big cam 400 cummins tricks

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by fullthrotle, May 10, 2007.

  1. Tom Joad

    Tom Joad Light Load Member

    91
    13
    Apr 8, 2008
    Rt 66 headed west
    0

    Wouldn't it have been cheaper to park the truck, rent a car, and send another driver out to bring the truck home?
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. ironeagle2006

    ironeagle2006 Road Train Member

    At the time MOMMA WAS CRITICAL Even my dads company over the QC pulled his Governor controls to get him back after relaying his load. They bounced him in 700 miles to get him home. My brother in the USAF and his wife and kid were told GET HOME Emergancy leave. At the time the company I drove for had all of 20 trucks small outfit and that weekend we were all busy most of us were all heading out 4 of us were coming IN to the yard. I was the closest to the Yard and I still did not make it home til 6 PM that night and my dad did not get home til 3 am SUNDAY morning. My Oldest Brother made it in at 8 am Sunday I ran to the next town got my older brother by 8 Saturday night and by 10 AM Sunday we were all in Springfield IL at the Hospital were they had transferred my mother. She was there til Weds of that week.

    Also when they tore the truck down they found the issue. See it had not been OVerhauled YET to become a beast we had hopped her up slightly aka maybe to 540 or so using the pump. Well the foremen found that the Radiatior had lost part of the flow restrictor and it had lodged in the cooling passage of the #1 head also when they examined the Turbo the Factory Original one with 1.1 MILLION on it well they found a crack in the bearing that blocked OIL FEED and that caused the melt down.

    Then the boss went thru the maintance records and my writeups. Saw I had written it up for running hot and also Turbo boost low for 4 weeks PRIOR to the meltdown. I was cleared in the incident the foreman however was looking for a new job. When he called me up and said well you melted her down and I am going to rebuild her for you were do you want the parts to come from I told him DI of Pittsburgh. He goes how much power do you want I said about 700 would be nice he gave me we think at max 850.

    BTW that truck is STILL running hauls grain for a farmer and he LOVES HER in fact he calls her the best money he spent can get 2 extra rounds a day out of that truck compared to a 350.
     
    Adisiwaya Thanks this.
  4. 1989 Pete

    1989 Pete "Pine Tree Eater"

    How would you get this motor to preform
     
  5. faseddie

    faseddie Bobtail Member

    1
    1
    Mar 7, 2010
    williamsburg ky
    0
    Hey i am new here and glad to be here. I do admit the c15 cats ARE top of the line on power with just a hook up on a lap top or a programer, i have drove a fld with a 550 and 358 gears and a 13 over pulled like a beast. A cat will out pull about anything out they with just a little modification. But i have also worked on trucks for a long time before i ever drove one my dad was a truck driver and mechanic for cat for 10 years. cat engines are among the most costly to over haul, the fld i drove went down at less than a half a million miles, it was pumping antifreeze out the blowby tube, and had a cracked head, put over 9 grand in a inframe. alot of truck drivers do not know the joy of driving a truck with a manual engine, one that does not have a ecm. Now my truck is a 1980 w9 that has a big cam 350 cummins that has proved it self to not only me but the previous owner, i have had over 35 tons on a log trailer, the truck runs great, i can pull jellico mt about 50 mph grossing 92 thosand pounds in 8th over, it has a 13 over and 4.11 ratio. Now i can do a inframe on this engine for less than a grand in parts. The best part of drivin a old manual motor is when u hit the hammer the black smoke roll from the stacks and the cheack engine light doesn't come on and worry u to death, now don't get me wrong i love to drive cats and have enjoyed a few 2 stroke dd to, they are all good engine but for me i will stick with what i have it is paid for and i know about ever ince of a 855 big cam.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2010
    1989 Pete Thanks this.
  6. smokin809

    smokin809 Light Load Member

    55
    2
    Apr 29, 2009
    0
    None taken! But i think you may of had some other issues with fuel psi, they did my stc bc4 made 500 psi turned 3000 rpm, not sure what your talking about 220 psi:biggrin_25511: Why won't Tom build any more pumps? I agree PP is not the best on electronics, but mech wasn't bad. Just my .02.
     
  7. Brickhauler

    Brickhauler Medium Load Member

    411
    142
    Oct 1, 2008
    Elizabeth CO
    0
    240 lbs of fuel pressure and you will be replacing the cam before 50,000 miles because the injector lobes will be flat. You need higher flowing injectors and high volume of fuel to make power and have the engine live. Also higher compression, high boost and lots of fuel = broken head bolts and hot pyro on a cummins. Look at the factory specs, the lowest power big cam engines like the formula 290 had the highest compression.
    If your just fooling around, you can dig the little plastic ball out of the end of the throttle shaft and turn the fine adjustment screw for the fuel pressure out all the way. Takes 5 minutes and will bump your fuel pressure up 20-40 lbs depending on where it was initally set.
    4 main things to make a cummins run
    1. More fuel
    2. Big Turbo
    3. lower compression
    4. ###### cam timing
     
  8. Brickhauler

    Brickhauler Medium Load Member

    411
    142
    Oct 1, 2008
    Elizabeth CO
    0
    I was censored on the cam timing, I swear it was not a bad word. What I initally typed was the opposite of advancing the timing in other words ree-tard. Why would that get crossed out? You need to say slow timing I guess? to be politically correct and all
     
  9. Brickhauler

    Brickhauler Medium Load Member

    411
    142
    Oct 1, 2008
    Elizabeth CO
    0
    Oh yeah btw I knew a guy in Phx AZ back about 94 who had PP build an engine for his International. His name was Bill from Southwestern Fast Freight. His truck would run and as far as I remember it was very reliable.
     
  10. 25(2)+2

    25(2)+2 Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    18,677
    43,103
    Sep 18, 2006
    the road less travelled
    0
    The word tripped the censor. I would word it 'decrease the injection timing advance'.

    Most engines in other applications that are powered up also have lower compression ratio pistons. This would be agricultural, industrial, construction, or marine engines
     
  11. kah68

    kah68 Bobtail Member

    47
    52
    Nov 28, 2006
    0
    Does that not kill your MPGs
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.