tank motor in the truck

[moolie]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7959917068&category=33615





i've been talking to this guy on and off for the last week he seems really cool i was really hoping that i could take this off his hands but the timings isn't right. Anyone familiar with this motor

 

[HoleshotHolset]

The V8 Cummins VT-903 had their day a long time ago... I'm not saying that they're bad motors, just that there's lots of other stuff out there that is much better on many different levels.



My brother used to work on them in the Coast Guard quite a bit... the 41's run two of 'em. He never really had to do much to 'em but keep clean fluids in 'em and replace little stuff...



Matt

 

[bmoeller]

What Matt said.



My uncle runs a baby brother to that engine, the VT-555. It is in his Vesatile 4wd tractor. He's in the engine AGAIN, for oil in the water, this time. Other was a spun cam bearing and one other time for something else.

 

[DWitcher]

V8 Diesel= Junk

 

[Simplysmn]

the 903 is a Junk motor its worth more n scrap then it is whole

 

[JKinney]

Too much money in my book The US coast guard Has over a thousand of these engines in service (two per 41 foot utility boat) I dont know how many they have in the engine rotation department but changing out complete 903's is a common occurence.

TDR member dzldpatriot has probably changed out more than he can remember, and he knows all the problems with these engines, along with the good features.

 

[BigBadDodge]

I have changed out a couple myself in the 41's back in the days, we had some head gasket issues if memory serves me right, there aren't to many 41 footers left these days in the CG.



BBD

 

[Cowboy832]

That motor did not come out of a "200,000 lbs tank"... first of all, the military has no such thing as a 200,000 pound tank, and if it did, that motor would never move it. The Abrams M1 series tank is the biggest and baddest the military has, and has a combat weight of about 75 tons. It is powered by a gas/diesel turbine engine that develops some 1500 horsepower. I am not a mechanic in the army, but I am pretty sure that is the motor that either powered the M113 or the M2 series bradley's, both of which are considerably lighter than the heavy hitting tanks that I go to war in.

Oh, and as far as how the military maintains their vehicles, i would be very very cautious of it. Most of the time, the mechanics can keep the vehicles running by continuously swapping parts, but rutine maintenance is left to line soldiers that more often than not, have no idea why it is important to check the oil once in a while...

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Oh, and as far as how the military maintains their vehicles, i would be very very cautious of it. ...

Glad you said it Cb! I was going to joke about that then ehhhhhh maybee not LOL!

Not to mention our front ends BARELEY hold up the 1175 pound (Dry and un accessorized) weight of the ISB ... . nevermind that thing LOL!

 

[JKinney]

Having spent 24 years in the CoastGuard, I just made a phone call to the Industrial marine foreman at CG Industrial support Unit South Portland Me.



There are over 400 UTB's in the field being used every day. My friend stated he has 5 903's in stock right now hte average hours each engine achieves is about 5,000 between changes. The Coast Guard plans on continued use for another 5 years. The Coast Guard has given a few boats away, those have been re-engined A boat in the cape cod canal has twin 6cyl inline cummins engines I do not know the model.

 

[RBratby]

i have been to 2 stations with 41's going to my third in june and 1 with a 47. i would rather have a 41 utb with the 903's in it than a 47 with 6v92's.

 

[JKinney]

How about a 41 with 12V71's Oo.

 

[BigBadDodge]

My mistake I thought most were gone by now, I guess out I should get out the office more



How about the 32'ers I used to run, with naturally aspirated Cat 3208's any of those still floating around ?



BBD

 

[moolie]

when did this thread go to chinese? i need mr miagi now

 

[JKinney]

I Agree with Moolie we sure have gone off the beaten path,



The thirty two foot packing crate for the CAT engines is gone.



For those that have been reading this thread the Coast guard had a 32 ft boat with twin cats. A major design flaw of this boat was the faster you went in reverse the further the transom would suck under you could actually fill the pilot house with back wash and sink the boat. The engines were great the boat was junk.



With the 903's in the 41 footer they towed alot of fishing boats up to 100 feet in length. Using those boats as a tug was alot of fun.

 

[Kry226]

... but I am pretty sure that is the motor that either powered the M113 or the M2 series bradley's, both of which are considerably lighter than the heavy hitting tanks that I go to war in.

Oh, and as far as how the military maintains their vehicles, i would be very very cautious of it. Most of the time, the mechanics can keep the vehicles running by continuously swapping parts, but rutine maintenance is left to line soldiers that more often than not, have no idea why it is important to check the oil once in a while...

Correct. This is probably out of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. I used to maintain one of these on a daily basis. The Bradley weighs in at about 25 tons combat loaded, and this engine would propel the Bradley very well. I have actually driven a Bradley cross country (off-road) in the Mojave Desert at over 55mph. In the six years that I worked with Bradleys, I never once saw an engine failure. They just kept on going.



And as far as routine maintenance goes: The Bradley went in for Services every six months. The Pack (engine and transmission) was pulled every time and after the Bradley driver pressure washed the Pack, the mechanics would hook up diagnostic equipment to the engine while it was running on the ground to ensure the engine was running at spec.



Engine oil life was monitored by the Army Oil Analysis Program (AOAP). Analysis would say either the oil was fine or it was time for a change.



Bottom line: this engine was awesome and was very reliable, which is more than I can say about that danged General Electric transmission.

 

[TWilkening]

Cummins is still making the 903 for the military, so it can't be all that horrible.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Cummins is still making the 903 for the military, so it can't be all that horrible.

International keeps making 6. 0L Powerstrokes... what's your point?



The military needs these 903's and probably has a contract with Cummins to keep providing them for XX years until they retire the old equipment.



Again, I'm not saying that the 903's are bad - just that there is much better stuff out there these days that could fill that 'gap'. But, getting an I6 to fit where a V8 used to be can provide endless hours of frustration.



Matt