Cummins 5.0L V8 for Nissan and commercial applications

[mgmetalworks]

You make some valid points and I can say that I share some of those concerns but only to a point.

The 7.3 and 6.0 diesels are loud, clangity, bangity, rattlin' SOBs. I can only think of two stock engines louder and more obnoxious than either of those. One would be the 6.9 Ford and the other is an old CAT engine nicknamed "The Buzzin' Dozen". 12 cylinders of eardrum busting, bowel shaking diesel wonder.

Technology has changed a bit...the new 6.7Ls are super smooth and quiet. I think it will still be what it is...a van with an engine half inside the cab...but the noise level increase of the 6.7L over the 5.4L isn't keeping me up at night with worry. I don't think it will be much different at all, especially after I redo my interior. I can't even hear my engine half the time now because the junky, cheapo interior panels squeak so damn much!

The weight is definitely going to change things but it can be dealt with. I plan on doing some suspension upgrades as soon as I know what the weight distribution is going to be.

One of my previous jobs involved a lot of interaction with stress testing engineers at the big three. The biggest driver of a lot of the testing we did was cost reduction. Or better put, how little money can we put into this part (or assembly) and how little effort can we expend in manufacturing and still have it perform to xxxxx level. Cars aren't designed to be great, they're designed to be good enough and cheap as possible. The E-series is definitely not getting the engineering love that something like the Mustang gets. You can tell they just throw them together and put as little effort into them as possible. There are parts on my new van that interchange with a '92 for crying out loud. If anything, I think that all the effort I'm putting into my van is making it better and more reliable.

I'm sure things will come up and have to be dealt with. It's all part of the process.

[daveb]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

The 7.3 and 6.0 diesels are loud, clangity, bangity, rattlin' SOBs.

One of the things I like about my 6.0...it doesn't sound like a sewing machine it sounds like a diesel

[witoke]

Let's face it though, reliability or not; doing something like this is worth doing because you can and because it's FUN! I think you'll end up with a much nicer van and having built it from the bottom up, you'll understand it better than anything you could buy off the showroom floor..

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by witoke

Let's face it though, reliability or not; doing something like this is worth doing because you can and because it's FUN! I think you'll end up with a much nicer van and having built it from the bottom up, you'll understand it better than anything you could buy off the showroom floor..

YES!!! Exactly!! I couldn't agree more!

[mgmetalworks]

I sent an inquiry into Cummins about using this 5.0L V8 for re-powering the E-series. I expected my email to go off into the abyss and never return but I got something back I didn't expect...an invitation to come in and chat about making it happen. I have a meeting in the next couple of weeks to discuss the feasibility of putting together a "conversion package" of some sort.

Going to focus our talks on the commercial version of the engine (the one destined for smaller sized motor homes) which will be in the 275hp/550ftlb range. Also plan to talk about transmission options but I suspect there will be limited options. Allison 6-speed most likely to be the top choice.

Thoughts? Do you think this is:

A) Definitely something you'd consider to keep your SMB going strong for years to come
or
B) Cool idea but probably going to be too expensive/not worth the investment
or
C) Stupid idea, I'll keep my 6.0 and take my chances

At this point, it is all just exploring possibilities. My expectations are pretty low going into this meeting...meaning, I'd be happy to get just a little more technical info on the engine. But you never know where things might lead. Re-powering an occasional SMB is a small niche and possibly not worth the effort but there are fleets of (insert medium duty application here) where it might make sense to re-power vs. buying new. We'll see where this goes...

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

...an invitation to come in and chat about making it happen.

Wow, I wouldn't expect that either.. But I'd go with B in your poll.

[Ford_6L_E350]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

Thoughts? Do you think this is:

A) Definitely something you'd consider to keep your SMB going strong for years to come
or
B) Cool idea but probably going to be too expensive/not worth the investment
or
C) Stupid idea, I'll keep my 6.0 and take my chances

If I hadn't just invested in a Ford longblock for my 6.0 I'd vote A. But I don't have the available money today.

Mike

[BroncoHauler]

My concern would be that smog certification issues would be far more difficult than the mechanics and electronics issues involved.

Definitely a cool idea though.


Herb

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

My concern would be that smog certification issues would be far more difficult than the mechanics and electronics issues involved.

Definitely a cool idea though.


Herb

The engine and after-treatment system together already meet emissions requirements...for certain applications. The classification of the vehicle might be a factor in this that makes things complicated though, I agree.

[mikracer]

I think this could be a good option for those with 6.0's that are in need of repair or that dont want to put the money into bulletproofing. Seems that putting upwards of $9k+ into bulletproofing is common and could be a good chunk of change to swap in a reliable motor. I don't even know what it would cost for something like this, but I think $9k to put into a motor just to make it reliable is crazy!