Cummins ISX for 1985 96A3

[Tornadex]

Thank you Harpold700 3, that sounds very plausible. Would this blow-by affect my power as well - I assume so? It's a lack of compression - right? Does anyone know about compression testing on a 6V92? Is there a simple way of determining the actual condition? I guess my thought would be, if I get an in-frame overhaul done, even with the new injectors, how different will it feel? I know the answer is similar to how long is a piece of string. But if I spend between $7000 and $10000, I really want to get some value out of it. Otherwise I might as well just deal with the smoke and putt on down the road.

What about Blue_goose's idea. Would that require any modifications? Would the size of the Series 50 fit into my engine compartment? What would I need to look out for?

Thanks guys you are such a help.   

[luvrbus]

Here you go Jorg the height on the 50 series is the killer they are 51 inches tall,42 inches long,34 inches wide and weigh 2230 lbs and why use a engine(series 50)that is 320 hp with 1000# of torque you can get 350 hp with 1100 lbs of torque but that will cost you big. Fwiw the 6v92 in the 322 hp range is 967 ft lbs of torque     Good luck

[steve5B]

   With that amount of miles, for that amount of capital investment I would do a series of oil analysis and consider other options!

    My 2 cents worth.

    Steve 5B......

[JohnEd]

Tor,

You are lucky you didn't crack the heads when it shut down.  There are two overtemp sensors, one in each head.  I would take them both out and verify at exactly what temp those things are activating.  I would augment my monitoring system to include a temp gauge for each head...that menas add a meter to the mix  and verify each.  You can add a contacting sensor to each head, like the pair of over temp shutdown sensors....but set to contact at 200 degrees.  Connect those to a ALARM and a LARGE RED light on the dash. That will give you enuf warning to get out of traffic and get her shut down before it gets to the emergency stage.

102c rads spec'd for the 8V92 seems to be the hot (cold) setup.  Lots of referals to rad makers in the CONUS and their prices.  You might want to wait on this as if you overhaul the 6V92 they run cooler than a worn engine and what you have might be OK.  Also, if you install a 4 cycle you will be ok as they make much less heat.

You need a DD fact shop to eval your engine.  Cost must vary but I have heard that $300 gets it done.  You really need to know what you have before you launch into a multi thousand dollar "anything".  That takes a dyno, for starters and that shop MUST have an "Old Hand" mech that understands 2 cycles and they are getting harder to locate.  Worth driving to the next state to do bus with a DD dealer that has the appropriate staff.  They will all do the job but there is no sub for experience no matter what an engineer will tell you.

Food for thought if you are up to it:  Figure a way to incorporate a "intercooler" into the 6V92design to augment the "after cooler" installed in the belly of the engine.

Install JAKES!

Install "Wet Wrap" in the engine bay.

Just some thoughts now.....I am no expert.

John

[Tornadex]

Great information from you guys. I think the tip about getting it checked out at a DD dealer with old school experience is definitely the way to go. I will try to locate one in the greater Detroit area, tomorrow. I agree, that spending a bit of money up front is well worth it when I have a better idea about my options. Thank you all for the very valuable input. I will report back on this issue when I have more info. If anyone has more ideas or thoughts, please let me know, as I will check in here frequently.

PS: John thanks for the additional thoughts and the new nickname - I like it.

Tor

[Hartley]

I would be very easy and careful on that old engine at this point. I had one that did what yours is doing and it ran OK after a few miles of fogging. However, That said you need to understand that the 6V92 is a wet sleeve engine and is very touchy on overheating of any kind. They just don't like it and will tell you later on when they dump you with major failures when you really don't need those headaches.

If your bus has two radiators and you didn't change/recore both of them at the same time you could still have one working good and the other not so good.

You can have it in-framed however you may not get everything repaired that might need it because they can't drop the crankshaft. Only the heads, sleeves, pistons, rods and required bearings will be worked on. The heads are another issue, They usually need to be remanufactured if the engine is substantially worn.

If it were me I would opt for an out of frame complete overhaul with the bigger injectors and up to date blower and turbo setups. If you got the bucks to do it right. You can get many miles and a lot better power on a fresh engine.

But my current philosophy is wherever I break down, I live there until I can get going again somehow..( I am only kidding! )...

My wimpy (good running 277hp 6V92TA ) was crippled to 5 mph going up Signal Mountain out of Chattanooga and 9,000 mph downhill with no jakes or brakes!
MC9 pulling 8,800 cargo trailer. at night.. GPS made mistake and I was tired...
( A 10 hour life changing ordeal I hope to never go through again -ever! )
Tennessee has a few speed bumps that only 500 HP will smooth out!!!(almost!)

Dave....

[TomC]

In framing is a good way to go-as long as the crankshaft is in good condition.  The best way to go is to open it up inside the bus and inspect all the parts and ONLY replace what is worn out-this is called an overhaul.  Completely replacing all the parts with new is a rebuild-and many shops will only do rebuilds so to give you a warranty (hard to warranty a used part even though it might still be in tolerance).  I did the same thing on my engine.  Even though I had to have the block bored over .010" and have .010" over cylinder liners installed, I still kept the same pistons, rings and connecting rods, and even the bearings.  Still was expensive, but would have been even more just blindly replacing all the parts.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sojourner]

I Tornadex...Welcome...good to see someone very close to home...Clawson. Retired from GM Tech. I now live in SC.

About getting engine back to normal power or more. It be wise to have a DD evaluate your engine before the real talk begin.

Keep us posted of you project.

Sojourn for Christ, Gerald

[blue_goose]

Here you go Jorg the height on the 50 series is the killer they are 51 inches tall,42 inches long,34 inches wide and weigh 2230 lbs and why use a engine(series 50)that is 320 hp with 1000# of torque you can get 350 hp with 1100 lbs of torque but that will cost you big. Fwiw the 6v92 in the 322 hp range is 967 ft lbs of torque     Good luck

The series 50 I think is the least problems to change to in the MCI.  I have put one in a MCI7 and a 102A3 with no major problems.  The MCI 102A3 with the B500 is getting about 8 miles to the gal and the owner says it fells like he has twice the power of the 6V92 that it had before.  There is a MCI9 in Atlanta Ga. with a series 50 and he also loves the way it runs.  MCI also put some series 50 in the MCI 12 .

[luvrbus]

Tor, if you do decide to swap engines there is a Cummins ISM 450 hp 2002 (pre egr engine)  from a bus with 63,000 miles on it for sale on the Eagles board for 7500.00 that's a good buy http://www.eaglesinternational.net        good luck

[Sojourner]

blue_goose...thank you sharing a DD 50 series swap photo.

Do you have more in regard to air-cooler, muffler and clearance on top of valve cover?

Is the crank-center line same as 6 or 8v92?

Thank you, Gerald

[luvrbus]

I seem to remember not long ago a discussion about the series 50 between Jack, TomC, and Cole but can not find it now.A MCI may be easy to do with a series 50 but the Eagle is not much fun raising the floor.The few I had in construction equipment not the engine of choice for me   good luck

[Tornadex]

Tor, if you do decide to swap engines there is a Cummins ISM 450 hp 2002 (pre egr engine)  from a bus with 63,000 miles on it for sale on the Eagles board for 7500.00 that's a good buy http://www.eaglesinternational.net        good luck

luvrbus, can you be more specific about the location / link. I checked it out but found no such posting

Thanks, TOR

[luvrbus]

Tor, look under general chat posted by Boomer  good luck

[Tornadex]

blue_goose...thank you sharing a DD 50 series swap photo.

Do you have more in regard to air-cooler, muffler and clearance on top of valve cover?

Is the crank-center line same as 6 or 8v92?

Thank you, Gerald

Cool picture, looks very neat!
TOR