is the cummins overrated

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"Diesels love their oil, like a sailor loves his rum"

Probably mainly because people buy $50k trucks that they cannot afford, and poorly maintain them.
 
Yes the Cummins is that good. Very good engine. Myself and my father prefer the Cummins engine over the others. My dad is a retired truck driver and his favorite was the Cummins.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
"Diesels love their oil, like a sailor loves his rum"

Probably mainly because people buy $50k trucks that they cannot afford, and poorly maintain them.


This.

They need an HD Diesel truck to pull a 16' bass boat (that could be pulled by a compact truck) but since they now have a bass boat payment now they can't afford 12 quarts of t6 oil and a $20.00 filter. Solution? Ignore the OLM. Ignore any real maintenance schedule. 30,000 miles?

I'm starting to see Fords come in with the DEF warning. Apparently it will limit your speed if you run out so I bet that gets filled.
 
Why would a vehicle leak oil rather than burn oil if it was not getting oil changes on a regular basis? I could see needing a gasket or o-ring after some high miles, and then griping about the owner being too cheap to repair: but I'm not seeing how putting off an oil change makes an engine drip out oil.
 
Cummins would be my first choice for an engine for nearly any vehicle, if i could have the choice.
 
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
"Diesels love their oil, like a sailor loves his rum"

Probably mainly because people buy $50k trucks that they cannot afford, and poorly maintain them.


This.

They need an HD Diesel truck to pull a 16' bass boat (that could be pulled by a compact truck) but since they now have a bass boat payment now they can't afford 12 quarts of t6 oil and a $20.00 filter. Solution? Ignore the OLM. Ignore any real maintenance schedule. 30,000 miles?

I'm starting to see Fords come in with the DEF warning. Apparently it will limit your speed if you run out so I bet that gets filled.


+1

They can't change the oil, but they put tuners, stacks, and giant tires on their trucks.
 
Cummins is a REAL truck engine with a real reputation. Earned over gazillions of miles in big rigs.

IMO it is a great engine still searching for the best small truck to go in...
 
I don't really have much experience with the light duty ones but the big ones are just as good as anything else. I love the newer 6.7's in boats, they put out around 450hp and are much smoother and less smoky than Yanmars. For anything around 1000hp or more MTU makes a nice engine, just not the ones pumped to the absolute limit.

Cat's seem to have a lot of leaks and stuff braking all the time in the dump trucks.


But in general diesels like to leak, and especially on older stuff your always chasing them.
 
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I have heard that DPF engines can wear out their turbos prematurely if the engine enters regeneration mode often. A failed turbo could cause an oil leak. That would back up evidence that a newer Cummins engine is more likely than an old one to develop leaks.

The other thing I keep in mind is that there are so many cheaply made replacement parts out there, that I am sure many would fail prematurely.

Another thing I read is that the higher the cylinder pressure, the higher the pressure the blowby enters the crankcase. Failure to maintain crankcase ventilation systems, or badly designed systems increase the probability of this. Whenever I watch a youtube channel about older diesel engines, one of the videos explains what engines use a CDR valve, and why regular replacement of it is critical. There are probably cheaply made CDR valves out there that either fail prematurely, or never functioned like the OEM part in the first place.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Cummins is a REAL truck engine with a real reputation. Earned over gazillions of miles in big rigs.

IMO it is a great engine still searching for the best small truck to go in...



Exactly. What exactly does an oil leak have to do with it being a good engine or not??
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
I see quite a few leaking oil in the dodge truck. are they really that good?


Is this serious.
What does poor maintenance have to do with the engine?
I've had 3 cummins engines over my lifetime. All in skytrak telescoping forklifts. I bought them new and sold them with over 10000 hours when I sold them and each still running strongly.
Those are the best machines you can buy. We've got a cat now and I still long for my skytrak.
 
Originally Posted By: 2004tdigls
Originally Posted By: ram_man
I see quite a few leaking oil in the dodge truck. are they really that good?


the first versions are complete garbage, read the "killer dowel pin"

my friend's cummins threw a the crank out the bottom of the oil pan because of this suicidal flaw

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/dodge/0706dp_1997_dodge_ram_kdp/

http://dodgecumminsperformance.wordpress...-dodge-cummins/


Oh boy, he's dissing the cummins 12 valve P7100 era... Sure KDP was a well known problem and an easy fix with the updated parts. Aside from the KDP, that is the very best diesel engine ever. Virtually no injector pump problems, because it was fed engine oil to lube it. Gear driven cam timing, no belt no chain. Easy to modify to whatever power you want.

That engine is fully mechanical with no computers to fail. If you rigged the fuel solenoid to a manual lever, you could drive without batteries or an alternator if it was already running.

Nothing is beefier than that engine--after KDP is fixed!
 
Everyone I know that owns a Dodge 2500 or 3500 with the Cummins engine is having good results. That's not to say they are better than other makes. Only to say that they do seem to work very well and are reliable.
 
I dearly loved the Cummins N-14 in commercial trucks. But after 2 Cummins ISX engine experiences, I refuse to ever buy a Cummins product again. Even in a pickup. Maybe it was partially due to the inherent problematic issues with the emissions stuff they are throwing on diesels now, but Cummins is sure proud of its engines and is going to make sure you know it when you buy parts. Case is point.... replaced a turbo on an ISX for $2400. Turbo for the Detroit I have in my present truck... $680 delivered. If the quality and longevity was commensurate with the cost, that would be one thing. But I have not seen that to be the case.
 
Your DD has a regular turbo. An emission ISX has a variable vane turbo. Those are ALL huge money! (I was told that one for a new Hino is $2500.) That's not Cummins, that's the emission laws!

Let's compare apples with APPLES instead of rutabagas: What would a turbo for a 2001 N14 run?
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
So I've heard Cummins, Caterpillar, and Detroit Diesel mentioned, but no love for Volvo?


lol.gif
to hear some of my trucker and diesel mechanic clients talk, Volvo was the worst thing to happen to Mack.

"It's a fine over the road truck, but it ain't no Mack. You can't take that there thing off road to a drilling site like you could a real Mack."

crackmeup2.gif


That's all I know about Volvo heavy trucks...second had information from good ol' boy truckers and mechanics.
21.gif
Not much help there. But the Swedes are partnered up with Renault and UD (Nissan). I'm sure they could come up with something.
 
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