Placeholder for the 2003 Ex that was begging for a Cummins. Starting with my 2003 E.B. Ex 4x4 and a 1995 6BT. Was just advised I have a storm block, I have more learning to do.

The block is back from cleanup work, cleanup deck, full cam bearings, etc etc. Will update as time permits. Perhaps I'm finally past the roadblocks of the past few years!

Hoping it doesn't take a few more years, but the end power goals may make it so due to supporting drivetrain mods (=$$$) Wish me luck!

 

WOO!!!!! Excited to see you get this going as I know it's been tough! I think I'm gonna be a little jealous though as you're aiming a little higher on the performance side vs. what I ended up doing.

 

That just means I'm more likely to break things, and make it cost more to avoid that

 

Let's goooooooo! I love my 7.3L but if I woke up one day and somehow there was a 6BT in there it wouldn't make me sad LOL both great engines!

 

1995 6bt
HE351WC rebuilt with new cartridge and boost adapter with modified solenoid plug
DFI 5x14 SAC's with EDO needle work
Colt Stage 3 billet cam and 24 valve lifters
Rebuilt 1998 PS/Vacuum pump with hydroboost option rebuilt with Gould Gear kit
Two dual vented valve covers, one oil fill cover, and retaining one stock cover for rear under cowl
Front cover plug set for removing front oil filler
Keating rear billet freeze plug kit (may install bypass also, it's prepped for it)
Keating solid tappet cover (non-vented at my request)
Billet piston oil squirters
Crazy Carls turbo adapters, 1/2 inch spacer, lines etc
Head reworked:
- valve job
- machined guide area and installed top hat new style seals
- minor cleanup/mill
- unshrouded/mild porting exhaust valves/bowls
- +60 Cummins valve springs, keepers, retainers
Block mild hone and decked .0007
+.0010 Cummins head gasket
Clevite main and rod bearings
ARP head studs
Milled rocker pedestals for studs
Fluidampr with sensor relocation kit
P-pump (taking it easy up front until all broken in, and new pump built and balanced/maxed out at a later date):
- 181 DV's and o-rings (kept 131's for later though not much difference there, and with either I shouldn't be blacking out anyone)
- TST 4k pump kit
- 2095 rack plug
- AFC Live and w/properly machined foot
Billet KDP fix
6.0 intercooler, starter, and 32 row trans cooler
Fuel heater delete and studs
Tork Teknology adjustable overflow valve OFV020
Initial p-pump timing of 18*
4R100 using a conversion adapter plate/flex plate and PCS TCM 2000 for tuning
Custom stall triple disk billet converter
4" exhaust

Hoping this recipe is a good start. Pics coming soon.

Good thing my grand-daughter has tiny hands, I had her help with the lifter install

 

That’s a sexy list you got going on there!!

 

I think the 6BT Cummins is a better engine than the 7.3 PS. There are far less computer controls for one. It has a traditional diesel injector pump and not a HPOP. It's much easier to work on if needed. The injectors are easy to access. There are no glow plugs to mess with. It would be my first choice if it didn't come in a Dodge. I had a '97 and the engine was great. The rest of the truck was crap.

 

Sourcing a proper throttle arm for this was fun...and it's rebushed with brass bushings, not the Cummins OEM plastic junk

You can still see top ring land, as expected always worse in cylinder 6, but it's not even something measurable....it'll do rabbit, it'll do. Rear freeze plug will have the Keating billet plug with a bypass in it to cool that down. Considering billet for the rest of them at this point, we'll see.


Full cam bushings throughout


.008 off the top and a mild cleanup hone

Machining done, Cummins +60 white stripe springs, new top hat style seals, and some mild bowl cleanup on this one by Micah Shaw, a good guy and builds lots of great pulling motors, amongst other things

More boxes full of milled rocker arm pedestals to go with the ARP studs are somewhere in this basement....I'll find them yet! Think that's where the Ducky's injectors are hiding too! Dual vented valve covers hiding in this mess also, already prepped and painted.



HE351WC modified and ready. PCS TCM-2000 and harness for the 4R100 (which is getting a full performance build-out with Diesel+ level parts). Cryo will be done by a shop in Chattanooga

Part of the adapter plate setup, billet flex also hiding down here somewhere

Billet squirters in, mains in and lubed. Thread cleaning tap was used of course to make sure she was ready and all lines blown out prior to this.

Installing lifters covered in Lubriplate 105....teach them young...she loved helping!

Colt Stage 3 Billet...grand-daughter was covered in Lubriplate 105 but had fun!

Attitude is essential

Killer dowel pin addressed. It had to be R&R'd first as it was trying to leave the block due to the amount of oil behind it.

OEM standards from my friend Regan Swan. Great welder and fabricator. He's the one that made the Excursion specific motor mounts letting you use the factory gen 2 snail mounts.

 

Looking good! You should have a SUPER nice motor there when complete! One thing I'd recommend is getting a wire wheel in that water pump housing and get it real clean. I had trouble with that because I didn't clean it up well enough and get all the scale out. It's a pretty tight fit between the block and the impeller of the pump. Not sure how you found that throttle bracket though! You'd think those were made of gold! Nicely done!

 

Yes sir, was trying to get more pics off my phone last night but it was giving me fits. The water pump area had bolt holes chased first, and blown out, and 1/2 hour with rolocks and brass wheel was tedious to get that water pump chamfered seal area cleaned up. Installed that pump also, and added a very thin bead of Right stuff black sealant to the outside of the o-ring area before laying it down. One thing that's nice is that Cummins used 18lb ft of torque for most of the bolts on these as you I'm sure already know. Installed the Keating billet tappet cover also. Most of the parts had been shelved awaiting these days for over 2 years. There's so many crates of new or reworked parts I t lost track of them. The Cummins throttle linkage was a fluke find from Goldfarb and Associates (they clear inventories from shops that get shut down), and was $95 plus the extra money for the brass shaft bushings from backwoods diesel. At least I won't have to fix that as long as I own the truck. That sure beats $250+ for a throttle bellcrank lever (the shaft is near impossible to rebuild properly). I'll be adding the Cummins TPS and bracket onto that linkage and programming that with the PCS TCM for control. I also replaced both the long linkage shaft ends. I think Cummins (and Geno's) both think OEM parts are made of gold. What do you expect for a million mile motor when taken care of properly though I guess. In the p-pump the AFC foot is already prepped for AFC Live with the Max travel diaphragm and spring, and I swapped out the DV's from 131's to 181's for now until she gets broken in, and will upgrade them once that's done. There's so many parts already prepped that I forgot to list them, but the past couple of years has been a game of gathering the parts while I waited for our situation to change. I'm sure you can relate!

 

A few more from the past couple of days

 

Yeah that parts collecting game is a long one for sure! I definitely wanted to have as close to all the parts I'd need for the project ahead of actually starting.

I dig that tappet cover too! Very nice!! I'd actually just go ahead and get the billet freeze plugs as well and just be done with it. Do you think you'll be pulling hard enough and have high enough temps to warrant the rear bypass? I have one, which I haven't installed yet, but I don't find that I need it. Although, my motor was in an RV and basically cylinder 5 got hot enough to score (likely due to a blown head gasket). It's one of those things that you don't really need, until you do, and then it's too late I suppose. I'll probably add it to the list for springtime. See? I just talked myself into it!!

 

Yes sir. Planning on all the billet plugs. Keating already sold me the rear one, and the reason for it is that it's the worst one to do while the engine is in the truck due to location. It already came with an AN plug that can be swapped out for an AN elbow to plumb it forward for pressure relief and better cooling to #6. I put TST 4k governor springs into the p-pump so with much more available RPM, expected this was just some insurance against roadside failures. The front one from Keating is multi-use and sits behind the front pull assembly, and is held in place actually by that assembly. The Colt cam is supposed to drop temps a bit also. The block heaters rarely fail (sealing wise) so may just leave that alone and carry the spare billet one. Great minds think alike!

 

HE351WC with billet plug (drilled for wastegate control) to bypass that particular generation's solenoid. Can be used in 2 configurations to allow boost reference from the side port at base of the plug. Almost forgot....it's been so long since I did this...adjustable boost elbow in the drilled/tapped plug also.

AFC foor rework for AFC live and max travel install time!

That'll do.

Cleaned up delivery valve holders

131's vs. 181's. Subtle difference, but will only be around for break in I suppose.

Subtle difference easier to see here.

2095 Mac rack on the left, factory on the right...more pump travel is good...to a point.

This is why I asked Keating for a special solid non-vented billet tappet cover. I don't like leaks and Cummins is notorious for tappet cover leaks, and the slobber tube from the factory does exactly that!

Cody Friede's swap helper to make sure my tachometer works as designed.

Transpo installed for 1 wire operation. If something needs the Ford alternator I have a backup plan.

Regan Swan's mounts...nice. That man can fab anything.


That man can weld.


Yep, Fluidampr scratch and dent, not a scratch on it either. Also have their install kit for the bolts etc.

Gould gear seal kit installed, and this pump can be used with Hydro-boost if I want to do that.

 

More pieces parts! The box unveiling continues!