800 Horsepower C18 in a Million $$$ Wood Chipper has serious engine problems. 

When I was talking about the 1" Impact Wrenches, I meant to say "MILWAUKEE" and not "IR", not sure why I said that, but wanted to clarify. Hope you enjoyed this one, there will be several videos on this one so stay tuned. Let me know what Cat engine you like seeing the best? @AdeptApe on Venmo or AdeptApe@yahoo.com on PayPal for donations, thank you so much for supporting the channel! Adept Ape stickers: griddesigns.net/products/adep... Amazon Affiliate Links to recommended tools: Screaming Goat: amzn.to/3WORcAH Milwaukee 1” Impact Wrench: amzn.to/3AOKu5i Milwaukee 1” D-Handle Impact Wrench: amzn.to/3TbKnaj Rounded Bolt Sockets: amzn.to/47ceROU

Always nice when the customer is willing to spend the money to make it right

Hey Josh- see if you can have the owner call roto chopper to find out if the plc can be programmed to accept a EG sensor to reduce feed rate at a set point. That C18 is considered a small engine in that class of machine. The duty cycle and egt’s are at max, especially with some of the material sizes that you guys have out there.

These Rotochopper machines are the best rolling drum choppers. This was invented actually by a rural Minnesota farmer. They can grind almost anything. The great thing about the company is they keep everything for the machine in house for repairs.

I'm an electrician who my boss just decided could work on megawatt diesel generators and your videos are so helpful

Josh, I'm glad you're doing well on your own.

Pretty great outdoors video Josh. Wood chipper is a beast. Very big engine to work on. Another great series to watch. Way better than the shop videos. Cheers Josh. 👊💪👍👊🔩🔧

Your down this far, I would change out the springs on the oil bypass for cooler and oil filters! The spring on the oil pump as well, sense you have to pull the engine to get the oil pan off. Working at a dealer ship, had a test plate to put on the fuel injection pump test bench to check those oil cooling jets for spray pattern hitting the piston bottom, we were able to adjust them at that point. Have fun!

When I have been in situations where there was an egregious amount of residue stuck to the block, I use that as a springboard to have the machine shop bake the casting clean. A thorough bake job removes rust from inside the casting, as well as all of that stuff from the outside. it costs much less to have a block cleaned in that fashion then it costs the hours to manually do it. It’s followed by superior product. While the machine shop has it, it’s well worth the money to have them inspect it, including magna flux. I know that farming out work is not how you make money, but it also frees you up to do other things to make money while giving the customer a superior product. That’s just my two cents.

Funny thing about that pistol impact from team red, I don't know if you watch Torque Test Channel at all but I'd definitely recommend giving them a look, they did quite a few tests on that thing and it actually hits harder going forwards than reverse. It's basically designed for construction work with heavy steel!

Love when a truck guy can sympathize with the equipment guys lol. Nothing I work on the pan would come off without yanking the motor. Not to mention valve cover/head access on this grinder is amazing compared to most equipment. Loaders & dozers is usually 4+ hrs to even access the valve cover.

I will admit that I would be terrified of doing any major work until after the block was cleaned to the point of being paint ready. Dust is one thing but with this stuff I could see it getting into passages, heating up under use, then cooling in a inconvenient place, and causing problems from there. Still good on the customer deciding to go the extra mile to clean and overhaul the engine.

We have an engine Dyno in Spokane if you want to pre run it when your done. It's a lot easier than putting putting it in the machine and having to fix leaks or other things.

Good stuff, can't wait for the next c18 video

Josh I know almost nothing about diesel engines yet I love your videos. I’m enough of a car mechanic to know that you do seem to be an expert on them. Especially Cat. I have followed you quite some time silently & I enjoy what you put out. I’m so glad you’re now on your own & very glad to see actual big engine stuff again lol. Keep it up. Still love the screaming goat!

Cat C15 6NZ. 3/4 million on a long log truck and still going strong every day! I delivered to a pulp yard in North Plains OR with a similar machine. You literally feel every cylinder of that big engine in your chest when they fire. Impressive!

Just had to replaced the same engine on the same rotochopper like 1 month ago. Snapped a rocker shaft after welding the crank to the block. Gotta love operators

Looks like the shingle crap on engine formed a blanket to super heat the engine . Everything radiates heat

Thank you for the new video! Your style of work is a pleasure to watch.

I’ve never seen a wood chipper that massive before, usually in wood dumps like that they have the big tub grinders.

Nice videos man. As a cummins tech its nice to learn abt CATs.

With out so much emissions, and a real twin turbo. It's worth it's weight in gold paint, as it needs that too. Love to see more.

When that RPM kicks up, the coolant is being pushed out. Hope their is no clog or anything. Great machine for wood clearing. Nice commentary on the break down of the engine from start to finish. Cat engine mechanical or any mechanical engine will all ways be the number one for learning new things.

Thank you for the goat LOVE THE GOAT!!!!!

That's a nice job you have got on your hands there Josh 👍👍👍👍👍

Best thing we did that stopped the cat head gasket problem, was brought the aftermarket head complete with the oring machined in the head worked great, no more head or gasket problems, and are c15 was chassis dyno checked at 1000 to crank 800 to the wheel, very reliable and fuel mileage was still decent

I’ve been around a Rotochopper chipper about 10 years ago. The one I remember had a Cat C15 and it was on a logging job. There was a Trelan chipper that had a Cat C27 v-12 turbocharged diesel engine too.

That poor engine was just about run to death. But she kepted ah going, CAT Tuff !

I am a firm believer in poking a hole in the filters too! On trucks, I have a 1" square tube thats about 4' long amd has a sharpened ⅝" bolt thats about 8" long through it. I use the leaf spring as a fulcrum to poke them open. On other stuff, I use a sharpened slag chipping hammer. MUCH less messy that way.

Just put a C27 in a Morbark 6400XT. Then had to do more work on their old 3412E powered CBI 4800HZ Magnum Brute Force (the rotor on this beast is a solid billet of steel.... she's at 20,817 hours on the frame... incredible for that application) Then had to work on their 3412E powered Hogzilla HTC-1464T. Then had to work on their C18 powered Komptech Terminator 6000S. Yeah, grinders are.... something else.

Id get a reman short block minimum, when you start blowing head gaskets, this indicates a twisted block. You'll see when you cut counterbores, 1/2 will cut straight, 3/4 you'll have to hand cut some, and 5/6 you'll have to hand cut most of the bore to get everything straight. A twisted block happens more than you think in chipper applications.

Hey up Josh as soon as i seen this video was super interested, those chipper's only ever work hard unless there moving there track's, the lack of emissions is probably because classed as a stationery engine, really sweet to see you working on a machine rather than a truck or off road unit great video mate and so looking forward to part two

Any machine that deals with timber or brush has a hard life. Looking forward to see this beast back in action. I'd rebuild this non emissions engine too.

We own one like this but its a tad bit smaller, self contained on a semi trailer. It has its own cherry picker above the feed belt(like here on this horizontal grinder). They're great when they work! Expensive when they dont

My C12 has a dual filter housing, but the bypass has a block plate on it. I believe they all have that option.

Very interesting job, looking forward to part 2

You've got a good channel here, and whats more, you've got lots of good people watching it! Thanks

The owner is doing it right It’s cheaper to do it all when you have it out now.

The latest new C18 block for some products come from the factory with stainless liner seat and water ferrul inserts to slow up the liner recesion and ferrul seat erosion. The underlying problem though is excessive block flex under load, some machines are leaking coolant/oil externaly at less then 2000 hours, replacing head gasket and spacer plate shim alone will not fix the problem for long, always replace the head bolts. C15 C18 are the same block and have the same problem except C15 is owned by a different devision in Cat and does not get the same R & D funding as the C18, eventualy the solution for both will be the same.

I use a 1/2 drive, deep well 6 point snap on socket to remove valve cover base bolts. I replace them with new ones as they are cheap. I use the 1/2 inch socket, because a 3/8 will spread. More robust over the 3/8. Looks like you might be busy for a day or two.

J.D would hug the living shit out of that machine and print it on a T-Shirt.😂

Very interesting 🤔 Great to see you're doing well !!

This is good one, nice to see you getting stuck into a really big job. Looks like these customers really need you!

full rebuild. right man for job 👌👌

IR? Fairly sure those were Milwaukee lol The 12ah battery doesn’t do more amperage it does less, if you want max output go for the 6ah. Torque test channel does full testing and breakdown of the cells to show why for those interested. The 12ah has higher mah rated cells which comes at the cost of draw rating, the 6ah is obviously the opposite so you get higher draw available for the tools that can actually use that level of power.

The newer C18s with prefix:BDN are the newer emission c18s. The limit for the emission is 570kw+ below it has Def and DPF. Above it have EGR, IVA and compound turbos.

I literally never seem to hear about anyone snapping tools except for Snap-off

Might want to consider sending the Radiator out to have cleaned internally while you rebuild the engine. After the Rebuild that engine will make close to Factory horsepower and generate more heat than before. Spray diesel on Tar,Asphalt and it will loosen up. Old school field guys always used a tool tray to carry the basics up onto a machine so they didn't have to climb down for something somple.

So, i'm curious of the outcome of this engine teardown. Be mindful to inspect the bottom ring surface as C18 are known for having them destroyed as the liners moves. It does this because the liners are so thin compared to the C15. I just did a full one in frame on a 836H and thanks to out field machinist, we where able to do them without pulling the engine, just alot of cleaning haha

You are the man for the job Josh!

I have seen sewer pipes made from tar and sawdust. "orangeburg pipe" Stuff was still working 100 years later.

Worked on a few grinders with 3412 E , and some with C27

Great customer and project, congratulations!

Relaxing to watch with my coffee this AM - thanks for helping me fire out!

Sweet vid I like the off road content those chippers and larger ones are awesome machines I used to feed one with an excavator loved it

You can count on one finger how many times you’ve found a broken bridge! BAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAAAAA That’s funny!!!!! Great video as always.

Looks like we're both overhauling 6 cylinders this week lol.

Great video! Love seeing a full rebuild.

For as many labor hours is going to be required, I would think he may be $$ ahead by buying a reman engine. It would get the machine back to work sooner. !

@14:14 - Back in the day, I serviced portable rock crushers in this same configuration. One of our customers recycled macadam roadway material. That was some of the most harsh material to run through a machine. Between the very hard, very sharp aggregate and the tar products, the crushers were always in need of work.

Always a great job, Josh. Thanks for the video.

Wood chipper engines have the hardest work. Full boost and power.

Walmart (I believe) has sockets that have rounded internal lobes that contact bolt heads in the center of the flats. Originally they were patented by the Bonney (?) Corporation in 196Os. The sockets grip by attempting to remove all the corners off at the same time. They work on bolts with all the corners rounded off.

We have a pair of C-18’s in our 1,000,000lb thrust drill . It has 18”diameter drill rods

Cute little engine! My daily driver has two GE 7FDL16s.

It's gonna sound crazy but a propane torch for burning weeds works really well for getting stuff like that off engines.

Happy to see something from

Can't believe you didn't say anything about him running CAT filters.

looking forward to the next video on this fix.

Good Day josh I hope all is well with you and your family , Been an admirer of your work for 2 years now . Looking for to having CAT Talk with you brother .

Its a blown head gasket because a low cylinder line in block . You will have to pull engine out and short block replacement or rebuild it and cut the block and install inserts under each cyl. liner. JUST REPLACING THE HEAD GASKET WILL NOT FIX PROBLEM ! I have made this repair twice this year on same machines with CAT C18 . Been working for CAT 30 years. Good luck getting engine out .

Your narrorating is fantastic. You have a voice for microphone if that makes sense. You got that Mike Rowe thing going on. Great video dude!

Another great video, nice job.

This was fun to watch.

His radiator fins on the bottom are rusted closed. Back pressure from water pump is causing water to erupt from the radiator. If you borescope the radiator from the dain plug and check the bottom of the fins. 80% are rusted/corroded shut.

Wow Those Roto Choppers are built right down the road from me in St. Martin Minnesota.

Must have overheated shingle debris in cooling fins in past owner usage.

This would be a great tool to enable the final solution

Bigger oil squirters for higher power since the pistons need more cooling

Thanks brother!

Had the same engine in a portable jaw crusher that spun up a large generator and hydraulic pump.

the c18 gen sets in the locomotives i work on have 4 oil filters!

Hi 👋🏻 Josh always great watching your videos 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Spray some diesel fuel on the shingles and it will scrap right off.

Great video Josh.

Nice job! Keep the content coming.

Commonality like that of the C15/C18 is also present in the C27/C32.

That is one epic machine!

Always a great video. Love you channel.😊

Check for a bad head gasket or a pressure test the liners for micro holes leaking compression into the cooling system ! My best guess

Soon as I saw cracked head I was like that thing got hot. Then seeing the shingle material I was like yup… she got hot.

Years back on an old International 466 engine I had the exact same turbo failure crazy how that happens

6000hrs seems kinda low for it needing to be pulled down. Perhaps it lacked proper maintenance?

million dollar machine with high hours...an on site complete reman way to go. exchange block for one machined and painted...no scraping of shingle materials necessary. exchange crank, rods, turbo, injectors, and cylinder head...liner kit, new cam all new rollers ; good as new.

Ref emissions and why bigger engines lag in being regulated, the bigger the engine, the less they sell, and the less overall contribution is made to overall world emissions, so the regulators bias stricter regulation to the smaller more populous engine sizes. as far as I understand it - this is why on-road engines also get regulated more tightly first, because the world contribution is heavily led by cars, vs the much lower numbers of machines worldwide. there are also so many ratings, and uses for off highway, and the much harder life they get, that it takes longer to develop heavy duty versions of the technology for emissions control (I used to work for CAT.... in engine development).

Great vid, should keep ya busy for a day or two anyhow.

josh, if it makes you feel better, i'm dealing with a BDN C18 thats consuming oil in same kind of chipper...

I believe the emissions category this engine would fall into is the 750+ hp one. It’s the same category that the new John Deere 18L engine falls into. That engine does not need any after treatment system to meet emissions. Just EGR.

Having had my share of large oil filters spill on me and that I hate an oil filter that I harpooned to drain it constantly drip on me I started years ago zapping an oil filter with a large tapcon/self tapping screw that I slipped an o-ring onto. I drive the screw in deep enough to puncture the filter housing and remove the screw and then after it is drained (pro tip harpoon the filter and as it is draining loosen it slightly to expedite it draining) after the filter is drained I zap the screw in and remove it and then remove my screw for use again

Be sure and have the radiator gone through. Jobs like those used to give me sleepless nights. One little mistake(forgotten bolt, etc) can bankrupt us small guys. Especially if the customer is trying to save money.