Series 50 into DD-equipped bus???

[Oonrahnjay]

     I have it in my head that someone made a comment in the past few days about someone who installs Series 50 4-stroke diesels into buses with 2-stroke engines.  Maybe in PA?  Am I correct on this or do I need to think about buses less and not eat ham sandwiches before bed?
     Anybody??   Thanks,   BH

[pabusnut]

Bruce,

That might be Bernhard's Bus in Quakertown, PA.  I am probably a little over an hour from there, but have never been there.
I think they have a website showing a build.  Isn't there a guy in NC not too far from you who installed a series 50 in Boomer's bus?

Now -- STEP AWAY from the sandwiches SLOWLY----And NO BUSSES WILL BE HARMED!!!

[RJ]

Steve -

Gene Russell in NC installed a DDEC 6-71T into Boomer's Silverside, not an S-50.  Gene's got the same engine in his Silversides, too.

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Oonrahnjay]

Bruce,  ...  Now -- STEP AWAY from the sandwiches SLOWLY----And NO BUSSES WILL BE HARMED!!!

       And nobody can say that you don't get good advice on this forum!    

       Thanks, Steve - I'm pretty sure that Bernard's was what I was thinking.  I've got some electrical questions and I'll check out what they've done.  I appreciate the help.   BH

[blue_goose]

Bruce I have put in 4 of the series 50 and help with some more.  What do you need.
Jack

[TomC]

Series 50 sounds like a good idea on paper. And in real life, they are an excellent engine for a bus. But-the Series 50 has twin counter rotating balancing shafts under the crankshaft that need to be replaced every 300,000 miles. These balancing shafts are getting harder to find. And the block and heads are not being made anymore (as compared to the Series 60 that is still in production for marine, off highway use).
Years ago, Freightliner put the Series 50 into their FL106. A short hood medium duty truck that the expediters really loved for the power and fuel economy. This is the same hood length that the Cummins ISC/ISL fit into. The Series 50 is an 8.5 liter engine (12.7 liter Series 60 with 2 cylinders taken off). The maximum power from a Series 50 is 350hp and 1,100lb/ft torque-about the same as a healthy 6V-92TA, but much more fuel efficient. An RV rated Cummins ISL is rated at 400hp and 1250lb/ft torque. Since the Cummins is still in production, puts out more power and is considerable shorter, my choice would be the ISL. Good Luck, TomC

[RJ]

Since the Cummins is still in production, puts out more power and is considerable shorter, my choice would be the ISL.

Tom -

Is the ISL shorter than the S-50?

RJ

[Geoff]

What is fuel mileage per gallon on a Series 50?  I get 8 mpg with my 350 HP 6V92TA at highway speeds and I bet I could get 10 mpg if I went 62 mph @ 1800 rpm's.  A lot of my good fuel mileage has to do with the streamlined design of the RTS.  The engineers at General Motors went all out when they designed the RTS.  The bus was put in a wind tunnel and the design included low wind resistance.  But I am getting off topic.

--Geoff

[luvrbus]

I have friend with a series 50 in the RTS a factory install he gets 8.7 MPG with a 4:10 gear
The people I know with the ISM or M11  Cummins engines in Eagles are around 8 mpg at 60 mph.Some are a little better with the B400 2 overdrive transmissions and most only use the first overdrive (5th gear) to keep the transmission from hunting

[Oonrahnjay]

... my good fuel mileage has to do with the streamlined design of the RTS.  ...
--Geoff 

    Unless you'd consider two cinder blocks stacked together having "streamlined design", I can forget about all that.  IYKWIM ...   

[Oonrahnjay]

Bruce I have put in 4 of the series 50 and help with some more.  What do you need.
Jack

    Thanks, Jack.  Will you be home this evening?  I'll give you a call, if that's OK (I have your number).  Or later is OK, too.  Best wishes,  BH

[CrabbyMilton]

Series 50 sounds like a good idea on paper. And in real life, they are an excellent engine for a bus. But-the Series 50 has twin counter rotating balancing shafts under the crankshaft that need to be replaced every 300,000 miles. These balancing shafts are getting harder to find. And the block and heads are not being made anymore (as compared to the Series 60 that is still in production for marine, off highway use).
Years ago, Freightliner put the Series 50 into their FL106. A short hood medium duty truck that the expediters really loved for the power and fuel economy. This is the same hood length that the Cummins ISC/ISL fit into. The Series 50 is an 8.5 liter engine (12.7 liter Series 60 with 2 cylinders taken off). The maximum power from a Series 50 is 350hp and 1,100lb/ft torque-about the same as a healthy 6V-92TA, but much more fuel efficient. An RV rated Cummins ISL is rated at 400hp and 1250lb/ft torque. Since the Cummins is still in production, puts out more power and is considerable shorter, my choice would be the ISL. Good Luck, TomC

[CrabbyMilton]

I pushed the wrong button. Tom pretty much said it all but I will just add that on top of everything else, the S50 was a rough running engine which could be a turn off. But if you can live with the noise and the fact that's it's no longer built, it may be a good deal but I'm partial to CUMMINS for obvious reason$$$$

[luvrbus]

Cummins had a massive recall on the ISL 400 hp back in 2006,2007 or 2008 I forgot the excact year but some where in that time frame for throwing rods through the block.
A lot of people were pissed Cummins would repair the problem for free and Cummins left it up to the manufacture of the RV to notify the owners of the recall which some didn't so they were tagged with the name "ComeAPart"for a few years     

[Utahclaimjumper]

  I get a solid 10 MPG from my 8.3 mechanical with a 30K coach.>>>Dan