Repower is working!

[Brian Diehl]

Put the reman turbo on last night and then got about 38 miles of mostly interstate driving in.  It ran great with the exception of one of my intercooler pipes popping apart.  I'll have to come up with a permanent fix for that.

So, it runs great!  My intercoolers work wonderfully and I had no overheating problems.  In fact, in 85 degree weather it takes a long time to get the engine up to operating temperature.  I wonder if my thermostat is hanging up partially open?  I'll look into replacing that when I drain out the water to replace with coolant.

The Eaton is shifting great!  I'm very pleased with that 600,000 mile gamble.  It appears to work EXACTLY like it is supposed to.  The shifting program is very intelligent.  Getting on the Interstate I have some rolling hills to go up and down for about 4 miles after hitting the highway.  At about 63 mph I pull my foot out of the throttle and the tranny shifts into over drive.  The engine is then turning over right around 1200 rpms.  When I hit the first hill it drops back into 9th (direct) and stays there even on the backside of the next hill.  It will then stay in 9th until I speed up a little bit on the flat to let the tranny know the load level has gone back down.  Cruising along at 70+ is a quiet experience as the motor is ticking over in the 1300 rpm range and has no problem managing the speed at that rpm even into a head wind.

I've got a couple of wiring issues to clear up on the original bus wiring side now.  Gotta get those taken care of next. 

I'll try and get some pictures up this weekend so you can see what it now looks like.

So, far so good!  oh yeah, and love those jakes, especially in the upper rpm range!

[FloridaCliff]

Brian,

Great to hear of your success.

I wish I could have seen the SMILE on your face as you drove bye!

Cliff

[H3Jim]

Brian,

On flat ground, mine can take 17 to 20 miles to get to operating temperature, so not o worry.  partly the 4 strokes are efficient, partly I have 24 gallons of coolant to heat up.

JIm

[Buffalo SpaceShip]

Congrats, Brian! Can't wait to see those pics. Sounds like I came to MN a couple months to soon, because I'd love to now see your ISM/Autoshift in action. Maybe we can get back up there again next summer.

Cheers,
Brian B.

[TomC]

Two things on the intercooler hoses- make sure the ends of the tubes have a lip on them.  And also consider double clamping each fitting-it is done in the marine industry as standard equipment.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sammy]

Brian, the charge air cooler or intercooler hoses are available in different types of hose material - silicone,etc. Some are wire reinforced on the exterior of the hose, some have a molded hump in them.
I use a wider hose clamp with a built in tensioning spring on it for charge air cooler applications.
Check with your local truck parts house. Congrats on the fine job you've done.
Sammy 

[superpickle]

And he didnt even offer us a Ride 

Very happy for ya 

Paul....

[belfert]

It sounds like you will get outstanding fuel mileage at the RPMs you are running!  Congrats on getting this done in so little time.

I would love to have my RPMs even remotely close to yours at 70MPH on my Series 60.  I am seeing somewhere between 1600 and 1700 RPMs at 70MPH which is well above the recommended range for best fuel economy.  Of course, different engines are going to have different RPM ranges.  I believe the B500 in my bus is set up to downshift when the RPMs get below either 1400 or 1450 RPMs.  My 6th gear is not enabled because the engineers of my bus figured out the RPMs would drop too low most of the time when 6th gear would be engaged.

[H3Jim]

I wonder what it would take to enable 6th gear, thats one of the big benefites of having the series 60 and B500 World, is to be able to get that low RPM.

[prevost82]

All it would take is to go to DD and have them reprogram the tranny computer and set the sift point.
Ron

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Brian,

I can see how all that work was worth it now.

You have a really nice set-up!  Now, get out there and take a camping trip and enjoy all your hard work!

Nick-

[belfert]

All it would take is to go to DD and have them reprogram the tranny computer and set the sift point.

The local Detroit Diesel dealer basically refuses to enable 6th gear on my B500.  The tech said he can't do it without approval from the manufacturer of the vehicle.  MCI now employs two of the engineers who designed the Dina coach and they say that 6th gear was locked out due to low RPMs so it is unlikely MCI/Dina would approve the change.  The tech at DD also said that with 4.10 gearing I wouldn't get enough out of having 6th gear enabled.  He said if I had something higher like 4.88 or similiar it would make sense to do.

I decided that getting 6th gear enabled is not worth the $250 charge and the hassle of getting it approved.  I get 8 to 9 MPG now as it is.  Others with Dinas have reported even higher MPGS, but they have the 12.7L S60 instead of the 11.1L.  Sometimes larger engines get better MPG because the smaller engine is overtaxed.

[NEO/Russ]

Brian,

Just checking the numbers vs. two speed calculators I have.  Do you have a 3.07 (?) rear end ratio with a .74 O.D. in an Autoshift (?) and 11/22.5 tires(?).  Those numbers give the rpm's you're turning.  And if right, OptiTruck calculates that with a typical torque curve with a Series 60 you run out of power at 84mph - too fast for the tires anyway.

I like the lower rpm's too, engines last longer, less fuel and quieter.  I know the 8V's sound cool, but the 4-cycles have their advantage.

Russ

[Brian Diehl]

Hey Russ,
I have the 3.33 diff with a .73 O/D in the autoshift.  I run 12r22.5 tires.
How do those numbers work out?
BTW, this ISM is rated for 450 HP and 1450 torque, although I have no idea what I'm actually getting out of the engine.
-Brian

[TomC]

Brian Diehl-that works out to be 1473rpm at 75mph which is perfect! And you'll be able to use it.

Belfert- the 6th gear on the B500 is only used for high speed travel.  Allison does not want the transmission to go below 1,400rpm in 6th since it is a double overdrive.  So in your case, it would shift into 6th at close to 80mph and down shift back out at about 68mph.  Personally, don't think it's worth it.  Good Luck, TomC