Colter Heavy Duty

This past week marks two years of business. A big thank you to all our clients who have supported our rapid growth. Here’s to many more!

Nothing beats return customers, especially when we realize one of our flashlights has been riding around on some rough oilfield roads, stuck to a transmission, for the past 2 months. Shout out to Snap-on Tools, it still works!

Pyrometers are very useful for early indication of a issues when exhaust temps start to climb above normal. Here we briefly cover pyro basics and considerations when watching temperatures. If you find your temps increasing it can caused be several problems: Your engine isnt getting the air it needs: boost leaks, dirty air filters, etc... There is a fuel problem: over fueling, bad injector(s), low fuel pressure, etc Exhaust restriction: anything plugging up your engines poo chute, Heat reflection: common with partially gutted filters/catalysts, over time they become a problem, once we are done with the exhaust we need it out with as little obstruction as possible.

Take a peak inside a Cummins turbocharger

As promised we are going to tear into this turbo. These types of cracks are unfortunately common on Cummins VGT turbos post delete. This is caused by excessively high exhaust temperature. THIS IS 100% NOT NORMAL, DELETED OR NOT. There is nothing wrong with these turbos, they are not fragile and will out perform the cheap fixed vane turbo being sold as the solution on every level. High EGTs (exhaust gas temperature) are unburnt fuel in your exhaust. Lack of air, over fueli...ng, retarded timing (injection event(s) later in the combustion cycle) are conditions leading to this. Fueling, timing, and charge air management must be correctly adjusted when engines are tuned or deleted. This topic grows exponentially from those basic items. Tomorow we will take this turbo apart and look at the damage inside and start to go into the conditions that cause failures, starting with high heat and overspooling turbos. Feel free to join the conversation and ask any questions you might have.

Full shop yesterday working on everything from cummins engine tunes to clutch replacements to basic services and preventative maintenance. Our CVIP licensed facility can keep your units working; we like doing things right, and we like only doing it once.

Another turbo goes pop; every week for the last three weeks there has been a Cummins engine component failure due to bad tuning come through our shop. In the beginning of May I posted that wed go into Cummins and run through these engines (2250,2350,X15) in a beyond the basics way, so lets start with one of the most common failures we see. This truck had a list of issues, all very common and toted as normal by most tuning shops. Were going to pull the old turbo apart to show damage done and we will go into what caused the issues. Weve been a bit busy with opening the shop, but its time we got into it. Its a massive topic and to go in-depth can lead down a nerd fest of deep dark rabbit holes that I enjoy. This is something that is a large part of our everyday work, however it is also what I do in my spare time....for fun.

Check out our amazing new building sign created by Speedpro Signs Grande Prairie! The doors to our facility will be opening Monday, June 1, please feel welcome to swing by and say hi! You can find us at 9302 85 Avenue in Clairmont.

Cummins engine delete issues are a hot topic. No one wants to admit that the tune is causing the problems and instead opt to spend thousands of your hard earned dollars on needless repairs or upgrades to mask the fact the your ECM has been butchered. Call or drop us a message with any concerns about your Cummins engine, deleted or not and we will help with any information you need to get your engine running right. Follow us here as we break down Cummins engines and tuning. Past the standard suck, squeeze, bang, blow and deep into engine operating function, emission + EGR + AECD system structure, PID logic, delete tuning dos and donts, and what mistakes are in your ECM and causing major problems.

Five weeks down, seven months to go

We are excited to announce that in June 2020 our facility will be open, adding to our services and decreasing your downtime. Despite enjoying what we do no matter the rain, the muck, the snow, and the cold; itll be nice to have you visit us, inside, on a solid floor, with a thermostat.

Winter must be coming. It gets darker everyday. Cue pre frost prep, things like servicing DEF systems before the cold finds issues at the worst of times.

Planning a day off is the fastest way of making sure the day is spent in Le Office. We keep things working. We get things back working. We help bring the extra broken ones back when things make loud kablewy noises. All in a day.

Bit of unusual work this week. More cold weather causing issues all around, fuel problems in this case. Todays top tip, air mixed with air doesnt explode well

Today was girthy rings and goofy tooling. With fuel tanks full of coolant and three injector sleeves leaking badly we were able to repair the cylinder head in a few hours vs replacing it for a savings of around 11-13k dollars. Its nice to be the bearer good news once in a while.

Busy day today! Currently prepping a repaired head for installation back onto an engine after an intake valve was damaged.

Past the full week mark with the new unit. Easy to enjoy work when you do it for you.

Journeyman Heavy Duty Mechanic with fully equipped service truck providing services in Northern Alberta and BC. We can meet all of your repair and service needs for trucks, trailers, cranes, and equipment. Specializing in engine diagnostics, repair, and overhaul.