EVERY PROOF. TM DURABILITY. HIGH-MILEAGE ISX TEARDOWN
EVERY PROOF. DURABILITY. While Cummins 2002 engines have yet to reach their full life expectancy, Cummins has inspected multiple high-mileage cooled-egr engines. A teardown of the highest-mileage ISX engine, with nearly 600,000 miles (965,607 km), proves that the Cummins engine design with its cooled-egr subsystem not only meets dependability and durability goals, but is well on its way to surpassing the previous standard established by the bulletproof Cummins N14. This brochure contains unretouched photography and DVD footage showing key engine components from the teardown. High Mileage. Low Wear. In early 2005 Cummins engineers did a complete teardown on a high-mileage ISX engine owned by USA Truck, based out of Arkansas. This truck was used in a team operation logging over 200,000 miles (321,869 km) per year on a dedicated route. Engine Model: ISX SmartTorque Engine Serial Number: 79005693 Mileage: Oil Change Interval: Owner: 581,954 miles (936,564 km) 30,000 miles (48,000 km) using CI-4 oil USA Truck Key Indicators Of Durability. Cummins carefully analyzed all technologies and determined that cooled EGR is the right choice for the best performance, fuel economy, reliability and durability. Our ISX engine with cooled EGR is the industry leader in every aspect. Engine durability is defined by the engine overhaul point the life-to-overhaul. The need for an engine overhaul is reached when an engine has excessive engine wear, oil consumption or blowby. To determine this point, you need to look at both the base engine components and the combustion system wear. The Proof Is In The Parts. Following complete disassembly of this engine, individual components were scrutinized for scuffing, scratches, unusual wear patterns or discoloration anything that could potentially affect engine performance or durability down the road. Not a single component showed anything other than normal and expected wear. This engine could be reassembled and run for many, many more miles.
Base Engine Components. The main and rod bearings are built in three layers with different metals. When the outer layer wears through, the second layer of nickel starts to show. At this point, the bearings are designed to be at 50% of their life. On the main bearing of the ISX teardown engine, the nickel was just beginning to show at the 600,000-mile (965,607 km) mark, so you could reasonably double the mileage as a projected life-to-overhaul, and the rod bearings were not even to this point yet! Upper And Lower Main Bearings. Show normal wear with minor abrasions that would not affect the oil film thickness. Combustion Chamber Components. The cylinder liner, piston and piston rings have to function with absolute precision for an engine to function efficiently and durably. Any contamination issues will be quickly evident on these parts with extremely tight tolerances. The second ring is designed to show how much wear is taking place. It functions like an ice scraper, with a 2-degree taper keeping oil out of the combustion chamber. One of the things the service technician calculates is how much of the angled face is worn away to determine how long until the engine will need an overhaul. On this engine the ring was just starting to show wear at the 20%-25% mark, indicating that this piston ring set could go another 75%-80% more miles before needing an overhaul. Upper And Lower Rod Bearings. Taken from the #5 cylinder, they show only normal wear with two minor scratches on the lower rod bearing. Piston Rings. The chrome-plated top ring still maintains its radius with minimal wear. Good for many additional miles. Tapered second ring shows only 20% wear on an engine that already has close to 600,000 miles (965,607 km). Oil ring in near perfect condition. Connecting Rod. The upper pin bushing bore is critical because it takes 2800-psi cylinder pressure. Rods in the 02 ISX engine have an oil drilling that feeds oil up to the bushings, so they are in excellent condition. Monotherm Piston. No variance in color across the crown indicates uniform combustion for high efficiency and clean operation. The lack of carbon packing on the back of the top ring or on the second land between the top and second rings indicates that the top ring is functioning properly, sealing combustion gases inside the cylinder. The carbon above the top ring is perfectly normal for a high-mileage engine.
Cylinder Liner. Mid-stop cylinder design clamps liner firmly in place. No cavitation evident on exterior. Cross-hatch patterns from plateau honing still visible on interior. Induction-hardened liner shows no sign of bore polishing or unusual wear. EGR System Components. Cummins cooled-egr subsystem is designed to handle hot exhaust gas with an advanced design and materials. Our experts are pleased with its exceptional performance. EGR Valve. The EGR valve shown has been in operation for 309,000 miles (497,288 km) and shows no degradation or heat distortion. EGR Cooler. Passages are fully open on the inlet side. A thin layer of carbon deposits equal to exhaust manifold, with no loss in cooler efficiency, was observed. Intake Manifold. A normal and expected amount of carbon was present, similar to the exhaust manifold. The extra corrosion-inhibiting paint is performing well, with no aluminum corrosion evident. Every MPG. While assessing the long-term durability of this engine was the primary reason for the teardown, perfomance data captured from the ECM using PowerSpec clearly illustrates the value of a fuel economy spec and proves that Cummins is the fuel economy leader. The ISX engine in this truck featured a SmartTorque rating configured with a 10-speed direct transmission and 2.64 axle ratio. Load-Based Speed Control was enabled, along with Gear-Down Protection. Idle speed was locked in at 650 rpm, and vehicle speed was set for 63 mph. This truck was run almost continuously, resulting in a top gear percentage greater than 95% and idle time at 12%. The result: This engine was delivering 7.6 mpg overall, and 7.8 mpg on the road. Every Step. Ahead. The durability and dependability of our ISX engines are the result of years of planning, beginning back in 1998 with the introduction of the ISX engine with a high-pressure fuel injection system and dual overhead camshafts. We anticipated and planned our engine architecture to run cleanly, efficiently and with excellent durability with the addition of the cooled-egr subsystem in 2002. And we will continue to use this same engine architecture through 2007 and beyond. Cummins customers can have every confidence, knowing that they are getting an engine that will deliver the performance they expect. Every mile, for miles down the road.
Seeing Is Believing. The DVD included with this brochure shows the engine removal and disassembly process, as well as close-ups of critical components from crankshaft to the dual overhead camshafts to the power cylinder. It provides a more detailed look at this 2002 ISX engine with the cooled-egr subsystem. This video footage proves beyond question that Cummins technology provides the kind of durability you can depend on every day for years to come. Every Question. Answered. Service Network Cummins engines are backed by the strength of Cummins global network of over 5,500 service locations worldwide. Customer Assistance Center For technical assistance, service locations and product literature, call 1-800-DIESELS (1-800-343-7357). Cummins E-Mail For online assistance to Cummins-related questions, click on the Contact Us link in the header at www.everytime.cummins.com. Cummins Online Registration Register all your Cummins engines quickly and easily at www.everytime.cummins.com to ensure quality parts and service for your engine.
Cummins Inc. Box 3005 Columbus, IN 47202-3005 U.S.A. Phone: 1-800-DIESELS (1-800-343-7357) Fax: 1-800-232-6393 Internet: www.everytime.cummins.com Monotherm is a registered trademark of MAHLE, Inc. Cummins is a pioneer in product improvement. Thus specifications may change without notice. Illustrations may include optional equipment. Bulletin 4103867 Printed in U.S.A. 3/05 2005 Cummins Inc.