High performance trucks are a keepsake! Chuck Carlson of Western PA owns this beautiful 4300 IHC originally powered with a 400-hp Big Cam III Cummins engine (see photo). When it was time for a rebuild, he brought it to our shop for a high horsepower rebuild back in the late 1980s. After disassembling, the deck surface was cleaned, inspected for cracks, and then the upper counter bores were measured for liner protrusion and concentricity and machined for .020 liner shims. We then installed new cam bearings, a high lift camshaft, and timed it to a retarded setting (always retard timing when power is increased). New main bearings were installed along with ceramic and Teflon coated high strength Cummins pistons. These pistons were designed for our performance engines by my friend Mark Chappell, the performance parts engineer for Cummins in Columbus, IN.
The performance parts installed on Chuck’s red IHC included Premium Gold heads, ultra-high flow injectors, a fuel pump built by Pat Sharp (37 years with Pittsburgh Power), our Holset high altitude polished turbocharger, dual fuel lines, and dual power valve to make this a two-stage engine. Why two stages? With 800 plus horsepower under your right foot that is super responsive, it’s nice to be able to have a lower horsepower setting for black ice, snow, sand, gravel, or soft dirt. And, as always, we installed a new torsional damper to keep it running smooth for another half a million miles. Chuck currently drives a newer electronic engine powered truck, but this 35-year-old IHC still has a special place in his heart.
When maintaining emissions systems, it’s vitally important you use preventative measures to keep your emissions systems working properly so they do not fail. Not only are the particulate filters very expensive, but the costly sensors can also fail if not maintained. For both the DOC and SCR engines, you have inlet and outlet temperature sensors. The DOC has inlet and outlet pressure sensors, and the SCR has inlet and outlet NOx sensors. That’s a lot of sensors. If not maintained, carbon buildup and oxidation can permanently damage them. In addition, the sensor bungs can oxidize and seize, making it difficult to remove a sensor without damaging the bung or sensor. If you look at the photos, they are from a DD15 with 600,000 miles and the emissions system was never serviced or cleaned. We tried to clean the DPF, but there was a sizable chunk of the filter missing (see photo). You can also see the poor conditions of the sensors, specifically the rusted threads (see photo). As you know, in addition to servicing your emissions system every 250,000 miles, we recommend running the Max Mileage Fuel Borne Catalyst to keep everything clean and working correctly.
Regarding the Max Mileage FBC, we will soon have a Winterized Mix. To make it easier for our Max Mileage users during the winter, you now have an all-in-one mix that is formulated with Diesel Guard, a best-in-class anti-gel and de-icer. Keep in mind that because the catalyst is mixed with the anti-gel, you will need more of the product and dosing will double by the current amount. For example, you would normally need 4 ounces for 100 gallons of fuel, but with the winterized mix, you will need 8 ounces for the same 100 gallons. As mentioned in previous articles, we now have a subscription program on our website where you can get free shipping on the Max Mileage FBC when you sign up to have it delivered to you every 30 to 90 days. We also have 122 dealers in North America with plenty of Max Mileage in stock.
For those of you who call for parts or service, please be aware that we get hundreds of calls every day and we prioritize customers who use our products or have their truck serviced in our shop. Pete and Ethan are on the radio every week, so they are the ones callers mostly ask for, but we have other employees who are just as capable and knowledgeable that can help you. In our engineering department, we have five engineers who are all very experienced and capable to take your calls. In our parts and service department, we have Dan, Craig, and Eric who have worked in the shop for years as technicians and advisors. They are very knowledgeable about truck parts and how to install them, as well as our service department, and how we can help your truck in our shop. If you leave a voicemail, please be patient while we work diligently to return your call. We are a small company that works very hard to serve a large customer base.
We currently have 102 remote tuners/dealers in North America, so if your truck or tractor needs tuning, look on our website at the remote tuning map, find the dealer closest to you, and then give them a call to make an appointment. They in turn will call our engineering department with the appointment and we will be available for you. We recently started tuning Cummins Q-Series off-highway engines, and we currently have five electrical engineers on staff. If your truck has electrical issues, get it to our shop – we can fix anything if it’s here, as electrical problems are hard to diagnose over the phone.