IH 274 opinion

The 274 can't match the older offsets for power long term. All you need do is look at the specs on that engine, it's a recipe for failure in a farm tractor. 99 cubic inches at 2,600 rpm, I'll bet it has to be at full throttle to top a 140. Every farm tractor manufacturer in history, that tried to obtain horse power from rpm rather than cubic inches, FAILED with that particular tractor.

Getting back to the diesels, it's been well known for years the efficiency in diesel lie in the fact they developed maximum torque at much lower rpm than gas tractors. Most of them hitting it at 1,500 rpm or lower. It cut down on engine wear, and it also created fuel efficiency. The guys in this thread are calling the 274 fuel efficient with 99 cubic inches turning 2,600 rpm. Had IH developed a 135 cubic inch 4 cylinder turning 1,800 rpm it would have burnt 1/2 as much fuel and we would never have heard tell of premature engine rebuilds.

In my opinion the whole farm equipment industry has gone the wrong direction in the past 35 years. They are all going for high rpm and lower cubic inches, to come up with a lighter engine. Unprecedented the number of pre 10,000 hour rebuilds. From a manufacturers point of view this is great, we wear the tractor out in 10 years and are back for another, and only getting 4,000 to 6,000 hours of service from them.

The trucking industry has gone the other direction, with most highway tractors turning 1,650 rpm at 65 mph and using big cubic inch. those guys are getting 20,000 to 30,000 hours on engines. We only get what we're willing to buy. If you think about the work being by those big diesels stacked aginst fuel consumption, compared to the smaller farm tractors, the tractors are a disaster. Heck our envoirnment depts shouldn't even allow these small modern engines to use oxygen. But then, the same can be said for the truck when comparing it against the locomotive.

Wouldn't you say that the trucking industry has followed the smae path, more or less? They do get long life out of the engines, but their power to weight ratio has grown considerably in the last 30 years too. I mean, 20 years ago 350-400 was big power out of an NTC-855 Cummins, and now they're taking the N14's (same displacement) to 500-600. M11's are common where NTC's used to be used. They're getting 400 from an M11, whereas the L10 never went much above 300. Used to be if you wanted much more than 400 horse you'd be going to the big KTA-1150. You won't find too much of that displacement on the road today.
I do agree though that they are getting the long life from them, and a lot of that is from running at 1600 rpm, but also better oils, tighter tolerances, and tighter engine controls.

Rod

I put roughly 750,000 km on one of the most mickey mouse diesels man ever created, that being a 6.2 Chevy, and the only thing I ever replaced on that engine were injectors, glow plugs and timer, injection pump and water pump. It gave me 30 miles per imp gallon, why, because it had a 3.24 axle ratio and turned roughly 1,800 rpm at 100 kph. My neighbor had 4.10 axle, got 14 mpg, and it blew up at 125,000 km.

The automotive industry boasts about all the improvments they've made in the past 50 years, why to hear them talk you've think the modern day exhaust was improving our air. Here in Ontario, the government spent millions on emissions testing, yes it's a bigger scam than NS annual safety inspection. The only vehicles it's taking off the road are ones that are destined to blow up in 3 months anyhow, but they convinced folks they have clean air. If the vechicle isn't burning excessive motor oil it will pass, border line and you dump a 1/2 gallon of methyl hydrate into your last tank of gas before test and it will pass. The rest blow up in 3 months.

When I was 16, my dad had a 57 Chevy sedan, 6 cylinder, today I have a Buick Lesabre sedan, 6 cylinder, highway the chevy got 26 mpg, same with the Buick. They both weigh about the same. I can only assume they each consume the same amount of oxygen to burn that gas, thus they must belch out the same exhaust.

Just totally unbelieveable what the spin doctors have convinced society has been good for them in the past 50 years. Now they are trying to convince the trucking industry they are going to successfully run a Cummins diesel at 250 degrees F. That should be a hoot.

I wouldn't argue the speeed thing with you. Fully agree.
I'm not going to get into what I think of the GM light diesels either. That'll only start a war.

Nova Scotia has gotten more retarted about safety inspection too. Just starting this month, all brake drums will be pulled to inspect brakes, and inspectioin fees have gone up to help cover it. The shops are already screaming about that because they say the fee won't cover their time. I smell a lot of bad shoes coming on.....
That's going to be murder on commercial vehicles with all the labor to pull those bloody drums. For what? Here comes the safety nanny. I'll leave it at that before I get mad....

Dunno about the Cummins at 250. But ya know something? I know a fella down here that had an '89 Eagle with a 3406 ...probably "B" Cat. He bought the truck on the road, in the states, when he was running for Global. That truck ran hot from the day he got it. 220-230 was plum normal. 250 wasn't unheard of. It bothered him, in as much as anything bothered this fella. Cat went over it and over it. Checked gauges, verified it WAS correct. Tried and tried to find why it was running so hot. They never did. He sold the truck to his cousin, and he ran her a few years hauling cattle. That old Cat started rapping on him coming over Mt. Thom one Friday with a load of machinery, going into the sale barn for the fall consignment sale. He dropped the trailer and drove the old dog over to Nova's boneyard in Brookside. Engine done, top 2 missing from a 13 RR. All that was left was a pair of 40000 # Rockwells which he had put under her. The odometer read a little over 2 million MILES (US truck). The only work ever done to that engine was a head set. The bottom end and the cylinders were never touched, and she was still a good tight starting engine. He thinks a wrist pin went bad because she never lost pressure either. This on an engine he never thought would last the day out... So, running them warm may not be such a bad thing.... Time will tell I guess.

Rod

Old Boss Hogg in Musq. once bought 500 of those struts that go on a lot of small cars, $5. a strut in a bankruptcy sale. Man was there a lot of cars in the area needed struts, following that purchase.

Rod