Cummins Engines: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Cummins Engines: The Good, The BAd +LOVE The Ugly. In this video, Dave gives some background history of the Cummins company, and covers the successful engines as well as the those that were dogs!
More About The Best + The Worst Diesel Truck Engines (on our Blog)
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[@SmartTrucking]

Hey there Driver. Good to see you! So glad you took the time to drop by to watch today's upload! What has been your experience with Cummins? Good experiences or not so good? Love to hear your thoughts!

[@donovanvolk8583]

Her Dave you forgot the supercharged Cummins engines and the by 903

[@donovanvolk8583]

Vt903

[@psychostubbs9290]

I am going to be taking my CDL exam soon. In light of all this talk about automation, is getting a CDL A license even with it anymore?

[@Homesickfobbit]

Passed my CDL test today

[@SmartTrucking]

Hey that's awesome. What's your first gig?

[@Homesickfobbit]

@@SmartTrucking I want to spend 2 years at a place that trains noobs to be good drivers. Then reevaluate afterwards. Want to be out 7 weeks home 7 days.

[@SoCal780]

Well you know my story with my Cummins ISX. It’s been a great motor. I’m on my 3rd one now, replaced the first with a crate motor and then had an in-frame overhaul done in June of 2022 after 1.6 million miles. I now have 300k on this one with no issues except for some minor compression leaks that were warranty fixes. 565 horsepower with 1860 torque, it pulls real nice and gets 6.5-7.3 mpg. No complaints.

[@BlockBallerRecords]

It’s funny that most deleted and EGR blocked engines run longer and better 😂 saves money and time so that explains why the EPA hates deleted engines

[@burkevinell]

I have a 1988 Kenworth K100E that I repowered with an N14 Celect Plus. Best engine I've ever driven.

[@thomasborger6548]

Are you still able to find N14s for purchase?

[@theswatteam1909]

I'm a big fan of the N14 and X15. But the CAT C15 is a really tough engine, I'd take any of em

[@LamborghiniV12M]

I have the 2008 ISX600, it is deleted, and has been amazing!! I think the emissions is the problem for all the new engines, but I deleted from brand new, and it’s run flawlessly and reliable

[@hoost3056]

I've owned or operated several Cummins engines. I had a 5.9 12 valve in a Dodge, an 855 ci Big Cam 4, and two N14s. These engines were basically trouble free. My Red Top N14 had a cracked block and still went to work every day. When they went to red paint, they went to the garbage can. I am talking about the ISX. The base was the Signature Series, and they were not that bad. Once the emission controls were added then that was when all the dramas hit.

[@andrewguardalabene4858]

So far in 3 years and 300,000 miles my X15 has been flawless. I have a 6 year 600,000 mile extended warranty on engine and emission systems. So they do have more than 100,000 mile warranty. The base warranty is two years 200,000.

[@gregshimanek3165]

N14 was a very good engine. One of the best. E model cat was very good as well. Good old days.

[@donmunro144]

I was a cat tech before switching to driving. I love the cats, but can't afford them. My trucks have all seen over 1 million miles. My current truck has 650,000 on the clock. All isx's.

[@matthewhansen5008]

The dropped liners in the isx15 and even the newer X15 is a major flaw in my opinion.

[@badassdivingfrog1205]

I had a 444 in a 84 Autocar, had a 15 speed roadranger wish I still had it. Never a problem and just plain hauled ass was my favorite of all of them even the w9

[@markdanielczyk944]

Emissions standards ruined it for all engine manufacturers.

[@francomtz7115]

Best engine ever 3406 B model

[@danquirke443]

I'm all about cat. Lucky to still be driving a glider with a 6NZ. But i tell ya', the best, smoothest, most powerful engine i ever drove was a signature series 600. That engine was hated by input shafts everywhere. Seriously, there's never been anything close to competing with it when it comes to straight pulling power.

[@karlbishop7481]

You should have mentioned that another thing that helped save Cummins was the contract with Chrysler to supply engines for the Dodge pickups. The 5.9 mechanical fuel injection models were bullet proof except for the killer dowel pin which was an easy fix. I now have a later 24 valve 6.7 which so far has been very good with no issues. Lots of power but not near the fuel mileage of my old 12 valve.

[@josephreel9556]

I enjoy your commentaries on a variety of trucking issues.

[@chrisdodds7469]

I still keep in stock compressors and fan clutches for the kta engines and n14 engines. A lot of the kta engines found their way into off highway logging trucks. If you ever drive the backroads of vancouver island pay attention as there are still lots of the old trucks out there with four hundred thousand pound loads.

[@fighter4christ7]

That’s surprising to hear. Never had any issues with X-15. Had one sensor issue with an ISX once, but the miles were pretty high on that engine and it still ran like normal all the way to the shop. I also found they dealt with the emissions as best as any manufacturer could. Completed most regens while driving with no noticeable loss in power. I have of course heard some complaints from others, but I’ve been pleased every time. Test drove an N-14 once and truly no other Cummins model can top that.

[@jeffschaefer8059]

I was a Cat man all the way but unfortunately Cat warranty wasn't as great as you say. I know of many head gaskets and liner drops that never were settled. Cat had more problems when the EPA mandated cleaner engines so they pussed out. I had a pre emissions ISX and that was nothing but a problem and Cummins had no intention of changing anything that failed on it because they were making a killing on parts. Been running a X15 for 2.5 years now knock on wood no issues. Fuel mileage by year end average 7.8 first year 8.2 second year. Easy way to make money in our high inflation economy.

[@1hasbeen531]

They all have problems. Dealer friend said big DD engines are knocking bearings out lately. A fleet operator friend who has been running all Paccar for a while said they are suddenly having terrible injector trouble on newer stuff. A friend had a Pete with Cat 600 when they came out. Blew the head gasket near Chicago. Found the block had not been drilled/tapped deep enough, so improper clamping force when torqued. CAT told him tough shit. CAT engines are so great they left the scene LOL. Buy what you like, and pray you get a good one.

[@raymondbradley6788]

Thank you Dave awesome video brother. You and Cathy have a good weekend.👍👍👍 Wished caterpillar could’ve hung on. Messed my favorite powerplant.

[@alaskahaul2085]

1999-2007 isx was one of the best engine's ever made

[@SoCal780]

That’s mine. 😊

[@550hpW900L]

871 was king. Deleted

[@cargotoolshop5319]

Glad your happy, I'm not because of many reasons, mostly silent derate, it's an AI computer with no diagnostics to fix it, the X15 is different animal and I'm not talking about them, there's just ten different ways these CM870 engines will leave your heart broken, I'm a 855 N14 fan but you must know their downfalls to keep them on the road

[@user-ln7of9gs4s]

I don’t know about that. I disliked the way they sound. The N14 was my favorite.

[@RonRussell-sj1zf]

The 350 was not introduced in 1959 I don't believe, at least not the version that popped up when you mentioned that. More like 1969, I started with Cummins in 1970 and the NH250 was still the biggest seller for Cummins, then the 335 and finally the 350, then the FFC(full flow cooling) design was released and then the Big Cam, followed by BC2, BC3, BC4, then LFC design (low flow cooling) and finally after Penske/Detroit Diesel beat Cummins to the punch with the full authority electronic Series 60, Cummins released CELECT, their full authority electronic engine and nomenclature change to metric being N14 instead of NTC, and as you said, the N14 was their best version of the 855 cu.in. design. The 444 was an N14, ISX was a completely new design, X15 is same as ISX, both the 15 liter and is the engine they sell today. Cat never offered a 500K mile 100% warranty coverage, you are mistaken Both Cummins and Cat and probably Detroit offered extended coverage on the major engine components at additional cost. Cummins almost went under, now you are smoking dope, get real, that was never even close. You have a lot of information skewed.

[@Lostagain9859]

Red Head N14 525 horse was to me the best engine for Cummins of the early electronics. The new style ISX or X15 I wouldn’t buy. Know of the many of them that are problem child’s to say the least. Of course the blame goes on the EPA and the emmissions that killed all engine builders. It even ran Caterpillar out of the game.

[@cargotoolshop5319]

What happened after the N14 years was all EPA related, I ran the ISX for the last ten years and it is okay until it's not, at a million miles through it in the scrap bin, problem being is when cat left the industry and Cummins didn't have competition, you had no option but to buy the junk and without cat or Detroit their quality went down the crapper and you still bought the truck, guys are rebuilding them everyday and not fixing anything, just throwing money away, I'm out, now driving a Detroit 60 series and N14'S, sad to say

[@walterhouse701]

Personally I hate the paccar engine might have something to do with I used to work on them

[@garysizemore411]

My X15. 480, xxx. Great motor. Have a great day

[@peteengard9966]

No mention of the horrible 555 or the L10. As a mechanic that worked in an engine shop I can attest to the horrible warranty policy. Cat was equally bad in the warranty department too. Especially with the 3406B head gasket failures. I felt bad when customers would eat the cost of repair. Cummins Select was awful. I had a truck come in with no oil pressure. I found a broken spring in the oil pump and replaced it. Cummins refused to pay for the repair and the shop and myself had to eat it. Because I was not Select certified through their factory school that had no openings except for a few of their franchise shops. Even though we were a Cummins dealer. Detroit was not very good either. We always had to wait for authorization before any warranty work. Sometimes it would take weeks to get. A lot of times the truck was towed to Power Products.

[@charlesfranklin7752]

I’ve had both the Cummings and the Paccar . For horsepower and torque , the Cummings has both and it at least can be tuned up to run good, the Paccar is short on power and torque and can’t be tuned up. But having had the Paccar in a hay truck and pulling a heavy load it does surprisingly well, it’s not a big horse power motor but it’s a reliable one. I would say that I would buy a new truck with the Paccar if they offered it in a bigger horsepower and torque rating but for now it’s just not going to happen so Cummings is going to be the one I would choose

[@roadrunner4906]

You are right. I remember the Cummins KTA engines. I could tell a CAT 1693 with my eyes closed, were distinct sound. The Cummins Red Top is bulletproof.

[@60dreguss]

Catpillar still is a world leader in Heavy equipment where they berthed on Dozer tracks..... might not be king of highway but sure ass hell king of construction and mine heavy equipment...

[@nevinbontrager8828]

Great video, love the history. One "gripe" is that when your are talking about the K cummins (which i love) it appears that you are showing a picture of possible a vt1710 instead?? (Which i also love)

[@malachi_perry]

Not mentioning the m11 for the bad is a big oops

[@truckinfool3550]

My company has 14k trucks, all Cummins.

[@frankpeavy4538]

Can't really blame Cummins for the emission engine issues. It's the same with all of them. How did you forget the VT 903?? Or the twin turbo 475? Or the signature 600?

[@LBrawn]

the 903 V8 is crap

[@b374mxg]

NTC-475 MVT (mechanical variable timing), remember a couple of those babies!!

[@b374mxg]

The VT-903 was an interesting engine for sure.

[@rolandsolomon7728]

I drove several trucks with 903's in them. Or as we used to call them, Nine-O-nothings.😂 They didn't have turbos on them. And these engines were in the least suspected trucks. I drove for a sizable company in the 1970's and they were in GMC Astros and Mack F models, both with Eaton 10 speed transmissions. Go figure! 🤔😄

[@deansarow6259]

The 903 was a great starting motor in the cold,and it was a smooth good runner.I enjoyed the one I ran

[@CumminsX15]

Great video❤

[@user-kl6qp5gv8e]

Good educational video.

[@ronaldmicheau5086]

Hello, smart trucking. I think the whole reason cummins had their best sales Yeah it's because caterpillar is no longer making engines but I could be wrong its just a though!! I'm a big fan of the n 14 and the signature six hundred

[@meadowclampett9802]

Just bought a 359 with a bc 3 300hp I hope I have good luck out of it. Thanks

[@charlesmoore2485]

Great video, correct me if in wrong , but when the 444 went out around 1990 , isn’t that around when the N14 was coming in , not the ISX, I recall the the ISX started off around 2003, Starting with the signature 600

[@jonathanbulman1184]

Hey brother! Just wanted to say it was the early ISX that had the ceramic fuel pump problem. My first truck I bought was a 2014 with a ISX 550hp. They had a problem with the cam, the fuel pump and emissions. It was a bad year for the Cummins.The X 15 came out in the 2018 models and it was a little better improved motor. That year they did away with the crank case filter, which was a problem in the earlier engines.

[@mikenicholson2548]

Two points. First, you lumped all the ISX as one. The signature 600 and CM 570 pre EGR were very good and are still wanted. Second, the first egr cat engines sucked along with their acert engine. Just my thoughts. Great video.

[@notchfox6086]

Very good video sir. Thank you!

[@davidfleishman2275]

You forgot to mention the "2 and six bits with the iron lung". Great engine

[@user-rg8zl3oo7m]

Was pleased with my old 250, then 290, not so much with the 335 but truely happy with big cam 400, almost 740,000 trouble free miles. Now have ISX n get good work from it. Best loved original jacobs brake in older mechanical engines, much better than newer engine exhaust brakes.

[@lucmarchand617]

The n14 for myself best production.the new one are lots problems.kta was big seller for off road and oilfield,trains,boats so on.

[@jamesfinn4547]

I have a few small v8 vt190s (vt504) and a cta8.3 good little engines

[@Retired88M]

To me the best engines were the Mack’s but the downside was you had to buy a Mack truck to get it unless it was a military vehicle from the late 50’s and early 60’s But if you had all the bells and whistles and comfort items of all the other truck manufacturers you had a descent hard working rude

[@rogerhenry3481]

We won't talk about that 5 liter in the Nissan pickups....what a circus....!

[@wiltonfarleysr.4666]

Cummins isx 15 is the best 👌 👍 😍

[@ernestpassaro9663]

I always liked Cummins plenty of power and pretty reliable

[@billloffler8637]

I had a shiny 290 that ran forever but it was a female motor in the mountains.

[@murraygraham2385]

I think all the engine manufactures were handcuffed by the EPA regulations. As bad as they are, they will only get worse, in my opinion. A decade from now, we will be talking about how awesome the X 15 engine was compared what’s available.

[@markhammelman6995]

You should have included the ism cummins, it's often forgotten about.

[@5FaLlEn5]

Side note the Cummins natural gas engines have been around for many years now since the early 2000s and are not perfect but pretty reliable to date they just really lack in power biggest driver complaint, which is to be expected. They dont like it cold out, nor do they like it hot out 😂. From a compay fleet standpoint, 10+ trucks all on a lease KWs & Petes order 500hp Paccars or Western Star & Freightliner Detroit DD13 and exchange the trucks every 5 years lower initial cost and maintenance 5 years is the limit I've seen for savings. Small fleet & owner operators Cummins or Detroit is the way to go as it easier to find services when something goes bad over the road. Yes, you still can get a Freightliner or Star or Intl. with a Cummins and they're just as reliable as the KWs or Petes from what we've experienced all comes down to preference.

[@kennardjohnson7875]

I've have a money pit 2010,but when I bought the truck was all I could afford, but it's made me alot of money. Cummins is the only engine that has never left me on the side of the road. Detroit 12.7 will blow up I know,cats will blow up,paccars my buddies truck blew up. He now has a Cummins. The problem is why doesn't dumb ss Cummins put the big oil cooler in in manufacturing process. Stupid

[@bobwilson758]

Much prefer series 60 Detroit - Very good stuff !

[@jeffearnest3269]

I drive a 6.7 Cummins engine bus . It pulls nice for a bus. I get 9.4 to 10.4 mpg and the only problem is High Temperature Exhaust.

[@Atomicpotato102]

You forgot the M11 and ISM

[@5FaLlEn5]

Those are medium duty engins not often found in class 8 trucks especially otr trucks I've seen ism more so in class 7 hauling locally doing ltl or food delivery

[@boblabelle6704]

I drove a medium duty truck (10 wheeler) with a Cummins isc motor . Terrible experience to say the least. Vastly underpowered and emissions control system was constantly malfunctioning. Only good things about it was easy cold starts on freezing mornings because I had it pm'd all the time

[@BuilditDestroyit-ri1ff]

All mine have blown up around 400k

[@johnhanson4795]

truck drivers. their are train guys that love trains.i followed hobo shoestring for 2 years he hopped trains for 30 years.he was classifyed as a silver alert they found him dead rip shoestring!

[@jeremy63391]

since you talk about Cummins engines history why not talk about Detroit Diesel engines history and Caterpillar engines history

[@SmartTrucking]

That's next. 😎👍

[@brittboyette461]

The only problems that I had with Cummins was always DEF related. I had one that had 900k, the only downside was the crap emissions systems.

[@JAMESHENTZE]

Iove your show

[@TheT4kid]

We run kta engines in our water well rigs best motor Cummins ever Made, but the new stuff is pretty bad

[@JAMESHENTZE]

Fuel timing oil pressure regulated bad o ring takes it out

[@darrencatenacci2737]

Cummins only makes 2 kinds of engines. A Cumapart which is what they’re till they blow up and then they are a Camapart . Cummins was very pleased when Caterpillar called it a day on truck engines. Just about every engine Caterpillar made was superior to the whole Cummins line up. Just to try and compete with Cat Cummins had to make a 19 liter twin turbo engine, to keep up with a 14 liter single turbo Cat. And at the end of the day that Cat was more reliable. Wish we could still get Caterpillar engines.

[@ksw501]

Imagine that, the government gets involved with engine emissions and the quality goes downhill, who’d a thunk?

[@victorguerrero8690]

It’s the only decent option left, how are they not gonna have record sales.

[@cdl9239]

Ntc big Cam lV👍🏿

[@JAMESHENTZE]

97000 pound chip hauler ran into a guy in California with one had it rebuild a few times idling don't think he set the rings good experience

[@cargotoolshop5319]

If not for the EPA Cummins would have the best engine you could dream of, but then caterpillar would still be in the game, so sad to see

[@ourv9603]

As the world is going electric, whats to become of Cummins? !

[@SoCal780]

The world is not going electric.🙄 Biden and his idiots are trying to force them down our throats, but we’re simply not buying. He’ll be gone soon enough and so will his idiots.

[@cargotoolshop5319]

Cummins will never die, they will just play different games

[@WDJD5562]

Cummins warranty was so bad, the un-named mega carrier I work for pulled all the Cummins powered trucks out of service and sold them off in a matter of months. They will never go back.

[@alvinkelley1255]

Detroit series 60 and the two stroke Detroits

[@ryanbachman9227]

They should have never stop building the n14 great motor. The x15 motors are throw away motors look at any newer trucks on market place a majority of them have been overhauled. Bring back the cats and n14’s

[@frankwalker9078]

Nothing beats a shiny 290 with an eaton 10 speed

[@rd5991]

I had an X15 Performance set to 605/2050, didn’t have any reliability issues, but I also was very particular about servicing it every 20k miles. I sold it at 600k, would still take a C15 over it though.

[@unknownopinionoid2672]

What about Volvo engines?

[@alvinkelley1255]

Detroit series 60

[@openroadtruth]

Please look at what the BC government has done to Edison

[@scotelliott8577]

I've owned 2 Cummins engines. A 1980 K100A with a KTA525. GREAT engine, very expensive to operate. The 2008 KW T660 with a isx 525. Just awful and Cummins was a horror show to deal with. Caterpillar always took care of me even with the problems with their engines. Good video. Be careful out there

[@JAMESHENTZE]

The ol 444

[@michaellangdonful]

Did you ever run a Cummins engine in one of your own trucks?

[@SmartTrucking]

Did you watch the video? If you did, you'd know the answer 😎😉

[@michaellangdonful]

Yes I did I commented before watching the end of the video where you talked about your experience with your Big Cam engine.

[@4everdc302]

The Natural Gas thing been beaten like a dead horse for years.Runs to lean&too hot.TowTruck bound.

[@markdavis9384]

Detroit Diesel

[@skinny-peters-JR.]

M11. MOTOR 😊😊😊😊 my. M11. 350/400. HP. GO UP HILL. EXTRA HP. KICKS IN. 10 MORE. PSI. ON. TURBO GAUGE. 😊. AWSOME. MPG. 7.5. SUMMER. MPG 6.9. 7.00. WINTER. MPG

[@steventrue9919]

You can’t beat a Detroit

[@cargotoolshop5319]

I have a Detroit 60 series and N14'S, my inframe was cheaper than injectors for a X15, fuel mileage does hurt with old technology but never broke down and cheap to maintain,

[@RolfLongreach]

You can definitely beat a Detroit engine brake. The engine brake on the X15 will slow you at 80k lbs on a steep grade. The Detroit DD12 just tries to down shift and bitches about the rpms being high so you have to use the service brakes.

[@johnwood7650]

It's been all downhill since the n14. Id probably buy a Volvo first😳

[@DeLonghe_P_Ness]

Knock on wood, I've NEVER had a major problem with a Cummins ISX unless the wrong people worked on it.

[@danequalls2926]

The only reason Cummins is leading in sales is cuz it's the top dog out of the options available today. They are garbage most of them can't make it 100k to 300k miles

[@brianhager1351]

I’m still running my C 15 CAT. No thanks Cummings

[@danielspeedy6972]

For me I never liked a Cummings engine because I found it to be a lazy engine

[@user-rr7sb8lm6x]

Agreed , impossible to upshift on steep hill unless you used jake brake then it dropped rpm's so fast you missed the gear

[@taunuslunatic404]

Cummins are lucky Cat retired from this business.

[@ThePlatinum53]

2016 Pete 389, with ISX, biggest piece of 💩.

[@MasterWitchDoctor]

ISX = It SuX

[@DjPsychoLive]

Moral of the story is, don't buy a Cummings engine.

[@DuaneMcCoy-ws8uj]

I loved my n14,this isx i have now i find myself constantly worrying about how soon the next failure will be .its rediculous it wears you out every day.