Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Can an Edge EZ Damage an '02 Cummins?

[Buffalo]

The neighborhood mechanic just removed an '02 Cummins from a 3500 Dually with 164,000 miles, on it.

He said the Edge EZ was a contributing factor in overheating the engine & seizing it. The owner did not have any guages, in the truck.



How does the EZ increase power in the 24 Valve engines? Pressure only?



I have an '03 with the HPCR & know that excessive pressure can damage them.



BTW, he was running a Fram oil filter.



The engine is going in for a rebuild, today.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[RustyJC]

The EZ is a timing and fueling box. It advances the start of injection timing and signals the VP44 to increase fueling. It is important to note, however, that since the EZ does NOT "tap the wire", it cannot call for fueling in excess of the limiting parameters programmed into the VP44.



If the truck in question used the boost elbow that came with the EZ (applicable to manual transmission trucks), EGTs would have been substantially lower than stock - my maximum pre-turbo EGTs when towing dropped from 1300 degF @ 21 PSIG boost to 1100 degF @ 30 PSIG boost with the installation of the EZ and boost elbow.



Did the truck run all or most of its 164K miles with the EZ installed? If so, then one could pretty well rule out the EZ as the primary cause of the failure. There are LOTS of other possible causes of this failure - a few are:



1. Oil-fouled radiator because the breather overflow bottle was never serviced.



2. Defective thermostat.



3. Defective fan clutch.



4. Blown head gasket.



5. Plugged piston oil cooling nozzle.



Of course, the easiest course of action is to blame the EZ rather than take the time and effort to perform a root cause failure analysis (RCFA) and ensure that the cause of the problem is identified and fixed before the engine goes back into the truck.



Rusty

 

[JBigelow]

Runnig without gauges was not a wise thing to do.

 

[EricBu12]

he had a fram filter... . what was he thinking???



If it was a fram oil filter... bingo problem right there... frams come apart and starve the engine...



A Edge EZ is a timing box with a mild fueling to it and it is hooked to the map sensor... So it enhances it but it will run hotter so you need gauges to monitor it...

 

[gitchesum]

Can the EZ cause the damage?



Absolutly. Any power upgrade can cause engine damage





Will the EZ cause the damage?



That depends on the owner of the truck. If he was working the truck hard with the EZ on, that can cause high EGT's which can ultimately burn the motor up. That's the price you pay for running upgrades without monitoring equipment.



You gotta be smarter than the engine under the hood. It doesn't know when to protect itself from catostrophic engine failure, only the guy pushing the pedal can. And he has to know when he's working the engine too hard. Can't do that without gauges.

 

[Regcabguy]

Can the EZ cause the damage?



Absolutly. Any power upgrade can cause engine damage





Will the EZ cause the damage?



That depends on the owner of the truck. If he was working the truck hard with the EZ on, that can cause high EGT's which can ultimately burn the motor up. That's the price you pay for running upgrades without monitoring equipment.



You gotta be smarter than the engine under the hood. It doesn't know when to protect itself from catostrophic engine failure, only the guy pushing the pedal can. And he has to know when he's working the engine too hard. Can't do that without gauges.

Excellent,consise,statement!

 

[BlowinBlackSmoke]

I tried the superchips box (equivilent to the Edge EZ) in my 98. 5 and like Bajabob said if you race it too hard all the time you will slowly destroy your truck but if you only work it when you need it and with with help of the right gauges you should be alright.