Mechanical 8.3C Cummins.......

[CumminsPuller]

So when did the 8. 3C mechanical go to the electronic ISC? Was thinking it might have been the same time frame as the B series. What pump was used on the mechanical versions? I know the ISC has had a problem with the fuel delivery system (CAPS system?)



Jason

 

[KLockliear]

A lot had their own version of the P7100 pump. ISC arrived at roughly the same time as the ISB.

 

[CumminsPuller]

Keith

I take it that pump was as good/reliable as the P7100????????



Jason

 

[KLockliear]

Yup... it was a 7100 with different guts (cam, camplate, etc).

 

[bmoeller]

Can BOMB them pretty easy too.

 

[A Johnson]

ISC and ISB both came about the same time.



ISB came with the infamous electric lift pump and the VP-44.



ISC came with the same infamous electric lift pump, and the equally infamous CAPS pump. The ISC lift pump also had a built in bypass and only ran for 2 minutes at engine start it was then turned off and the CAPS gear pump then pulled fuel from the tank through the bypass.



Neither system is very endearing to those stuck with them, in the stock form.



A JOhnson

 

[GO 4LO]

Is an 8. 3 as reliable as a 5. 9 when bombed? For example, there are several 5. 9's out there pushing 4 times the power they came with stock. Can the 8. 3 do the same?



In other words, can an 8. 3 handle 41% more power than the 5. 9, as diplacement would indicate, or are there structural differences, in the block for example, that would make this untrue? Thanks.

Chris

 

[CumminsPuller]

Thats a good question Chris... ... I would be interested to know as well.



Everyone else thanks for chiming in. I feel much better now. Went and saw the truck today, it is an FL-50 with the 8. 3. Alot of motor for that little truck. Very nice and very clean. Felt good looking at the pump aswell. This is the 250 hp version with somewhere around 800 lb/ft of torque.



Jason

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I had dreams of an 8. 3 in my old '91 - but the transmission requirement was an issue...

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Water temps on the 8. 3L 12V can run high when the fueling is increased, so be careful. This mainly pertains to motorhomes though, since the airflow across the radiator is not as good. Trucks are set up differently and can handle a bit more power. But still, keep an eye on the gauge.



THe 24V 8. 3L is a nice engine, especially when they got some of the bugs in the CAPS pump ironed out. Basically the CAPS is a cross between common rail and VP-style injection. High injection pressures independent of engine RPM. The result is no smoke and good power.



Best part about the 8. 3L (12 and 24V) is that it's a wet sleeve block, which means you can do an in-frame rebuild. Gotta love that! Make sure you keep a good water filter in it, and change it out every 15K.

 

[C Schomer]

The 8. 3 is beefier than the 5. 9 and they have a HPCR 8. 3 now. Mark at TST had a turned-up 8. 3 (550 hp) in 98 when I first got some stuff from him. Craig

 

[CumminsPuller]

Does the 8. 3C have a Vacuum pump? I need a vacuum pump to run my vac over hydraulic brakes on the trailer.



Jason

 

[Evan A. Beck]

No vac pump.

 

[CumminsPuller]

arg!!!!!

 

[CumminsPuller]

Well I just stopped by the local International Dealer and talked with some of their mechanics about the 8. 3C. One mechanic said of the small cummins he considered it the work horse. Sounds like they had the KDP problem like the B series. At 250K miles one said it was just getting broke in. But I was still haveing trouble finding a price for the truck I am looking at ( See it here ). So they took me to their salesman and said he should probably be able to come up with a price. Sat down with a couple of them. They did help me out. But they said that it would not surprise them that in 100K miles it would need a rebuild. And all they could do was say how bad the freightliner was or not so good. Originally the truck had a 7 spd transmission. Now it has a 9 spd. When I told them that they said well there must be something wrong, that just doesn't sound right. Their advice was to find out why the 9 spd was put in. Seemed that something had to be wrong to want to put a 9 spd in the truck.



But an 8. 3C needing a rebuild at 350K miles like the salesman said... ... . C'mon!!!! The mechanic says he felt it was just getting broke in and the salemsan says he would be surprised if it made it 100K beyond the 250K on it already before it needed a rebuild. I listened to the salesman politely, but they are the only ones who bad mouthed the engine and truck. I think they were trying to get me to want to buy one of their Internationals.



Maybe some of you with more experience on the engine could fill in the blanks.



Jason

 

[bmoeller]

I have only been around the 8. 3s in farm tractors and a few other pieces of off-road equipment. The 8. 3 is basically a big brother to the 5. 9. One main difference is that it has liners. I have yet to be disappointed by one.



If it needs to be overhauled at 350k, I'd say most likely due to cavitation erosion from not keeping up on the SCAs. Or abuse.



One of the 8. 3s was in a Hydramaxx 2400 tiling machine. Set at 250HP. That thing has some real guts. Everything on that machine is driven hydraulically. The digging wheel is 24" wide x 7' tall. Ought to see that thing throw rocks when you find them. :--)

 

[cumminspwr01]

If the truck is so bad like they are telling you then you should be able to get it pretty cheap then right. The reason a lot of people put a different transmission in than what came in it is because the original trans went south and they had a different one in there shop that would work. Instead of buying a new trans they just put in what they already had. I still think you should be able to get the truck fairly cheap if they are saying bad things about it. I'd say this is the one time the salesman is being more or less honest. The engine will probably need some kind of serious work within say 200,000 miles. They are also probably trying to sell you an International instead which still comes with the same engine as the Furd pickups have. Just my . 02.