Difference Between HPOPs: 7.3 v Cat?
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Difference Between HPOPs: 7.3 v Cat?
On a motorhome forum, I've been reading about when the HPOP fails on Caterpillar engines designed to have one, like the C7, it often sends metal debris down the oil gallies and destroys the injectors. The cost is very high to clean out and replace and/or repair the mess. This makes the failure of a HPOP a real terror for Cat owners, specifically for those I'm reading about with Cat engines in motorhomes.
In contrast, a HPOP failure on a 7.3 seems to be much less dramatic. When the HPOP fails, Powerstroke owners seem to just change the HPOP, wipe off their hands and drive off. There doesn't seem to be the collateral downstream damage that Cats have, even though the designs seem to be similar.
I bring this up because on the forum I referenced, one of the posters says he is designing a high-pressure-capable oil filter installation to fit in the oil line after the HPOP to catch the debris from any failure. In this way, he intends to cut the losses from a HPOP failure by making it unnecessary to clean the oil galleys and replace the injectors. He's planning to market it, and there seems to be a lot of interest.
Does anybody know why it's a problem for Cat but not for the 7.3? Or am I misjudging the situation?
In contrast, a HPOP failure on a 7.3 seems to be much less dramatic. When the HPOP fails, Powerstroke owners seem to just change the HPOP, wipe off their hands and drive off. There doesn't seem to be the collateral downstream damage that Cats have, even though the designs seem to be similar.
I bring this up because on the forum I referenced, one of the posters says he is designing a high-pressure-capable oil filter installation to fit in the oil line after the HPOP to catch the debris from any failure. In this way, he intends to cut the losses from a HPOP failure by making it unnecessary to clean the oil galleys and replace the injectors. He's planning to market it, and there seems to be a lot of interest.
Does anybody know why it's a problem for Cat but not for the 7.3? Or am I misjudging the situation?
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Yup, an exploding HPOP can definitely send some metal debris into the 7.3 oiling system. Whether or not it's really damaging is still up for debate. I myself chose to get rid of the truck after 6 flushes of oil and everything looked okay. I am pretty sure my injector O-rings suffered because of it. Seems the jury was locked on that though.
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Generally when a HPOP on a 7.3 goes bad it isn't a catastrophic failure, it is more of a slow death, to the point where it will no longer pump enough volume to keep the truck running. You will get symptoms of one failing long before it gets bad enough to send metal shavings into the injectors. An HPOP failure killing the injectiors is possible but seems to be a rare occurrence.
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The C7 and C9 cats are notoriously bad for this failure. We are down to less than 20 of these heaps in the fleet thankfully. When the HPOP goes,the injectors and the rail are considered junk also. The HPOP on a C7 is 2150.00 from CAT with exchange and the injectors are right around 640.00 each with exchange and the rail is 800 or so. The cost adds up quickly on these engines. Sometimes you get lucky and the block cracks on the number 1 water jacket and takes out the whole engine before it needs a HPOP. Overall the 7.3 is cheaper to work on because there was way more produced and it's also more reliable than the ACERT CATs.
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Generally when a HPOP on a 7.3 goes bad it isn't a catastrophic failure, it is more of a slow death, to the point where it will no longer pump enough volume to keep the truck running. You will get symptoms of one failing long before it gets bad enough to send metal shavings into the injectors. An HPOP failure killing the injectiors is possible but seems to be a rare occurrence.
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