855 Cummins engine question

Howard H.

Well-known Member
Hi All -

Been looking for an engine for a 895 Versatile project tractor I bought a while back.

Found an IH 9670 cabover semi at a local sale last month with a 400 hp big cam III engine. It had been setting for 6-7 years with cab up and the starter off, but all the relatives kept saying "he was using it until the starter quit". So I got it dirt cheap and found a brand new starter in the cab.

We put the starter on, put 1 walmart new battery on it, checked all fluids, etc, and I was amazed when it started right up the instant we hit the button just to test. No smoke and it purred as good as you could ask for.

After 2-3 minutes running and of checking around it started slowing down and died.

Come to find out, the fuel filter was empty and we found the fuel line was only hand tight at the filter housing on the pump on the engine.

So we refilled the filter, primed the line (I've done plenty before like that), but when we went to start it again, it won't turn over. Even with two batteries now, it just barely will turn.

I can turn the engine by hand by the fan, but it is not easy. It feels like the starter is pulling loads of juice - it can very slowly turn the engine, but the cables start heating pretty quick.

Does anyone have any ideas why it won't turn over now?? Could/should I try dumping some oil in the intake manifold and lubing up the cylinders? Could something have gotten "dry" while sitting... as easy as it fired up the first try, I thought I was home free!!

I've put tons of hours in over these old Cummins, but never have overhauled one myself.


Thanks for any ideas,
Howard
 
2x on the oil pressure?? Did you check the oil pan for water? The engine "should" be fairly water tight. Those COE dipsticks and oil fills were a little funky and setting with the cab up you never know. As a second guess I would also be suspect of the starter. Those old Cummins were pretty bullet proof.
 
had one act like that once and ended up brg was seized in the a/c compressor. might try take the belts off & see what happens.
 
I had one that had been sitting for a couple of years in an International cabover. Don't remember the exact details, as I bought it from a diesel repair shop who had overhauled the engine and had no further use for it. Only problem I had was contaminated fuel tanks. A case of fuel filters later, that problem was gone. Good strong engine, just a short power curve. Mine was about 300 rpm (out of 0-1800 as I recall) so it took a 15 speed tranny to keep her rollin.
 
With the BIG cam engines and the TOP STOP injectors it could have knocked the tip off one of them and if they do that it does not take long to score a liner and seeze her up . Setting for that long you could have started her on dry bearings and possibly spun a bearing . Myself i would be pulling the heads and pan off and inspecting bearings and liners . A Gskt set is cheap . Then you will want to also change the fuel pump from and AUTOMOTIVE to and industrial constant speed pump . Then there may be a cam timing change needed . OLD Cummins injectors on small cams set different the big cam injectors and only take around 4-5 INCH POUNDS . Then ya have to figure out what ya have as to is it a Formula or a Reg. Big cam . I think and again i think the Big cam 111 were low flow engines on the cooling . Myself if i was to do a swap like this i would be more inclined to go with a Big Cam 1 or my preference a Small cam probably because i know them better.
 
Thanks for the advice, fellows...

Yes, I made sure there was no water in the pan and as soon as it popped off, I hopped up in the cab and the low-medium-high pressure gauge showed about halfway at medium.

That's a good idea on a/c compressor. I had a mag one time that locked up and sheared all the teeth off a cast iron timing gear.

I bought it on the idea of putting a lot in it anyway, but when it sounded so good when it started I thought I'd won the lottery.



Howard
 
If there was an internal seizure enough to stall it, I doubt you could turn it with the fan. Maybe you got the last start out of the starter before it shorted out.
 
How bad was the fuel? Do you have a good ground on the starter? My 310 Steiger had ground problems every so often gronding to the motor.
 
Ah yea ya can if it scored a liner , Got a call one evening to go down to the local I H truck store as they had a problem , They were rebuilding my one friends 78 4300 with the big cam 400 after he hit a broken sping leaf that another truck flipped up and it went thru his oil pan on one of the mountains and before he could get off the road the lose of oil trashed his engine . The dealer sent the hook and brought it back home and they did and out of chassis rebuild , New crank line bore you name it they did it . what there ace mechanic did not know was how to set the injectors on a big cam and he did them the same as a small cam and he knocked the tips off all six injectors and while it was idling she seezed up , BUt let it set for say fifteen min it would start and run and seeze again . when i got there they started it up for me to listen to it and it seezed up once again and i asked Jerry how he set the injectors and when he told me i looked at him and said tear her down and get six new kits and six injectors and call me when your ready to run the over head and i will come down and do it . two days later i ran the overhead and it went out the door .
 
Depending on the size of the batteries there may not be enough juice to turn it since you now probably have more compression from the new oil lubrication on the cylinders also the cables may be to small if they were changed out.
As for a Cummins I never liked them anyway. Since I had to put one together that got half done, and the guy left. Just stuck all the shims for the cam followers in with silicone so I had none to work with when timing came time to do.
 

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