January 2009 - Performance Zone
POWER PAYS FOR ITSELF
By Performance Specialist Bruce C. Mallinson
Let’s talk about high-performance Caterpillar engine rebuilding. We recently completed an out-of-chassis rebuild for Tim McFarland of Ohio and he couldn’t be happier. Tim’s 2002 Peterbilt with a 6NZ Cat pulls B-trains grossing 130,000 pounds, so you can imagine how much power he needs. But this rebuild not only gave him more power, but more efficiency as well. Like I always say, a high-performance engine, when properly used, will improve fuel mileage and be a whole lot more fun to operate. So let’s talk about what we did for Tim.
Tim’s Cat was pretty worn out when he brought it in, so it needed extensive repairs. The block was resurfaced, line bored and machined for new lower counter bore inserts, the crankshaft was straightened (it was bent .006), and the upper counter bores were cut for .006 liner protrusion. We also coated the pistons with ceramic and Teflon, built larger injectors, installed a new damper and mercury balancer, added a performance turbo, and then covered it with a turbo boot. We then ported and jet-hot-coated the exhaust manifold to increase the air flow by 40%. He already had a Pittsburgh Power computer and a Lipe clutch, so those things were already good to go.
With the addition of the ceramic coated pistons, larger injectors, turbo boot, new damper and balancer, Tim’s Caterpillar gained 1 mile per gallon (and plenty of horsepower). Now, while pulling Cuyahoga Mountain on the Ohio Turnpike, Tim can flat out pass his buddy and still get better mileage than his stock 550 Cat is getting – and Tim outweighs him by 23,000 pounds! This was a very expensive rebuild because of the problems that were in the block, but the work will pay for itself through fuel savings alone in just 18 months. And if you add in the “fun factor” to the equation, Tim’s high-performance Peterbilt pays for itself every day.
The picture below shows Tim (front) and Jerry Ray Hairhoger standing next to Tim’s new engine. Jerry Ray Hairhoger is Pittsburgh Power’s performance technician – he is always available to talk with you about your performance needs. Jerry Ray became an owner-operator at the age of 25 and has been spoiled with horsepower and torque ever since. In 1997 he purchased his first truck – it was a 1977 A-Model Kenworth powered by a KT 450 Cummins which he and his father rebuilt to 900 horsepower using high-performance KTA Cummins parts. Here we have a rookie with 900 horsepower in his first truck!
Many people thought his father and I were crazy for building Jerry Ray such a powerful engine, but he used to help his father drive during the night between Pittsburgh and Chicago, so he really wasn’t quite a rookie – and his father always had a cranked-up engine, so power was nothing new to this young man, either. Jerry Ray drove this 900 horsepower KTA Cummins for 490,000 miles. Then, still not satisfied, he installed twin turbos along with an HVT (hydraulic variable timing) system, a high-lift camshaft, a maxed-out fuel pump, larger injectors and a Lipe clutch. The end result was 1,200 horsepower!
This high-performance engine has aluminum pistons and to this day has never had a piston failure. In fact, it now has 150,000 more miles on it since being turned up to 1,200 horsepower and still has not had a failure. The total mileage on this engine is 640,000 miles since the original rebuild. Here is another case where horsepower, properly driven, will render longer engine life. Why? Because the engine never had to work very hard. It’s like a big man doing a little boy’s job. Jerry Ray’s truck has been purchased by our Pittsburgh Power distributor in New Zealand and will be used as a toy truck. When Jerry Ray got this truck in 1997, it was in a salvage yard and scheduled to be cut up and scrapped the following day. Thanks to Jerry Ray, she will now spend the rest of her life on a pedestal in New Zealand, leaving Jerry Ray here with us to help you with your truck.
If you want to join us for the Annual Owner Operator Snowmobile Conference in Montana, you better move fast because there are only a few rooms left. We will all be staying at the Super 8 Motel in Cooke City, MT (406-838-2070), so if want to attend, you’d better secure your room now. If you want to talk to one of the owner operators in charge of this event, call either Lynn Bierchenk (406-670-9283) or Ken Billings (989-413-1819) – they will be able to answer all of your questions. We will be having seminars about trucking and snowmobiling each night so it is all tax deductible! Come and join us February 27th through March 4th. So far we have six women riders of all abilities signed up (most of them are beginners), so they will be having fun on the trails. As for us guys, it’s gonna be mountain climbing time!
If you have any comments or questions, feel free to contact me or Jerry Ray at Pittsburgh Power Inc. in Saxonburg, PA at 724-360-4080 or send an e-mail to bruce@pittsburghpower.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Happy New Year!