Big Power Diesels??? Projects?

[MJF]

Original turbo engines are good. 2,5 5-cylinder and 3,0 6-cylinders. And yes, 6-cylinders came with turbo too. Older 3,0 5-cyl is pretty bulletproof too, mut not that easy to make high hp.

[TurboJ]

The OM 602 and OM603 turbo engines are probably the best bets here.
They can make huge power without any real internal mods. Just add a big turbo, good intercooler and big exhaust, a WELL built pump, and you can make anywhere between 300 and 500 hp. Above 500 hp is very possible too, with some internal work.

The OE 'thin head' turbodiesels gave 'only' 125 (5 cyl) and 147 (6 cyl) horsepower in turbo form, but you still need a OE turbo engine as a starting point. The N/A variants aren't as good for retro-turboing.

[kane66]

I would defiantly stay away from the v10..... maybe a little time (as long as it would take to put it on a pallet and send it to me )

[Rabbit on Roids]

Chevy V8 engines are garbage?
lmao... theres quite a few chevys in my shop that would turn all of our diesels, hot rods, whatever, into pure mince meat.
and powerstrokes are way WAY bigger than a small block chev 350.
powerstroke = 1000 some odd pounds?
Chevy small block = 5-600 lbs depending on how its dressed.
Chevy big block = 7-850 lbs depending on block and how its dressed.
And for cummins engines, they are damn near 40" long. they are a nightmare to make fit in something that didnt come with a friggen V16 from the factory. my buddy did a ford-cummins swap a year or so ago, and he had to re work his entire firewall pretty much. and put 3 inches of body lift in it just to clear everything.

But yea, whoever thinks chevy V8 engines are crap... you dont really think about it, but think about how many chevys there are on the roads. 350 small blocks are one of the most plentiful engines, if not the most plentiful engine on the planet.
how often do you see chevys that have fallen apart around the engine/trans? lots! and how many chevys do you see with over 250k miles? lots... my brothers powerjoke has been in the shop 47 times since 2006 for warranty work and trans problems, and turbo problems and this, that, and the other problems.
dont really have much room to degrade cummins, they are good engines, well the 12 valve ones at least.

[TurboJ]

I think they mean the 6.2 and 6.5 liter v8 diesel engines.

[Turbinepowered]

dont really have much room to degrade cummins, they are good engines, well the 12 valve ones at least.

Well I do. Their 24v and industrial 6bt based engines are pure crap. Leak worse than an aircooled VW (we joke about getting a contract with Exxon to drill behind our buses for new oil), noisy SOBs, they devour turbochargers and EGR equipment, and we replace lift pumps about once a year per bus.

In the three years I've worked with the bus company, we've blown the headgasket on nine buses, replaced thirty two turbochargers (On a fleet of 26 buses) and had many, many days of the engines just refusing to start.

I know I've spoken well of them in the past, but I'm finally getting fed up with giving all the love and not feeling any in return!  Come on, Cummins, get with the bloody program!

[OM617]

In the three years I've worked with the bus company, we've blown the headgasket on nine buses, replaced thirty two turbochargers (On a fleet of 26 buses) and had many, many days of the engines just refusing to start.

Thats an issue with the technician skill. Instead of just parts-swapping, diagnose the problem and try to fix it. 32 turbos on 26 buses means there is a problem with driver abuse, improper tuning, improper installation/repair work or intake contamination (poor air filter design). The EGR equipment is a given, no Diesel should ever have an EGR.

A Cummins should have no problems starting cold. The 6BTA in our 1992 Ottawa Commando 30 (with several thousand hard hours) will start in 0*f with no aid (intake heater or ether). Check for shrinking fuel hoses (air leaks), make sure the intake heaters are working and that the drivers know how to start them (and that they aren't just getting in and cranking like their g@sser car).

[maxfax]

I know I've spoken well of them in the past, but I'm finally getting fed up with giving all the love and not feeling any in return!  Come on, Cummins, get with the bloody program!

Sounds very similar to the issues had with teh 6.7's used on the Dodge trucks from 07.5 and on...  I blame 95% of the issue on that damned EGR... I wanna find the engineers that had that bright idea, and kick them excessively...

Our former service truck had one of the very early ones..   Finally found that the no starts were directly related to the heater in the air intake being covered in soot.. Clean it every now and again and it was fine.. Same with the Turbo failures..  The hair dryer was cleaned twice and then finally replaced and a new ecm flash done.. It helped, but just as it was nearing the end of the 100K engine warrenty it started acting up again.. Got it replaced and sold that POS...

The EGR can be blocked on the later one's without issue other than a CEL....  You can get away with it on some of the earlier ones with the most recent PCM flash..  Yet there are still a few of the earlier ones out there (like the one we had) that go into limp mode every time you even look at the darned valve and consider unplugging it..

I think I could have made something to make the PCM think the EGR was there and working, but after 2 transmissions, ball joints, differential, wheel bearings, and the countless times it was at the dealer for warrenty related issues on the engine it went...

[Turbinepowered]

Thats an issue with the technician skill. Instead of just parts-swapping, diagnose the problem and try to fix it. 32 turbos on 26 buses means there is a problem with driver abuse, improper tuning, improper installation/repair work or intake contamination (poor air filter design). The EGR equipment is a given, no Diesel should ever have an EGR.

I won't deny there is a parts-throwing mentality, but the other problem is that these buses are running around with light duty truck grade parts in their engines. A 250hp engine dragging a 26k pound empty weight bus around all day in a city environment is being pushed hard every time, it simply cannot survive without highly durable parts. Cummins is the company that's been called out for every blown turbo and every headgasket issue, so the parts-throwing is their problem, not ours. That's a legitimate gripe with Cummins.

A Cummins should have no problems starting cold. The 6BTA in our 1992 Ottawa Commando 30 (with several thousand hard hours) will start in 0*f with no aid (intake heater or ether). Check for shrinking fuel hoses (air leaks), make sure the intake heaters are working and that the drivers know how to start them (and that they aren't just getting in and cranking like their g@sser car).

That was a '92, a major design difference from the '02 ISB02 engines that are based on the 24 valve 6bt design. We don't have folks just getting in and cranking because there is a computer lockout that prevents the engine from being started for a ten second period while all the systems go through their self-checks.

The no-starts are usually traced to a sensor failure. Crankshaft position sensors that aren't reporting proper position, temp sensors, and one that had an intermittently bad injector harness for the common rail injectors.

[monomer]

Original turbo engines are good. 2,5 5-cylinder and 3,0 6-cylinders. And yes, 6-cylinders came with turbo too. Older 3,0 5-cyl is pretty bulletproof too, mut not that easy to make high hp.

3.0's had head problems, 3.5's had connecting rod bending problems.




2.5's were bulletproof (mine made it to 421k miles...) The w124 is arguably one of the finest diesels on the road.

[MJF]

3.0's had head problems

Those are "user errors", just like Vw head cracking problems too. No problems with big turbos and when used right.

[OM617]

The 3.0L I-6 is known to support 300hp with bone stock internals.