The Cummins 6BT Engine or more commonly known as the Cummins 5.9 Engine is one of the most popular light to medium duty truck engines ever made. The engine was first manufactured in 1988. Contrary to popular believe the Dodge Ram was probably not the first vehicle to use it, with the T244 launching earlier that year.
Killer Dowel Syndrome (KDS)
There's a lot of debate about the Cummins 5.9 Killer Dowel Syndrome. There are definitely cases where the dowel between the engine and timing cover comes loose, falls into the engine and causes chaos. However, DAF owners have not reported this happening, and inspection of the dowel shows it's still… Read More
Cleaning the Engine
Having removed the engine, now came the extensive job of cleaning the engine. 30-years of grease, sand, mud and paint jobs is not an ideal base for painting. Thus, begun the task of using multiple types of degreasers, general cleaning products, steam cleaning and plenty of elbow grease! Read More
Lifting the Engine
Whilst reviewing the parts needed to finish the engine overhaul, my engine guru (Pete from Lil' Pete's Service and Repair) pointed out that it'd only take removing 8 more bolts and we could lift the engine out completely. Sounded like a crazy idea initially but with winter coming I knew… Read More
Radiator and Heater Core
A radiator works by flowing the coolant through 100s of small fins that have a massive surface area, allowing air to lower the temperature. Unfortunately, this also allows a huge amount of sand to get stuck, as illustrated by the photo above. After rinsing out all the sand it was… Read More
Coolant Thermostat
Having dismantled the coolant intake, it was obvious we needed to replace the gasket and o-ring, so decided to buy a complete kit that included the Thermostat (Cummins part 3802273). Read More
Boost Pin
The Bosch VE Injector comes with a guide pin and diaphragm that restrict the fuel delivery until there is sufficient air to burn the fuel. Replacing the guide pin increases the fuel delivery for the same boost pressure, thus improve your engine performance. That adds around 30hp and 50 lb-ft… Read More
Cummins 60lb Valve Springs
When you install an exhaust brake you also need to upgrade the valve springs. This is done to ensure they stay closed when the brake is active. The brake stops the engine expelling air through the exhaust, so it increases the overall pressure inside the engine. The recommendation is to… Read More
Water Pump
We replaced the water pump (which pumps coolant around the engine) with a new Cummins 3285410 Water Pump. Importantly this is not the standard one (on the right), but a heavy duty one (on the left) that has the shroud covering the turbines. It's not clear from discussions on The… Read More
Flywheel
Whilst cleaning the engine, ready for painting, I got a little concerned about the amount of rust on the flywheel. After removing it, I noticed some pretty extensive heat cracks, but thought they could be removed by having it resurfaced. So, I took it to Seattle Brake and Clutch, who… Read More
