My charge air cooler has three cracks and is not repairable. I can no longer get a new charge air cooler as they are no longer made and inventory is exhausted.
A local radiator shop will cut the tanks off and weld in a new core for $1,400 to $1,500. Clifford mentioned he doesn't like doing recores on CACs. I could get a new CAC for a truck and rework the piping and mount for less money, but a lot of work. I would get something that should be available if I need new again down the road.
Any opinions on a recore versus replacing with a different model?
A lot of work, but only once. ;)
Quote from: Dave5Cs on September 25, 2019, 01:29:18 PM
A lot of work, but only once. ;)
The thing is, am I going to be spending $500 to $600 to replace my CAC every few years? I don't know if a recore would be any better.
The radiator shop I took my CAC to for testing last week had repaired the CAC in 2006 when I first got the bus. (They put a plate on the CAC to identify it and still had the records of the repair.) Back then the leaks were in totally different spots and were repairable. I suspect the CAC has been cracked for a number of years as I don't recall ever seeing above about 17 PSI of boost.
I am guessing it would take me two to three months of weekends to find a CAC that would work and then to do all the fabrication work to properly mount a different CAC.
Is there a good reason not to recore? It would save me at 100 hours of research and fabrication, but might cost more for a recore than changing to a different CAC.
My current CAC is about 29" tall and 27" wide. If I do a replacement can anyone recommend a replacement CAC that should be available long term if I need another one?
The CAC on my 94 Eagle with Series 60 is 29" H and 21" wide, so you might be able find one that works well enough that is smaller. Why yours is bigger I don't know, but mine is for a 470 hp engine (12.7L). Having one that does not leak, even if it is smaller, will be a gain.
Call Bher Dayton in Canton SD 605-764-1283,also there is a place Tulsa OK that fab you one and they are fair on the price but I forgot the name they did TomC's CAC if I remember right,A 100 hrs may be a little high on the install though 8)
I don't think 100 hours is high at all if I have to build mounts for a different CAC and then rework all the piping. My fabrication skills are non-existent. I have a welder, but don't know how to use it. I will probably have 20 hours just into research on which CAC to buy.
A number of years back I spent probably 100 hours just fixing an oil leak from the oil cooler on my Series 60.
Quote from: luvrbus on September 25, 2019, 08:15:45 PM
Call Bher Dayton in Canton SD 605-764-1283,also there is a place Tulsa OK that fab you one and they are fair on the price but I forgot the name they did TomC's CAC if I remember right,A 100 hrs may be a little high on the install though 8)
Behr Dayton sold the Canton, SD plant to Adams Thermal Systems back in 2003. Behr Dayton still has a plant in Ohio. I'll send a PM to TomC about his CAC.
Match the CFM and the CAC shouldn't be hard to replumb, MCI DL3 have CAC about that size
Roadhouse Manufacturing.
Quote from: TomC on September 26, 2019, 09:59:31 AM
Roadhouse Manufacturing.
Did they do custom or just a standard charge air cooler?
I contacted Roadhouse and they say they can fix just about any CAC without a recore. I might send it out to them next Spring. My big concern is will it just crack again in another area if they repair it?
I would think the cracking would come from being too ridigly mounted. Maybe the mounts need added cushioning to avoid the issue. Unless the air flow throught it sets up stress vibration.
Quote from: chessie4905 on September 26, 2019, 01:39:30 PM
I would think the cracking would come from being too ridigly mounted. Maybe the mounts need added cushioning to avoid the issue. Unless the air flow throught it sets up stress vibration.
They crack even mounted in rubber I don't understand why someone cannot build a CAC that doesn't crack,the plastic ones last about 2 years for 600 bucks,Prevost CAC are terrible about leaking
Eliminate it and use water injection
ok $$$ tight old man here! JB weld has worked great for many years. Hasn't failed yet. You dealing with inside pressure to out worse could happen it blows out ward.
If the radiator repair shop couldn't fix the cracks then JB Weld probably wouldn't work either. They showed me in the soapy water tank where it was leaking, but I still couldn't see the cracks. If I thought JB Weld would work I would try it.
The CAC is rubber mounted at the top, but the bottom is direct mounted.
Here's a company with a very good durability warranty.
https://www.duralite.net/content/charge-air-coolers
Quote from: chessie4905 on September 27, 2019, 04:19:36 PM
Here's a company with a very good durability warranty.
https://www.duralite.net/content/charge-air-coolers
The problem with Dura-Lite is they don't want to actually sell anything. You have to sign up for a user account just to see their catalog and user accounts are only for dealers.
Buy from a dealer?
Quote from: chessie4905 on September 28, 2019, 07:54:54 AM
Buy from a dealer?
Sure, but I have to know what to buy first. I need a catalog to look at all of the designs so I can pick the one that is the right size and easiest to adapt to the piping in my bus.
Quote from: chessie4905 on September 28, 2019, 07:54:54 AM
Buy from a dealer?
Dura-Lite is OEM for Prevost don't kid yourself they are not the best around for sure
Then, who's are the best?
I found some posts on another forum by a guy who works for a large fleet of Prevost buses. He said the OEM for the CACs in their Prevost buses was Valeo and they were replacing them with Dura-Lite as they failed because the Dura-Lite last a lot longer.
Quote from: belfert on September 28, 2019, 01:04:09 PM
I found some posts on another forum by a guy who works for a large fleet of Prevost buses. He said the OEM for the CACs in their Prevost buses was Valeo and they were replacing them with Dura-Lite as they failed because the Dura-Lite last a lot longer.
Could be but the Casnios in Laughlin all their H Prevost were Dura-Lite that I replaced I have one in the scrap pile
Quote from: luvrbus on September 28, 2019, 01:54:23 PM
Could be but the Casnios in Laughlin all their H Prevost were Dura-Lite that I replaced I have one in the scrap pile
So, what brand charge air coolers do you recommend?
It almost seems like I should retrofit my bus to the cheapest charge air cooler I can find, buy a bunch of them, and just plan to replace it every year. It seems like almost every brand of charge air coolers has people who absolutely love them and just as many people who absolutely hate the same brand.
I don't think any last long,you will never see it but the EGR equipped engines see 50 PSI of boost or more 5 to 7lbs at idle.Prevost is great about telling you manufactured the product used. I checked my manuals for the H-45 and they have 3 different manufactures depending on the serial number so they are looking also .I still do not understand why one will not last