Just as the title says. What are the reasons the general populus thinks Cummins engines so great? I'm indifferent either way. I'm completely satisified with my DMax and probably wouldn't switch to a different manufacturer unless the quality went down significantly. Just curious.
Why are Cummins engines considered so "good."
- Thread starter cdub0451
- Start date
Inline 6 cylinder engine.
More cubes per bore.
Much longer stroke.
Less moving parts
Class B Industrial strength- same engine is used in B class dump trucks.
Everything is cast iron or steel
More HP per cube
More TQ per cube
Less RPM Needed Reach peak TQ or HP--used to be anyway.
Much brauder power band
Known to be the most reliable diesel engine in the truck 's for the last almost 20 years
Way cheaper to fix, and way easyer to work on!
More cubes per bore.
Much longer stroke.
Less moving parts
Class B Industrial strength- same engine is used in B class dump trucks.
Everything is cast iron or steel
More HP per cube
More TQ per cube
Less RPM Needed Reach peak TQ or HP--used to be anyway.
Much brauder power band
Known to be the most reliable diesel engine in the truck 's for the last almost 20 years
Way cheaper to fix, and way easyer to work on!
Cam dowel pin issue was a problem on some motors as was certain year blocks that were known to crack. What year or type they were is beyond me though, heard that a few years ago so I dunno if its even true.
That's debatable. I might agree with you on the old 12 valves, but the electronics they use on the 24 valves are garbage. Most of the stuff on that list isn't really much of a bonus. The biggest benefit I see to the Cummins over the Duramax is the bottom end of a stock Cummins is much stronger than a stock Duramax. Again, this applies more to the older trucks than the newer ones, but even still, they are stronger.
I think you're talking about the infamous Killer Dowel Pin. I think that was limited to 12v motors.
Until a certain level they are slower per mod than the Duramax, Smoke a ton more, and are the loudest of all diesels with straight through exhausts! As tunning has eveloved the Duramax seems to be realiable with good power. Cummins probably lives longer since you have to drive them slower because of the truck it's put in lol!
i think they have the rep of being so great because it had been the 5.9 cummins from 89 to 06, even though they changed drastically it was still a 5.9 cummins to the general public. and you have to remember what gm and ford were offering for a diesel in the years 89-00.... the cummins was far superior for almost all of those years, the 7.3 being 2nd but still the 7.3 was only good stock. and i wouldnt even consider the 6.9 ford, 6.2 gm, or 6.5 to be worth noting.
i owned a 12v for 40k miles, was a good truck but i wouldnt go back. my duramax starts at -37 without being plugged in.
another rumor i never understood was that guys always say the cummins gets the best mpg out of all the trucks. i consistently get 18mpg in my dmax and often times 19-21, i only ever saw 19 once in my 12v and was typically in the 15-17 range. both my dmax and cummins were extra cab short beds so no major differences.
i owned a 12v for 40k miles, was a good truck but i wouldnt go back. my duramax starts at -37 without being plugged in.
another rumor i never understood was that guys always say the cummins gets the best mpg out of all the trucks. i consistently get 18mpg in my dmax and often times 19-21, i only ever saw 19 once in my 12v and was typically in the 15-17 range. both my dmax and cummins were extra cab short beds so no major differences.
You guys are good at that when the injectors melt the motor down in stock form on a regular basis.
12 valves? Yes. 24 valve and common rail? No.
Theres no reason a duramax wouldnt be just as reliable as a common rail cummins. You dont ever see duramax engines that are just straight mechanically "worn out". Its always the little electronic/complicated crap "on top" of the motor that either breaks, or fails to the point where it takes out the bottom end.
If you put a mechanical pump on a duramax, got rid of all the "crap", and detuned it to 160hp it would last just as long as any 12 valve.
I'll add to a couple of the points made.
Josh had it right on the electronics. The 24v and CR have some shit components. The ECM is like a blonde waitress; hard-working but dumb as shit. The harnesses must be Dodge/Ram produced because they are crap.
Mileage? If you have them at the same power level as a Duramax; they get shit for mileage. I don't care what Cummins you are talking about.
On that note Ben was right on. The Cummins was so under rated people went nuts over being able to do so much with such "small" motor. That small was people talking about the 145-160HP 6BTs.
They pop head gaskets A LOT!! It's easier to replace the head gaskets, though. So it seems someone knew they would need to be cheap and readily available.
The 24 has injection pump issues. Trust me I keep an extra VP44 with me but it looks like I actually need to put it in now; 132K miles.
Injectors are an issue with the CR models. They rarely make it 100K around here. OF course there are lots of Duramax around here with the same issue. We have some shitty dirty fuel here.
Josh had it right on the electronics. The 24v and CR have some shit components. The ECM is like a blonde waitress; hard-working but dumb as shit. The harnesses must be Dodge/Ram produced because they are crap.
Mileage? If you have them at the same power level as a Duramax; they get shit for mileage. I don't care what Cummins you are talking about.
On that note Ben was right on. The Cummins was so under rated people went nuts over being able to do so much with such "small" motor. That small was people talking about the 145-160HP 6BTs.
They pop head gaskets A LOT!! It's easier to replace the head gaskets, though. So it seems someone knew they would need to be cheap and readily available.
The 24 has injection pump issues. Trust me I keep an extra VP44 with me but it looks like I actually need to put it in now; 132K miles.
Injectors are an issue with the CR models. They rarely make it 100K around here. OF course there are lots of Duramax around here with the same issue. We have some shitty dirty fuel here.
Here's the problem. you guys are talking a "off the showroom" comparison to a chipped, and turbo'ed injector comparison....
Off the floor they do not fail like your suggesting, when left stock they have the advantages i listed. when you add fuel and a stupid owner anything is possible.
of the hundreds i've worked on, i do know of ONE Basket case dodge, and i mean, black cloud, stock truck that just keeps finding stuff to break.
Bone stock truck 240k
5 turbo's
3 engines
2 wire harness's
2 ecm's
2 transmissions
One rear end
multiple injectors
several set of rotors
brakes
IC hose
Dealer did all the work except for the last turbo, and soon to be the last engine.....
Off the floor they do not fail like your suggesting, when left stock they have the advantages i listed. when you add fuel and a stupid owner anything is possible.
of the hundreds i've worked on, i do know of ONE Basket case dodge, and i mean, black cloud, stock truck that just keeps finding stuff to break.
Bone stock truck 240k
5 turbo's
3 engines
2 wire harness's
2 ecm's
2 transmissions
One rear end
multiple injectors
several set of rotors
brakes
IC hose
Dealer did all the work except for the last turbo, and soon to be the last engine.....
I like the Cummins.... but the only thing I am actually jealous off is how easy they are to work on.
I generally like inline engines for several reasons, but I have grown to really like our shorter stroked v8 and the way it will breathe and rev with stock heads/cam is pretty awesome!
The Cummins has a solid trac record but nothing is perfect!
I generally like inline engines for several reasons, but I have grown to really like our shorter stroked v8 and the way it will breathe and rev with stock heads/cam is pretty awesome!
The Cummins has a solid trac record but nothing is perfect!
Bullshit. I work at a diesel shop, and I have seen plenty of stock trucks driven by old men who have failures. I'm not saying they're giant pieces of shit, but to claim they are the most reliable thing on the road is a bit misleading. I can't tell you how many sets of injectors I have put in a CR Cummins. Way more than I have any Duramax. Seems they like to get really high return rates and not start once they get some miles on them. I've also seen a lot of FCA (fuel pressure regulator for the Duramax folks) failures. We have replaced a few ECMs. Various sensors such as throttle position, rail pressure, MAP, etc. Not to mention lift pumps and injection pumps on the old VP44 24 valves.
Face it, the electronically controlled Cummins engines are no more reliable than than any of the Duramaxes out there (and some might argue they are less reliable). I still agree they are able to take much more abuse than a Duramax stock for stock, but like Bombdoc said, they do pop head gaskets a lot easier. I will also give you that the old 12 valves probably are more reliable than the Duramax, but I think that is just the nature of an overengineered mechanical system. A medium duty engine in a light duty application should live a looooong time.