Cummins ISM Repower

[jmblake]

I put a series 50 in my mci 9 about 2 years ago and so far I'm sure glad I went that way. I had it turned up to 375hp, and I pull my 2500hd crew cap pickup truck with a golfcart in the bed, so i'm loaded down pretty good and it does fine. 6th gear is locked out but I don't think with the rearend gearing I have I would never go fast enough to get into 6th. Plus only needing one radiator and not worrying about overheating was worth the engine swap. As far as being rough at idle I really don't think it is to bad, and going down the road it is much quieter than the 8V was. Jason

[sledhead]

I had my 6v92ta rebuilt out of frame by Leids diesel in Pa. and they did a great job. for $ 10 k back in 2010 . But after it was rebuilt I had them set it up to 350 hp and it was great . No more drips !! and it did not smoke !! but there was still not enough power on the hills  .

I could not find a local shop that I trusted to work on it so I would drive to Leids when I wanted something done . ( 12 hr drive each way ) 

That is the reason for the 3406e cat . ( all land is now flat )

If you are qualified to do the engine and transmission swap and the price is not outrages that is what I would do , or look for a coach that already is set up this way for probably less money and hopefully all the quarks have been ironed out 

It is kind of boring now as all I do to the cat is feed it less fuel then the 6v92ta and change the oil and drive in cruise control

my 2 cents worth

dave 

[chessie4905]

Leid diesel is great place. They turboed our 4104. It ran like an 8v-71 then.

[Scott & Heather]

Here's the thing. We have an 8v92 TA in our 102C3 with the 500hp setting on the ECM. And it's been turned up a little beyond that too. So I'm runnig over 500hp and I can tell you that my coach goes...I've finally got it running right now and even though I'm almost 50,000lbs fully loaded gross including toad, I can keep up with traffic at stop lights etc. if you're two stroke is kept up, it will work perfectly for you. My 6v92 in my last bus never overheated ever. It was mechanical and it just worked. The only way I'd recommend a repower is a few specific conditions:

1. Your engine is blown. If you are needing a $20,000 rebuild, that's the time to consider a repower because you're already into a rebuild 20k might as well explore other options

2. You have plenty of money and really just want to modify your bus out of sheer joy.

Repowering a coach with a 4 stroke when your two stroke is running good is just throwing money down a hole. People think it's going to make their coach more reliable like a car or give them 20mpg. It's just not like that. Sure, you'll gain a few mpgs, and yes you might be able to get parts a little easier etc, but neither of those little conveniences will even come close to outweighing the mods you have to do and the money you'll have to spend on a repower. Even though you're getting this drive train for free, you have a ton of modifications to do to make this work. And fitting it into the engine bay is just one of the puzzle pieces. So again, if it's a hobby and you're enjoying the process and have the money and time, go for it. But I have seen these swap attempts go bad before with people losing interest half way through and struggling to get all the pieces to work and they end up with a Frankenbus that is just kind of a mess. I have a guy I know in Texas who did a Cummins swap into his MCI9. He never ever worked out all the kinks with th modified cooling system and other issues he was having and got cancer so his bus is just sitting now. It's pretty, but it's not a good solid runner.

[Jcparmley]

All of the comments have been great.  I think the best plan is to have the 6v92ta refreshed and keep the original drive train.  I just worry that I will get to the point where I can't find any good mechanics that can work on the 2 strokes.  However, I should worry about that when I need to and not before.  This forum is great for helping me make decisions. 

[Jcparmley]

Great insight Scott.  One questions about your bus.  How did you reroute your turbo inlet and what filter are you using?  I see your inlet is a straight into the turbo from the passenger side engine compartment but how do you have your filter setup?  Scott, could take some pics and post them for me?

Here's the thing. We have an 8v92 TA in our 102C3 with the 500hp setting on the ECM. And it's been turned up a little beyond that too. So I'm runnig over 500hp and I can tell you that my coach goes...I've finally got it running right now and even though I'm almost 50,000lbs fully loaded gross including toad, I can keep up with traffic at stop lights etc. if you're two stroke is kept up, it will work perfectly for you. My 6v92 in my last bus never overheated ever. It was mechanical and it just worked. The only way I'd recommend a repower is a few specific conditions:

1. Your engine is blown. If you are needing a $20,000 rebuild, that's the time to consider a repower because you're already into a rebuild 20k might as well explore other options

2. You have plenty of money and really just want to modify your bus out of sheer joy.

Repowering a coach with a 4 stroke when your two stroke is running good is just throwing money down a hole. People think it's going to make their coach more reliable like a car or give them 20mpg. It's just not like that. Sure, you'll gain a few mpgs, and yes you might be able to get parts a little easier etc, but neither of those little conveniences will even come close to outweighing the mods you have to do and the money you'll have to spend on a repower. Even though you're getting this drive train for free, you have a ton of modifications to do to make this work. And fitting it into the engine bay is just one of the puzzle pieces. So again, if it's a hobby and you're enjoying the process and have the money and time, go for it. But I have seen these swap attempts go bad before with people losing interest half way through and struggling to get all the pieces to work and they end up with a Frankenbus that is just kind of a mess. I have a guy I know in Texas who did a Cummins swap into his MCI9. He never ever worked out all the kinks with th modified cooling system and other issues he was having and got cancer so his bus is just sitting now. It's pretty, but it's not a good solid runner.