Exhaust leak/smell, found the source

[KirbyRVA]

I found the source of my exhaust leak and likely the reason for the exhaust smell in the coach while moving. There is a stainless flex pipe connecting the exhaust pipe to the outlet of the Pac Brake and it is leaking near the Pac Brake.

You can see the soot collecting at the leak.

Talked to FL and they gave me part numbers for the clamp and the flex pipe. At this point I am not sure I need new parts or can just tighten the clamp. The flex pipe is not absolutely tight in the clamp...you can wiggle it some.

Any suggestions from anyone who has dealt with this particular issue are appreciated.

 

[KirbyRVA]

I found the source of my exhaust leak and likely the reason for the exhaust smell in the coach while moving. There is a stainless flex pipe connecting the exhaust pipe to the outlet of the Pac Brake and it is leaking near the Pac Brake.

You can see the soot collecting at the leak.

Talked to FL and they gave me part numbers for the clamp and the flex pipe. At this point I am not sure I need new parts or can just tighten the clamp. The flex pipe is not absolutely tight in the clamp...you can wiggle it some.

Any suggestions from anyone who has dealt with this particular issue are appreciated.

 

[Pusherman]

smlranger,

I'm very happy that you identified the source of your exhaust leak.

I know you've been chasing this one for some time.

Let us know the followup.

 

[ISLAPP]

You might get more responses in the Freightliner forum.
Mike

 

[Tom N]

Those gasses are hot enough to start a fire and they have.

While you're in there or someone else is lube the exhaust brake.

Watch this area carefully.

-Tom

 

[KirbyRVA]

Crawled into the engine compartment tonite and removed clamps at both ends of the flex pipe and found the clamp at the Pac Brake end was partially melted?? This failure resulted in a leak.

I will try to find a replacement more sturdy than the OEM clamp. Also sent this pic to the fellow I talked to today at Freightliner...curious to see what they say.

 

[vicsryd]

Could you have found the beginnings of a safety related recall?

From here it looks to me like heat induced fatigue. What kind of metal alloy do you think it is? The fact it's not oxidized suggests to me it's not plain steel and it doesn't look like stainless steel (the right solution) either.

 

[KirbyRVA]

Would agree it does not seem like stainless to me. It is very light, looks like some cheap alloy. I plan to check local truck parts places to see if I can find something more sturdy.

 

[Tom N]

Probably a titanium high temp alloy.

I spent 37 years in that field.

-Tom

 

[KirbyRVA]

Went to local FL dealer today to get new clamps...parts guy took one look at my old clamp and said, 'wonder why they didn't use stainless steel?' I bought two heavy stainless clamps and new flex pipe.

I did hear back from my contact at FL in Gaffney. Basically he said the clamp wore out over time.

 

[Gary CA]

Smlranger-Gary: The exhaust clamp was a recall on my coach. The new clamp is stainless and forum readers should check for the recall notice. The new one, ALLIANCE EXHAUST CLAMP, 5", PART NO. (ABP N35 50PLS).

Also while you have the hood up, oil that Pac Brake. Also check the AC line, I wrote about my AC line that was toasted by the tubro, I secured the new one better and away from the turbo.

Thanks for the pictures.

 

[Tom N]

BTW, great photos!!!

-Tom

 

[KirbyRVA]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gary CA:
Smlranger-Gary: The exhaust clamp was a recall on my coach. The new clamp is stainless and forum readers should check for the recall notice. The new one, ALLIANCE EXHAUST CLAMP, 5", PART NO. (ABP N35 50PLS).

Also while you have the hood up, oil that Pac Brake. Also check the AC line, I wrote about my AC line that was toasted by the tubro, I secured the new one better and away from the turbo.

Thanks for the pictures. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I talked to a Steve Horton at Freightliner and sent him photos of the leak and the clamp. He never mentioned a recall on the clamp. He was very helpful in giving me FL part numbers but only said I would get a clamp just like the one I had. I paid about $8 at the local FL dealer for the stainless clamp and $24 for a new section of stainless flex pipe.

I lubed my Pac Brake couple of months ago with their lube. Thanks for the suggestion on the AC line...I don't remember seeing anything else near the turbo. One of the hydraulic lines to the rear slide got melted by the exhaust pipe due to goofy routing of the line. I took care of that when I installed the new line.

 

[ichn2go]

Gary, good going. Finally at last you have your answer...As to the parts guy asking why they didn't use stainless,,you know this answer too.

Made in America. Needs to wear out so they can sell more...90% of the troubles on our MOHO is because of inadequate parts...

Good travels this summer...J&L

 

[KirbyRVA]

New parts installed tonite...no leaks detected. This is what it should look like with the good stuff on it:

Not bad work for a hospital administrator. I think I've set a record for Fast Orange hand cleaner use in past couple of days.

 

[Jestme13]

Nice work Bro

I would recheck tightnes of the clamp after a couple of heat ins. Again very nice work for a pencil neck hospital administrator LMAO

 

[Petro]

Gary;

You do good work.

Don

 

[RLS-WO]

Gary, Can you post the part numbers for the new SS clamps and the flex pipe?
Thanks.

Parts: None of these are specific FL part #'s but general truck parts available at NAPA or (in my case) the local FL dealer parts dept:

4" stainless flex pipe..ABP/N49-4FT18S (this was an 18" section of flex pipe which I cut to length).

Donaldson stainless stepped seal clamp..X007784

TorcTite also has a similar clamp, their # is 304SS.

 

[RLS-WO]

Gary, Thank you for the numbers. I will try to get parts today. I prefer to fix things like this before bad things happen.

 

[vicsryd]

and nice pictures. Now you just have to clean up the rest of the area to match