More news on the Cummins Titan... That's got a nice ring.

[Wayne M.]

Enjoy.

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/do-yo...source=jalopnik_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

 

[mwilson]

You mean the motor that RAM shoulda' had???

I love this comment right here.....

"So my small diesel truck options would be the American truck with an Italian engine, or the Japanese one with the American engine, or I could wait for a Mahindra?"

 

[SnoKing]

Hey, I wanted to buy a Luv Diesel pickup years ago!

#ad

 

[Wayne M.]

You mean the motor that RAM shoulda' had???

I love this comment right here.....

"So my small diesel truck options would be the American truck with an Italian engine, or the Japanese one with the American engine, or I could wait for a Mahindra?"

The Mahindra might very well be the real deal. Locking hubs, leaf springs and all!

 

[JR]

The tale of the tape will be the fuel economy numbers and so far Nissan is pretty tight lipped on this subject. Power doesn't really mean anything in the half ton department because a V8 gasser will tow anything a half ton chassis can handle and do it on cheaper fuel. With the higher fuel prices and initial cost, if you don't have a several mpg advantage over the gas option, it's pretty hard to justify the cost.

And who woulda thought Cummins would ever build an engine like the 5.0... A V8 dual over head cam design with timing chains.... Sure is a world apart from it's big brother.

 

[Wayne M.]

JR, you've pretty much killed the whole thread right there!

I read the reveal all article in Diesel Power, and that engine does have a lot of compromise. Stuff I thought Cummins swore off, like glow plugs

 

[JR]

Stuff I thought Cummins swore off, like glow plugs

Ahh yes, how could I forget the glow plugs! Glow plugs are great... when they're ALL working. A co worker owns an 01 Ford 7.3 and it's down on a few glow plugs, to say the least. If it's any colder than about 15* and he doesn't plug the truck in, that engine HATES life. Takes several attempts before it lights off and stays running, in the mean time it's a big smoke show in the parking lot :-laf Then to pour salt in the wound I'll light the Cummins off with about a half a rotation of the starter and wave as I'm idling by... I asked him the other day why doesn't he change em out and be done with it, and his reply was he's already been through several in the last 5 years and is tired of wasting money on them. Of course, it doesn't help that he keeps getting them through AutoZone, so they're probably some flaky Chicom crap. Last year was a real battle for him with all that cold weather we had. We worked an outage for 2 weeks and we were on nights and several of those nights was 15 below and colder.

 

[Wingate]

It doesnt matter what brand of GP you buy for a 7.3L PSD. They all burn up too quick!. Ive gotten pretty quick at changing them on my S.I.L. and B.I.L. trucks.
My B.I.L. asked me once how often I replaced them on my Cummins, Told him I replaced them each time I did the sparkplugs.

 

[Regcabguy]

My friend called from Mammoth. He just bought a '96 7.3 E-350. 0* and it wouldn't start. Tow truck guy suggested cycling the glow plugs 5x next time. It does have a block heater so he ran an extension cord from the motel to the truck and it helped.
Nissan's going to have to do something with their styling. Their trucks are butt ugly.

 

[Bill Lins]

Told him I replaced them each time I did the sparkplugs.

Just washed my monitor with coffee! :-laf

 

[DonFitzwater]

You mean the motor that RAM shoulda' had???"

Yep. The guido's have screwed up royally. The guido diesel is selling ok now but they coulda had a Cummins! Dorks!!!

 

[rscurtis]

The Mahindra might very well be the real deal. Locking hubs, leaf springs and all!

Don't hold your breath on the Mahindra- it's stillborn.

 

[JR]

My friend called from Mammoth. He just bought a '96 7.3 E-350. 0* and it wouldn't start. Tow truck guy suggested cycling the glow plugs 5x next time. It does have a block heater so he ran an extension cord from the motel to the truck and it helped.
Nissan's going to have to do something with their styling. Their trucks are butt ugly.

Tell him to get used to keeping a can of ether behind the seat and learn how to disable the glow plugs :-laf

 

[Bill Stockard]

Tell him to get used to keeping a can of ether behind the seat and learn how to disable the glow plugs :-laf

If it's a 7.3L IDI, don't use ether on it. There are pre-cups in the cylinder head. A 7.3 Powerstroke is direct injection. Use ether sparingly.

Many of the glow plug problems on the old I-H/Ford 6.9L, 7.3L IDI, and the 7.3L Powerstrokes are caused by a defective glow plug controller and/or the glow plug relay. Just replacing the glow plugs over and over again won't fix the problem without first checking the glow plug controller and the glow plug relay.

Bill

 

[JR]

Bill, I should have made a better attempt at sarcasm. I don't believe in using ether in any diesel, even if its on a piece of equipment with no starting aids. The way I see it, if it ain't starting on its own it needs to be fixed. We have a handful of 4bt's at work with no grid heaters or block heaters, and even in -15 to -20 degree weather last winter they all lit off surprisingly well.

A co worker who is a certified crane operator like myself ran our Grove RT130 with an 8.3 Cummins out of fuel last winter. They filled the tank and filters and started cranking the heck out of it. When he realized it wasn't going to start he went after it with the ether, and he wasn't shy about it. I came over about that time and took the can away from him. Batteries were about spent at that point, and not wanting to blow the engine apart (it has a grid heater), we put the charger on over night and let it air out. The next morning I started at the block mounted lift pump and worked my way through the injectors and within 10-15 minutes she was purring like a kitten.

And yes, he is a power stroke guy

 

[Wayne M.]

Ether is good if used properly. It was standard equipment on Mack when Mack was Mack. Nope, most times you didn't need it but it was there. A momentary rocker switch limited by a thermistor allowed a tiny shot. All things in moderation.

 

[JR]

Our old Lorain LRD 275 with a 6bt had an ether injection system in it as well. I forget the exact year but it was an early 90s model. I never liked using it, seemed unrefined and the engine really clacked when it first lit with a shot. I always wondered why they didn't just put a grid heater in it from the factory.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Ether is good if used properly. It was standard equipment on Mack when Mack was Mack. Nope, most times you didn't need it but it was there. A momentary rocker switch limited by a thermistor allowed a tiny shot. All things in moderation.

Many direct injection diesel farm tractors were equipped with ether injection systems to aid cold starting. Once the starter began spinning the engine, the operator could press the ether cold start button on the dash which would inject a small metered amount of ether into the intake manifold. The engine would immediately start and clatter for a second or two. Some old JI Case and British Leyland engines were equipped with one glow plug in the intake manifold and also had ether cold start. The operator would hold down the glow plug button down until the glow plug was sufficiently hot and release it. Then he would press the starter button and the ether start button. The ether would contact the hot glow plug and would instantly ignite with a puff. The spinning engine would suck the ether flame into the cylinders which provided the heat aiding a cold start. It was funny to start one of those engines when an unsuspecting person was standing close by. :-laf

Bill

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill, I should have made a better attempt at sarcasm. I don't believe in using ether in any diesel, even if its on a piece of equipment with no starting aids. The way I see it, if it ain't starting on its own it needs to be fixed. We have a handful of 4bt's at work with no grid heaters or block heaters, and even in -15 to -20 degree weather last winter they all lit off surprisingly well.

A co worker who is a certified crane operator like myself ran our Grove RT130 with an 8.3 Cummins out of fuel last winter. They filled the tank and filters and started cranking the heck out of it. When he realized it wasn't going to start he went after it with the ether, and he wasn't shy about it. I came over about that time and took the can away from him. Batteries were about spent at that point, and not wanting to blow the engine apart (it has a grid heater), we put the charger on over night and let it air out. The next morning I started at the block mounted lift pump and worked my way through the injectors and within 10-15 minutes she was purring like a kitten.

And yes, he is a power stroke guy

JR,
Have you ever placed a gasoline soaked rag over the intake? (Make sure the rag is secure or the engine will suck the rag in when it starts. Don't ask why I know that.:-laf) It works pretty well in situations like that and the engine will run momentarily on the fumes. It won't lock up the engine and/or break things like an overdose of ether possibly can. However, like using ether, disable the grid heater first.

Bill

 

[SnoKing]

My dad had a "friend" on the dock help him with a 318 what would not start in his boat. When it was running again my dad had a "S" shaped con rod to show people what ether can do to a gas engine! SNOKING