Fixed a CAT C15 that turned into a 3 hour nightmare last Tuesday

A buddy called me over in Oxford to help with a rough idle on his C15. Long story short, I swapped the fuel filters and it still ran like garbage. Turns out the primary filter housing had a tiny crack letting air in. Took me forever to find it with a hand pump and some dish soap. Has anyone else dealt with air leaks that hide like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

victor_jones9928d agoTop Commenter

Man I used to think air leaks were always super obvious, but that C15 story changed my mind lol. That tiny crack hiding in the filter housing is the kind of thing that makes you want to pull your hair out.

emery19927d ago

Pulling your hair out" over a crack in a filter housing? You sure that story wasn't just some mechanic trying to sound impressive? I mean sure a hairline crack can be a pain, but it's not like you're tracking down a ghost. Grab some duct tape or a vacuum gauge and move on.

hayes.joel12d ago

Had a buddy who spent three days chasing a vacuum leak on his old Powerstroke once. Turned out to be a loose hose clamp behind the alternator, so simple it was almost embarrassing. @emery199 I get where you're coming from with the duct tape idea, but sometimes those little cracks like on a filter housing can be a real pain to find before they cause a bigger problem.