the input. it all makes sense when I set aside the cheap ass part of my mindset.

[5.4MarkVIII]

The Chinese have, I think somehow managed to veneer steel..lol especially rotors - in my experience it has been best to replace all at once or your pulling the wheels regularly to replace the things you should of the first time...

to be honest I have this suggestion and I tell this to a lot of people with commercial vehicles who aren't delivery people and this comes from being in the trucking industry for a long time - contract out your deliveries with someone who has a truck and maybe a small trucking business for local deliveries - I don't know how busy you are for delivery but this may be the best option for you - consider all the nonsense and expense needed to have and maintain delivery vehicles and also the time your losing now because of having no driver or poor driver employee's...there's a ton of reason to do it this way.

sub contracting makes sense from a cost perspective but doing the delivery ourselves with guys trained to do it properly is one of the biggest customer service advantages we can offer that sets us apart from the big box stores.
I see it on a weekly basis we get called out by the big box store to go look at a "warranty issue" only to show up to find out that the issue is the guys who delivered it had no idea what they were doing, didn't level something. didn't install it properly ect. these things are not covered by warranty and the dealer who is subcontracting wont pay. so it ends up being time an cost for both me and the customer.

but its a catch 22. I have no idea how these contractor companies do it so cheap. but I don't pay my guys minimum wage and have to maintain the equipment but most people bitch about having to pay a delivery fees

[Laffs]

Medium duty repairs are a crazy jump from light duty stuff in my experience. We have several 4300 Durastars we run in our fleet, the first time I got a bill for "routine" repairs my eyes nearly came out of my head.

Hammerhead makes a salient point. Know what running these trucks costs you versus outsourcing so you can make a complete decision. We know that our 18t boom truck costs us about a $70/hr premium over outsourcing to a crane company. However we can justify this through the prevented downtime. Each hour that a crew spends idle waiting for a boom to arrive to bring up forgotten materials and equipment also has a cost.

[Quicksilver]

needs a restock lol


also on a similar note. if you have told your employed the required maintenance schedule and assured them of the importance of it and clarified with them that it is in their job description to ensure said truck gets its required maintenance. it is STILL not safe to assume the required maintenance is getting done
I know this first hand. 4 years ago I hired a crew who had worked for me for 20 years, then went out on his own for 10 years. I hired him on the spot, and when his truck blew I made a deal for him to use my 2005 F-150 pickup. Every couple months I checked with him about oil changes. He smiled and said yes, he did it, every 8000 km. halfway through the second season, the rear axle, front bushings, and brakes seized up. On the hoist, my mechanic determined that the truck hadn't been serviced AT ALL. HE just kept adding oil. The rear axle was dry. The brakes were metal to metal. Cost me $3000 to fix, but the truck was never the same afterward. Oddly, the carpenter got seriously sick the day before he gave back the truck and quit. I was stuck with the bill.

As far as bureaucracy goes, We had to get yellow inspection stickers on our BRAND NEW F-250 trucks. Brand new!!

[5.4MarkVIII]

got a call from the mechanic today. still waiting on parts but has a quote finally now that he has heard back from Carrier.

front rotors. front pads, rear. drums. rear shoes, rear adjustors. rear actuators. 3 coolent hoses. with labour

should be about TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS...………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………......

[83 5.0]

got a call from the mechanic today. still waiting on parts but has a quote finally now that he has heard back from Carrier.

front rotors. front pads, rear. drums. rear shoes, rear adjustors. rear actuators. 3 coolent hoses. with labour

should be about TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS...………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………......

Ouch, my sons father in law runs a landscape business, and opted for a dump trailer to be pulled by his Dodge diesel pick up, instead of repairing his Isuzi 2 ton dump truck. His last repair estimate was about $7000 doing the work himself.
You could buy a decent enclosed trailer for less than $10 grand

[Laffs]

Ouch, my sons father in law runs a landscape business, and opted for a dump trailer to be pulled by his Dodge diesel pick up, instead of repairing his Isuzi 2 ton dump truck. His last repair estimate was about $7000 doing the work himself.
You could buy a decent enclosed trailer for less than $10 grand

Still other associated costs with that. Accelerated wear on truck, having to get yellows on both, maneuvering sucks, plus you basically need a 3/4T minimum truck which is costly to maintain over a 1/2T. But ya, we seriously considered replacing our 5T dumps with trailers until we realized we'd need diesel 3/4 tonne trucks at minimum to pull that weight, even then off a bumper is sketch so gooseneck is the only option. Then finding guys to drive em is harder, and our guys hit stuff in basic trucks without trailers, and theft is a concern. Frick its never easy.

Op if it makes you feel better, we just got hit for 4k on an ABS module in one of the Durastars. Picked it up today and get it back to the yard, she's low ridin...blew a rear air bag line.

[5.4MarkVIII]

yeah we used to run pick up and trailer and every time we hired a new delivery guy id have to teach them how to drive. and usually end up with damage from jack knifes or backing into shit.

its my own fault I got complacent and assumed he was ensuring proper maintenance and wasn't driving the truck every now and then to make sure everything was okay. what should have been caught a long time ago turned into a huge problem.

stuck with, if I don't fix it its worth nothing (still owe about 14k on the truck) if I do fix it I could sell it and break even or run it for a couple more years until its payed off and then decide what to do.

problem we have with alot of the new stuff is we need the extra height. for the fridges and stacker washers. they don't fit in a standard cube fan like our old chev. to get the extra height its a medium duty box truck like the izuzu or step up into a sterling or freightliner but then its even more money for purchase and repairs. or back into a custom trailer and deal with the constant cosmetic repairs cuz people cant drive.

[Laffs]

FWIW besides the above noted brake module and air line our late model (13+) Durastars have been very good trucks. DO NOT get the Maxxforce motors, find one with a Cummins and the Allison. I have been getting ours out of North Carolina, former Penske trucks. They have higher miles but loads of service records and even a warranty in some cases (that is border transferable). Also they come super super clean and detailed, and they'll ship them for free to the nearest stateside International used truck dealer. Options there to find the something that can be G licensed are wayyyyyy better than on this side.

We have a Freightliner boom truck, the M2 would be the medium chassis. Initially I wanted that but I struggled to find one that was 11000kg registered and juice brakes. Sterling I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. If I wanted to go more beefy I'd spec a Paccar (Pete or KW) truck but those things are all the money.

Have you looked at high roof vans? We have a couple LWB High Roof Ram Promasters, excellent fuel economy and honestly a shocking amount of space inside. Price is right too.

[5.4MarkVIII]

High roof vans aren’t big enough. Some days the 20 ft box truck is barly big enough. Lol

[Laffs]

Got it. Our 5T cubes are 26ft cells. Air ride with lift gate.

[5.4MarkVIII]

How’s your luck with the lift gates? I’ve heard horror stories from other appliance guys about them. Either dumping stuff off or malfunctioning and leaving anything in the box inaccessible. So I avoaided them with this truck. But the ramp is too short for the height of the truck so in slippery weather it can be difficult to load and unload.

[Laffs]

How’s your luck with the lift gates? I’ve heard horror stories from other appliance guys about them. Either dumping stuff off or malfunctioning and leaving anything in the box inaccessible. So I avoaided them with this truck. But the ramp is too short for the height of the truck so in slippery weather it can be difficult to load and unload.

Have had a couple wear through hydraulic lines, but that's a few bucks and some hand tools to swap. Also guys have smashed the remote but replacements can be found at princess auto. Biggest thing I've found is keep all the pivot points greased and make sure the guys are trained and don't just send full pressure with the latch pins locked. We use it to load heavier equipment in the trucks, it's proven to be more useful than hurtful.

[5.4MarkVIII]

Awesome. Thanks.

Have a new guy starting in a week. I think I’m gonna set up a weekly truck inspection between me and him to make sure daily checks are getting done as well as required maintenance hopefully can avoid another costly issue untill this thing is paid for then decide the best move from their.

[ZR]

Maintenance / run / walk around sheet filled out daily with weekly checks.

[hammerhead]

for a commercial vehicle it is required to do a daily recorded circle check (or before the truck is being used if it is not daily) a copy of the circle check should be kept in the truck with other paperwork - the fine for not having this is just under 400$'s for both the driver and the owner - I think you are required to also have a CVOR if you don't already have one - they like to hand these tickets out it is easy money - if your driver will be driving in excess of (I believe it is 100 - 150 kilometers per day he is required to have a log book) - large companies now have e-logs records hours of service which is also regulated by the MTO - I just forget how that works since e - logs have been legislated - in Ontario I believe its 15 hours a day anything after that is breaking the law and there is a required reset of 30-34 hours after a certain amount of accumulated hours ( I'm not exactly sure how the hours of service work because I don't need to use it) but I've seen fines of a 1000$'s or more because all this paperwork to start the day wasn't in order - and after that they will inspect the truck...it can stupid real fast....if your CVOR is accumulating points from fines and warnings this will affect insurance rates...its really up to the owner to maintain his vehicles but the driver will also get dinged with fines - it's just the governments way of making everyone responsible - it's very important to keep good maintenance records and all the required paperwork in light of a bad accident they will go over everything with a fine tooth comb...I'm not trying to scare but it's just crazy how commercial vehicles are governed regardless of the size. I was a mobile mechanic for many years and would refuse to a scale to repair anything!

[ZR]

Who is required to obtain a CVOR?If you operate the following motor vehicles:

Trucks that have a gross weight or registered gross weight over 4,500 kg (9,920 lb) and
Buses that have a seating capacity of ten or more passengers.
Commercial vehicles plated in either the United States or Mexico
*NEW* All tow truck operators

ExemptionsCarriers that operate certain types of vehicles do not need a <abbr style="box-sizing: border-box;">CVOR</abbr> certificate. These vehicles include:

A truck or bus that is plated in another Canadian jurisdiction
A truck with a registered gross weight (<abbr title="registered gross weight" style="box-sizing: border-box;">RGW</abbr>) and a gross weight of 4,500 kg or less, whether towing a trailer or not
A truck or bus leased by an individual for 30 days or less to move their personal goods, or to carry passengers at no fare
An ambulance, fire apparatus, hearse, casket wagon, mobile crane or tow truck
A truck or bus operating under the authority of a dealer plate or an in-transit permit
A bus used for personal purposes without compensation
A motor home used for personal purposes
A pickup truck used for personal purposes

[5.4MarkVIII]

we are licensed just under the required weight for a CVOR. save on a lot of hassle.

one of my guys got wheeled a few yeas back by the mot. and they never complained about logs. but rarely do 150 km in a day. and I cant seem to ever have anyone that willing to work more than 8 hours in a day. lol

this was with a pick up and trailer at the time both commercial stickered. so not sure if that's why. he did get ticketed for no safety pin on the trailer latch. which was nothing but stupidity because I always keep a pack of spares in the glovebox

[bluetoy]

Log book is only required if you travel more than 160 km distance from your home base. You can stay within the 160 km radius and do as many km's as you like.

[hammerhead]

we are licensed just under the required weight for a CVOR. save on a lot of hassle.

one of my guys got wheeled a few yeas back by the mot. and they never complained about logs. but rarely do 150 km in a day. and I cant seem to ever have anyone that willing to work more than 8 hours in a day. lol

this was with a pick up and trailer at the time both commercial stickered. so not sure if that's why. he did get ticketed for no safety pin on the trailer latch. which was nothing but stupidity because I always keep a pack of spares in the glovebox

lol on the eight hours - I know appliance aren't too heavy but just be careful you don't go over the registered weight - the MTO is also very sticky now about load securement - if a disciplined circle check or pre-trip is done daily it can only benefit your maintenance upkeep - they always pull over utility trailers, opp as well, sometimes have blitz targeting any small trailers even campers, a friend of mine has a white dually 3500 pickup and always gets hassled and it is just a personal vehicle - I personally was ticketed by a peel cop for not doing a circle check and I just left the yard to get a coffee - every police force has seemed to jump on the band wagon. Good luck with your truck hope it all works out...!

[5.4MarkVIII]

almost need it on personal stuff seen two separate ones this week. both GIANT 30 ft plus fifthwheel campers and both hooked to pre 2015 F150's

[Darkhorse]

Who is required to obtain a CVOR?If you operate the following motor vehicles:

Trucks that have a gross weight or registered gross weight over 4,500 kg (9,920 lb) and
Buses that have a seating capacity of ten or more passengers.
Commercial vehicles plated in either the United States or Mexico
*NEW* All tow truck operators

ExemptionsCarriers that operate certain types of vehicles do not need a <abbr style="box-sizing: border-box;">CVOR</abbr> certificate. These vehicles include:

A truck or bus that is plated in another Canadian jurisdiction
A truck with a registered gross weight (<abbr title="registered gross weight" style="box-sizing: border-box;">RGW</abbr>) and a gross weight of 4,500 kg or less, whether towing a trailer or not
A truck or bus leased by an individual for 30 days or less to move their personal goods, or to carry passengers at no fare
An ambulance, fire apparatus, hearse, casket wagon, mobile crane or tow truck
A truck or bus operating under the authority of a dealer plate or an in-transit permit
A bus used for personal purposes without compensation
A motor home used for personal purposes
A pickup truck used for personal purposes


^^^^ I had thought Doug Ford was going to soften all this up? Including not needing a yellow sticker? I'll still get one every year, but I had heard that was going away.

In the US you only need Commercial after 24,000lbs....lol

[Darkhorse]

Log book is only required if you travel more than 160 km distance from your home base. You can stay within the 160 km radius and do as many km's as you like.

you need a pre-trip inspection though still.