State Your Engine Problem Areas

[Don Bradner]

It probably matters a great deal which Cat, which Cummins, which DD. In my last
three coaches I've had Cat (3126B), Cummins (ISL), and DD (8V92TA). The Cat had
been abused/poorly maintained by the previous owner, and had its share of
troubles including oil leaks, a seized idler pulley that disintegrated and
caused a lot of grief, etc. The Cummins was far and away the highest
power/weight ratio I've experienced - 370HP on 30K including toad. It ran well
for 63,000 miles, but did experience a cracked exhaust manifold, turbo that was
discovered to be coming apart when the manifold was removed, and fuel leaks from
the pump accumulator (twice). It got the best mileage of the 3, at 8.3MPG
average for the 63K miles.

I worried most about the DD before getting it, because there are a lot of
negatives written about the 2-stroke engines. I suspect it is actually the most
rugged engine I've had so far, with the most significant difffernece being that
the much more modern computers in the Cummins, with the Allison 3000, would keep
the vehicle owner from doing overly bad things that are possible with an older
engine. Includes over-revving and over-heating. So far through 4K miles this one
has been trouble-free, and is averaging about 5.2MPG.

Don Bradner
90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
Posting today by Satellite from Golden, Colorado

On 9/21/2007 at 6:15 PM bingomaster05 wrote:

>Hi All,
>
> I could easily ask which of the big three engines is the best, Cat.,
>Cummins or DD..but I won't. Naturally each owner will speak of the
>virtues of their particular engine. Therefore, I would like to know
>the problem areas with each engine. You as owners know what they are;
>pesky leaks, hard to work on, uses oil ect... By getting info on the
>weaknesses of each motor, helps me to decide which is really the best
>powerplant. I know that I will get a ton of response to this post,
>you guys have the best forum with the most knowledgable members. Also,
>does the MPG change with the powerplant? Thanks till next time.
>
>Dan Thomas
>Central PA
>Really Wannabe