Got my E-mail from Cummins!!

[lshalz]

I sent an e-mail to the Powermaster@Cummins about the dowel pin, he answered, the same old letter he

sends to everyone, how to fix the dowel pin.

Well, I am fixing mine Thur. , it is going into

Caterpiller, and we are putting in a 3126 Cat. now maybe I will have a truck that I can trust. We have already tore the front cover off, and the dowel pin was out about 1/8 of an inch. I am putting this engine on a stand, with a big sign over it that says,"Don't buy any Cummins 12 valve junk, look at this killer dowel pin, and Cummins won't do anything about it. "





1996 3500, soon to have a real motor in it, by CATERPILLER

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

UMMMmmm - seems sorta EXTREME just to fix a dowel pin - but good luck - and DO get back to us as time goes by to let us know how trouble free and REALLY satisfying your "dowel pin fix" has been...

 

[BCFAST]

I think you'll be quite unhappy with the 3116. The bottom end is pretty weak. As long as you're going to all the trouble of installing a bigger motor, drop in a C series and enjoy!

 

[dcash]

ishalz,



It is sad that you didnn't research this problem before taking such a huge step. The reason Cummins doesn't stand behind this problem in our trucks is because IT IS NOT THEIR PROBLEM ANYMORE! Dodge buys the motors from Cummins with NO WARRANTY (they get it cheaper). Cummins warranties this problem in every other application. so what you are doing is taking the best quality feature out of your truck and leaving yourself with a truck made by a COMPANY (Dodge) that won't stand behind this problem. I am currently checking into the legal aspect of the KDP problem with Dodge right now (grandfather owns a law firm) and doubtfully, but hopefully i will get somewhere (it's still to early to tell).



this isn't intended to flame, just to inform you before you make your decision. (if not to late)



hope you love your truck as much as i do regardless of the route you go!!! let us know how you like the Cat if you go that route!



Du$ty

 

[baby.driver]

Is the 3126 a six or one of those baby eights?



Jay

 

[M Barnett]

The big cats are a wonderful engine, but not so with the small ones. Your getting rid of the best.

Michael

 

[Sled Puller]

I agree about the dowel pin, a 20 cent part can kill a good engine.



Cat better? Nope, they are junk in my book, make excellent boat anchors though.

 

[rrl989]

Ishalz,



I got the same old e-mail reply too. Its a manufacturing defect, period, end of story. The name "Cummins" doesn't mean what it used to for me. I don't blame Dodge on this one.



But thanks to certain members of TDR, the fix is simple enough.



Ron

 

[lshalz]

This is a 3126, not a 3116, we have three guys in

our Newmar Club, that are running them in their FL60, Freightliners, they love them to death, one of them has 178000 miles on his with no trouble,

the 3126 it putting out 360HP, and 810 of Torque.

We are also putting in a 6 speed Allison Manuel, by the time they get done with it, I'll have about

$17000. 00 to 19000. 00 inl the switch over.

Am I nuts for putting this much money in a 1996,

probably, but it's only money. And just to make a point to Cummins, one thing about Cat. , they will

take care of this engine for 200000 miles, since they are putting it in. It doesn't make any difference who Cummins sold the engine to,(Dodge)

Cummins made the engine, and should stand behind this known flaw, but they won't, so to me that says a lot about Cummins

 

[Todd T]

why dont you just go and buy a good used FL60? heck, get you one of those four door jobs while your at it.



your truck is worth good money NOW. what will it be worth after the motor and transmission swap? but who am i to talk





you say its still stock. that is a used truck buyers favorite word. that is how i bought this one i am driving now

 

[Cummins Corvette]

Originally posted by Sled Puller



Cat better? Nope, they are junk in my book, make excellent boat anchors though.

I agree with this 100%. I drove three FL70 Freightshakers at my former job. Two had 3126’s and one had a 5. 9 Cummins. They all sucked, but I especially hated the Cats. Those things sucked down the fuel like no other (5-6 mpg), took forever to warm up, had no power, and were noisier than any other diesel I have ever heard. Another down side is their lack of bombability. Cat would rather die than admit that their engines could be improved. I don’t think that there is ANY way to get more power than stock out of one of those. Good luck; let us know how it turns out!

Chris

 

[dcash]

ishalz,

my truck is actually dissasembled right now due to the kdp breaking the case. i have no intent to flame cummins! AS/IS-NO WARRANTY is AS/IS NO-WARRANTY. thats how they sold this engine to (Dodge). my truck has 190000 miles on it as well. Dodge is the one trying to cut corners and they should be the one to take responsability. if i sold engines to a company for distribution purposes (AS/IS) and they developed a truck and sold it, then 190000/200000 miles later (or whatever) the current owner came to me and said they wanted me to fix it, what do you think i should say? im not the one that sold them the truck, i sold an engine to a company. the defect may be my fault but i didnt sell the engine knowing that nor did i promise it to be perfect (although i intended it to be)since i sold it AS/IS. there is a "chain or command here" and it stops at dodge since they took no precautions ON PURPOSE for cummins to be responsable in case a problem might arise.



just food for thought,

du$ty

 

[rrl989]

Dcash,



Your response doesn't make sense to me. In the e-mail, Cummins readily admits they found out "after the fact" that they had installed the defective part (pin) during their manufacturing process.



Yes, I agree, it is Dodge's responsibility to repair under the 5/100k terms, Not Cummins. After that its our problem that we bought a Cummins product with a defective part that obviously tends to let go after 100k.



Cummins won't step up for $$$$ reasons, and they know, as stated, the KDP problem has is showing up in 3-4% of the 12V B Series. (Thats 30 - 40,000 engines) and growing every day !

They don't want to hear about it.



Too bad for us that this is not a safety issue !



Ron

 

[jwilliams3]

For the record.

Cummins does pay for warranty costs associated with Dodge applications.

But the warranty is administered through Dodge/Chrysler.

 

[illflem]

Originally posted by FF1063





Too bad for us that this is not a safety issue !



Ron

It could be. If the pin goes in-between the gears camshaft bends, engine dies. Sounds unsafe to me! Ford recalled a bunch of cars a couple of weeks ago for potental engine stall.

 

[grtescpa]

Dowl pin & Miles

All you guys talking about your pins that have moved. Put your miles down in your threads! Miles plus movement would let everyone know what their chances are. If you don't have a signature, put in the year of the truck. Thank you.

 

[bigdog66]

Has there been a determination to which year/s are more prone to this problem? Also Do the higher HP engines become more suseptible due to increased torque. I know this has been asked but are there any #'s.



Chip

 

[JHansen]

I'm gonna get some nasty flaming for this I'm sure-but I wear Nomex for a living so... ...



If I'd have had a choice in engines when ordering similar to the way a Class 8 truck is available, my truck would have yellow under the hood instead of black. Don't get me wrong-my ISB has been a great motor. My personal preference however leans towards gold..... picked that up from 6 years of pushing a tank truck around Alberta. The boss's experience over the years was that when he had a problem with a Cummins-powered truck, Cummins looked for a way to push the blame onto someone or something else. Conversely, Cat picked up the tab even in an instance where it was catastrophic failure (#1 rod out through the side of the block taking the air compressor with it on the way out! ) that quite possibly could have been avoided by shutting down at the first sign of trouble. That instance alone sold another pile of engines for Cat directly-and who knows how many indirectly through word-of-mouth..... Am I saying it's still that way? Nope-can't tell you how Cummins treats their customers now-I can tell you that Cat in Calgary still bends over backwards for trucks in trouble to get them back out on the road ASAP.



As for the BOMBability-do you see Cummins out here sanctioning what's being done with the B-series? Last time I checked the lone approved power enhancer for the ISB's was the Torqus Maximus ECM. If our trucks had come with baby Cats right from the get-go all the vendors would have products developed to crank them up and the ISB would be the forgotten engine sitting on the sidelines.



One man's opinion-not worth any more than the paper it's printed on !



Jason

 

[rrl989]

What gets my goat is that Cummins has ignored the results of their own investigation. They should have at least warned Dodge

that a TSB is needed. They should have determined the KDP

fix and made up a Jig. How much does one hour labor and a screw really cost a dealership, or an engine manufacturers reputation ? I would pay half just to eliminate the potential problem.



We should be overloading the Cummins website with the victims vin#'s and get a list going of who's pin has moved or dropped and damaged the case. If there is power in numbers then why doesn't "Mr. TDR" make a few calls with the backing of 12,168 Cummins fans ???



I just find it amazing how this whole TDR Register is based on being a Cummins owner, yet we can't come together as a group and confront them when it comes to the KDP. Well, at least we 12v'ers have CPFF.



Ron

 

[illflem]

JHansen, I feel much the same but would rather see a green JD engine under my hood. But since no one puts in a green or yellow one Cummins is the best choice going.