M819 RECEIVES NTC400!!

M819 receives ntc400!!!

Hi Everyone,

Since purchasing the Wrecker, my brother and I have been wanting & wishing for more oomph to tote around 36,000lbs. + load. The 250 is adequate but ends up staying near it's max rated RPM, not from axle ratio as much as the need for full power at almost all times. This means increased wear and high fuel consumption. The 250 doesn't leave much room for improvement either.

We have decided to replace the trusty and reliable dinosaur NHC250 with the more powerful and just as reliable NTC400. Torque rating for the 400 is around 1,400lb.ft.

Another positive addition that comes with this engine is a Jacobs engine brake. (model 30F) Safety is increased as well as reducing brake wear.

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Well now, let us see what our NTC-400 options are:

Core Charge: $3,000
Running Takeout with 500,000 milies + : $7,500
Rebuild Engine: $15,000
Government Acq. Cost: (197 $15,540
Brand new from Cummins: $24,000 +
GL, Columbus Ohio: Less than that of a core charge
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I will update this post as stuff happens.
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Please enjoy these pictures of the newly acquired engine. I will create a seperate post in the Road Trip Forum.

Thanks for allowing me to share.

A ton of people are gonna watch this thread including me ! It's gonna be a bad mutha ! I'm just curious how the drivetrain will tolerate the extra power .

Outstanding! I, too, will be watching with a close eye. I see a 400 swap in my future. opcorn:

what mil application uses that engine

cool

Yes M. Walker that is an excellent question. That has yet to be decided.

If selecting a Roadranger a .73 OD can be obtained for minimal RPM reduction over the stock OD, it will be considerably heavier (400lbs. more) and may require "clearancing" of the floor pan and may require a rear support bracket. It would however provide the obvious increased durability.

Another huge factor is the driver and how heavy the foot is.

Thanks for the input. This is just the beginning.

BFR: They came from the 900 series Over The Road Tractors and Dumps made by AM General and CCC (Crane Carrier Corp.) in the 70s and 80s. I forget the specific M#s.

There were about a dozen of these at Columbus when we were there.

The trucks in the M915 series are M915, M916, M917, M918, M919 and M920.

The 400 comes from a M915 series truck. check this out:

I see hood clearance will be an issue as well with the increased height from the Jake Brake which pushes up the height of intake crossover pipe.

The key will be how well we can fabricate a "hump" to look as "factory" as possible. Thanks tactical for the pic. It looks like some components lifted from a higher HP Cummins and placed on a 250?

I hope you bought enought to sell me one for my newly aquired wrecker.
I drive the 915's and except for that Splaterpiller tranny I thought they were good trucks.
We convoyed in them from Fort Benning, Ga to the National Training Center in Kalifornia.
If you turned them up to 2100 RPM the 915 would run around 80MPH.
Ask my Convoy Commander.

The rest on GL have holes in the blocks

No.2Diesel said:

The rest on GL have holes in the blocks

Click to expand...

AHHH good luck..!!!!



Oh one thing i forgot to mention. The oil cooler on the passenger side. After starting keep your eyes on . Anti-freeze in the oil and oil in the Anti-freeze. If you do don't panic it;s not a head gasket. The oil cooler is leakig. If it does take apart. And line up timing marks. Yes thats right it has timing marks in it. And don't be afraid to run it.


Other then that you should be fine..!!!

joec said:

No.2Diesel said:

The rest on GL have holes in the blocks

Click to expand...

AHHH good luck..!!!!



Oh one thing i forgot to mention. The oil cooler on the passenger side. After starting keep your eyes on . Anti-freeze in the oil and oil in the Anti-freeze. If you do don't panic it;s not a head gasket. The oil cooler is leakig. If it does take apart. And line up timing marks. Yes thats right it has timing marks in it. And don't be afraid to run it.


Other then that you should be fine..!!!

Click to expand...

Is that a common problem on the 250s too?

Very nice!!

I love the NTC 400! Having spent 42 months in a medium truck company as lieutenant and 38 months commanding one the engine has given my 64C and 88M drivers millions of miles hauling DOD freight all over the world. The suitcase waterpump was one of the most common items that needed to be fixed but they could be done quickly and our OR rate was outstanding. The 16 speed Cat was problematic in the airbox but it too was a good transmission if driven properly. Great choice I will be watching this closely as if I could get one it would be swapped into one of the five tons in a New York minute

I think we all will be watching this one...very nice find and best of luck with the modification and installation!

M1075 said:

joec said:

No.2Diesel said:

The rest on GL have holes in the blocks

Click to expand...

AHHH good luck..!!!!



Oh one thing i forgot to mention. The oil cooler on the passenger side. After starting keep your eyes on . Anti-freeze in the oil and oil in the Anti-freeze. If you do don't panic it;s not a head gasket. The oil cooler is leakig. If it does take apart. And line up timing marks. Yes thats right it has timing marks in it. And don't be afraid to run it.


Other then that you should be fine..!!!

Click to expand...

Is that a common problem on the 250s too?

Click to expand...

Yes we had a couple like that also and the 290 Usually the first to get leaking is oil cooler. Big Cummins money maker back in the day. Pretty simple to do. JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE TIMING MARKS ARE ALLIGNED. I know i say it alot. But if you don't you'll be draining the whole engine again.

Can u use a 915 hood?

Definetally going to watch this. Is the NTC cummins a big cam or small cam engine? I was curious what the differences were between the engines as it seems easier to find a big cam engine, and if it would bolt in place of the small cam I think that would be the way to go.

Please keep the thread updated as I plan to replace the 250 in my m818 as soon as I can make it happen.

Just a quick note, the writing on the motor, QDR, means Quality Deficeincy Report, the number corresponds to the QDR report number. When we drew parts from supply that did not work we had to file a QDR when we turned the part back in to supply and get another. I would check everything on this engine before you install it and find out it has problems.

Ed