On my way to elk camp I developed a whine from the engine. I presumed it was the vacuum pump failing and removed the belt to install my non-vacuum pump belt. While the belt was off I started the motor to verify the noise was belt driven, it wasn't, pointing to a gear noise. Due to my remote location I drove the truck 15 miles to camp, 45 miles closer than town. I shut the truck down and waited. Two days later I started the truck and the noise was present instantly and got much louder when the oil pressure came up, I have a real gauge. This further led me, and my mechanic, the believe it was the gear train. We decided I should have it towed, and my insurance covered the tow (what a PITA) 255 miles to the shop. The truck got delivered yesterday and the mechanic got the timing cover off today, and it's amazing I made it to camp. The oil pump housing broke right where the idler gear is. The broken housing caused the gear to contact the housing and allowed the gear to run crooked and damage the crank gear. Somehow the cam gear also has a broken tooth, probably from a piece of the broken housing contacting the gears. The oil filter was full of metal, some of which was copper colored. The magnet in the pan had some metal on it, but not overly fuzzy. The big questions are how much metal got thru the filer? I run a 15um filter vs the OEM 40um filter. How much contaminated oil splashed up on the crank and cylinders while I was driving after the failure? I probably put about 45-60 minutes of run time on it from when I heard the noise. Before hearing the noise I was doing 30-50 on a dirt road with mud tires, the noise could have been masked for several miles. What else is damaged that we cannot see?The engine is coming out this week.. time will tell how far we tear it down. But probably all the way if it's out. I will be rebuilding it with QSB early CR pistons and nozzles. I have 93k miles and 2800 hours on the motor, surely no where near soon enough for this kind of failure. I bought a Cummins because they don't this!!Have any of you seen this before? My mechanic hasn't. Sorry, no photos yet. I wasn't thinking about that when I got to the shop. On a positive note I had a great week with my dad and brother, and filled my elk and deer tags.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j156/ah64id/trucks/Cummins/Video.mp4

Is this something I can't open???

  dorkweed said:

Is this something I can't open???

Its a video on photobucket but the embed code photobucket uses doesn't seem to work with this forum. Here's a regular link: Video here

So you got it back together?

Back in the saddle again!Congrats. What all did you end up doing to it?Is there going to be any Christmas cheer in your household this year?

Garr! You did not show us the in process pictures!

Sorry about the link, I didn't realize it wouldn't work. I have some in-progress photos and others on my camera, just haven't had the time to post them. It is back together, alive, and I drove it to work today.Basic rundownBalanced and BlueprintedFlywheel BalancedFluidamprMarine PistonsMarine MLS headgasket (~16.8:1)BBi Stage 1 InjectorsHamilton 178/208 CamHamilton 103# valve springsHamilton HD 24V pushrodsNew 1.3" TappetsNew water pumpNew 190° thermostatNew Vacuum pumpNew serpentine beltNew throwout bearingNew pilot bearingRadiator flushed/cleaned/testedLet me tell you this thing is SMOOTH, SMOOTH, SMOOTH. Between the balanced rotating assembly, better injectors, and fluidampr it is smoother cold than it was warm. It drives great, I am taking it easy on her thou and figuring out the tune. My tune is very conservative for now until I get some miles on her and see how she reacts to the MY03 piston/bowl design vs the OE design.All in all I am quite pleased to have it back, it wasn't cheap but it should be a hell of a motor!

I bet it certainly stung the pocket book! Good to hear you got it back together in short order

JR

  diesel4life said:

I bet it certainly stung the pocket book! Good to hear you got it back together in short order

JR

:spend:

It's still far cheaper than a new truck, and more power, better mileage, and the truck is setup for how I use it alot better. I would have preferred to not spend the money, but at least it's a nice upgrade.

Here is for hoping to get a Milllyuan miles out of it now!

I put about 50 miles on it today, man is it smooth and quiet. It even shifts easier, which is impressive for the 16° weather we have (Fluidampr or balanced flywheel??). The starter tune is working good, until I turn the wick up I am not sure I have much to change.

http://photobucket.com/albums/j156/ah64id/trucks/Cummins/rebuild