Question for Detroit Diesel guys

Are there any of their motors that are worth considerably more than others? I've got a great running 6-53 I believe that's in a truck and just wondering if the engine is worth more than the truck. The small one in my Oliver 1900 is a screamer and leaker for sure, but this 6-53 is dry and runs awesome. I guess I should spill the whole beans, it's a fire truck. Do the pumps, rear ends, etc. and other equipment have any value besides scrap? I sure like the old siren, kids do also. The tires are 22.5's and better than my semi, time to do some swapping.

I think an old fire truck that works would be worth more leaving it complete. Find a sprint car(dirt track) track or a motocross looking for a good water truck. The 6-53's were screamers for sure and generally aren't considered as good as the 71 series engines.

I heard the hyd pumps in them old fire trucks fit an HD6 dozer

Back when I drove truck I was always told if you had a troit the first thing you need to do was slam you finger in the door that way you would be mad at the truck from the get go and you would then in turn run it that way. And over the years I found that was always true you have to run them like you where trying to blow them up or they did not run well. Bu that said give me a cummans any day of the week in a truck

Just a rant... I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite. To say one's better than another doesn't cut it for me. They were all designed for a given horsepower class, and I've had good luck with all of them. Although antiquated, the 6V-53 was a handy little engine to fit between the gunwales of your favorite medium-duty truck. We have one in our '75 Ford LN-800, and while it has the power to twist off axle shafts regularly, it still gets 9.5 MPG loaded. Regarding your Oliver, I don't know what engine you have, but incorrectly routed air box drains make a big mess when the fan blows the drainage all over the place. Same for air box covers. Crispy valve cover gaskets and blower-to-block gaskets (6V-53) are common sources for lube oil loss. Fritz

I was hoping it was a 6-71, but I haven't been able to tell and all the books say it is a 6-53. But I don't know what to believe for sure, I think half of the old truck files for the fire dept came with this truck. I've got detailed instructional manuals for a whole bunch of other trucks besides this one. Guess it was time to clean house.

super dave how about some sites,references,quotes on this so called info that the 53's are not as good as the 71's al

Think the oliver is a 4-53. Thanks for the help. It's definitely a leaker. Everyone says I need to run it wide open and that'd help. Just wasn't raised that way, have a hard time doing it. I can't believe this 6-53 in the truck. It's as dry as a bone under there. No leaks. I think you could climb down in the engine compartment to work on it. It's a cab over and the engine sets way back, behind the seats even.

Old
i'm with you on that drive them like you are made at them.
each stroke is a power stroke so it sounds like you are running them harder than you really are.
they do slobber a lot, there was some kind of simple fix to that though al

If it's a "Straight" 6 it's not a 53 series.
53 series,(53 cubic inch per cylinder) was made
in V6 version only.

Easy way to tell if it's a 53 or 71.
53 series have screws holding the valve covers on around the edges.71's have the hand screw in the center of the valve covers.

Perhaps the fact that the 6-71 was produced in much greater numbers and had a longer production run should tell something? I know one of the first guys to run hydraulic excavators for pipeline. Had 5 P&H H418 hoes and 1 1250(upgraded 418). They all had 6-53's in them. Major overhaul at 3000 hours. He also had experience with 6-71's and knew a lot people in the construction business who all said the same thing. He also said the 3208 Cat was OK in a truck application but a bad choice to put in an excavator. That would explain why Cat 225's were never as common as 235's and 245's. It's also generally agreed that the inline 6-71's are better than than the V6 models. The 8-92's weren't the best Detroit engines either. The Silver 92's were better but still not considered as reliable as the 71's. The 6-71 is a good work horse and so is the 12-71. I think the 8-71 is pretty good too but not quite as much.

No, 53 series was not only a V type. Oliver used the 4 53 in the 1900 tractor. That said, 2 cycle diesels don't have torque down low like a 4 cycle does.

... but I think when they go to 6 holes they're all V-block design. 4-53 I think was the largest inline 53. 6-71 was the largest inline 71.
Another option to consider in this case... if it's in a fire truck, particularly a 'custom' chassis rather than a commercial chassis... it could be a 6-92. Fire trucks required big power in a small package and often used 92's for that purpose.

Rod

Just as i thought just your opinion.
al

It should be worthing something parting it out. When I was looking at picking up a mini-pumper, three guys were bugging me for the 350gpm water pump before I got the truck.

As for the rest of the truck, don"t know.

Rick

An in-line lube oil leak is most commonly above the top of the block. Governor linkage tube, V.C. gasket, small block-off plate on opposite side of head (so head can be used on either bank of 8V-53), but my gut feeling says it's the perimeter seal,got to pull the head for that one. Clean it up real good so you can see where it's leaking. I would like to hear the reasoning why running it wide open would help an oil leak. It would help only to make you deaf. Fritz.

There is no more delightful sound in this world than the howl of a 318 with dual stacks... unless you have a 238 in a mixer truck... two 238's side by side in a Terex push tractor... I can't make up my mind!!

I must respectfully disagree with the claim of 6V-53's needing a major at 3000 hrs. This is just plain hogwash. Remove the blower every 3K and put new gaskets under it? Absolutely. If there was a weak point in this engine, it was the thrust bearing.(and the blower gaskets). If a conventional clutch with high release pressure was used, the brass pins used to secure the thrust washer would shear off and the washer would spin in the block. This condition could go for years unnoticed. We bought an abused 6V-53 form the salvage yard to put in that LN-800 I keep yapping about; this engine spent much of it's life in an overspeed condition due to the throttle lever stop in the governor cover being worn out. Eventually ,it started knocking, found out later the crankshaft broke. Inverted the engine, with the heads still on it,lay a used crank in there, new rod & mains, re-install engine. This was back around '81 or '82, and I still put blower gaskets in it about every 15-20K miles. Another example of high-time 6V-53's is our '85 Koehring C366. Electronic hour meter checked out at 4500 hrs and the Hobbs meter I installed in the engine compartment reads 3787 hrs. So you can see why I think that friend of yours is not quite flush with the facts. Fritz.