Complete Meltdown

This kind of failure doesn’t happen instantly. No sir, the number 6 injector in this 8.3L Cummins—serving 2,400-rpm duty in a Gleaner R52 combine—checked out long before the operator ever knew something was wrong. The result was a molten lava-like meltdown of the piston beneath it, complete with sleeve and cylinder wall damage. To be fair, it’s hard to notice when anything is amiss in these old, primitive, high decibel combine harvesters, where the 6CT Cummins often has to be run at redline ‘round the clock. And given the fact that the 8.3L in these applications typically drinks 20 gallons of diesel per hour, the Gleaner’s excessive fuel usage likely went unnoticed, too. Photo courtesy of Diesel Knuckle Busters

At The ‘Strip

The Diesels Are Coming To Lights Out 16

Dozens of toter homes and trailers are headed for South Georgia Motorsports Park with high anticipation for what’s in store at Lights Out 16. The annual February radial tire showdown is quickly becoming a gathering place for the country’s fastest diesels, and you’ll find oil burners competing in everything from 6.0 Index to Radial vs. The World and everything in between. In the S&S-sponsored Pro Truck N/T field, Paul Cato’s second-gen Cummins will make its debut on 9-inch axles, along with a host of other upgrades aimed at getting him into the mid-4’s. Prior to loading up and heading south to Georgia, Paul treated his workhorse to fresh Hot Shot’s Secret fluids, including Adrenaline R5 20W-50 engine oil, Nano-shift transmission fluid, and Adrenaline R14 85W-140 gear oil.

In The Dirt

Super Stock Diesel Trucks Face-Off In Kentucky

A race to the sand pile commenced last Wednesday inside the friendly confines of the Kentucky Exposition Center’s Freedom Hall. Saturday at high noon, the 7,500-pound Super Stock Diesel Trucks took to the hard-biting, man-made track and this Scheid-powered second-gen Cummins came out on top. For the first time in the class’s 15-year history at the Championship Tractor Pull in Louisville, a woman emerged the victor—and that driver is Caroline Counce Armistead. Positioning her “Dixie Ram” Dodge on the left-center side of the track, Caroline moved the sled 238 feet and change, a distance that held despite strong efforts from JJ Brumby’s “The Rumor” and Keith Witt’s “American Pride.”

High Altitude

The O.G. 6.0L Mega Truck Returns

Nearly a decade ago, we were introduced to JH Diesel & 4×4’s mega truck. The 6.0L Power Stroke under the hood of the sky-high Super Duty spent the bulk of its time on the rev limiter and rarely went down on account of engine breakage. But after a van-crushing gone wrong, the truck rolled on its side and took a swim in Cleetus McFarland’s pond. Now, four years later, JH owner Justin Hildebrand has resurrected his ’04 F-250 and it’s badder than ever. Aside from the killer, DoubleEdge Motorsports wrap, the truck received a helping hand from Warren Diesel Injection, Kill Devil Diesel, FASS, BD, Power Hungry Performance, and even Nitrous Express. Rumor has it that the reborn Ford has even seen mud already.

Carnage Corner

Another CP4 Bites The Dust

Another week in the books, another CP4.2 failure through the doors at Hassler Diesel. In stomach-turning (yet textbook) fashion, the factory Bosch high-pressure fuel pump checked out catastrophically on this 6.7L Power Stroke. When you find this much debris beneath the fuel volume control valve (FCA, MPROP, etc.), the fuel system can be a total loss. That means the rails are full of metal, the injectors have eaten it, and the return circuit has also been contaminated. When this highly common failure strikes, you’re looking at a repair bill upward of $10,000.

Written by Mike McGlothlin