Cummins ISB, Series 60 Dyno Engine, Freightliner Coronado

This week we brought a Cummins ISB down from the upper floor, and it was my team's task to see if it would start, and if not, why not. According to our instructor, this engine has not been started once in the last 4 years.

It is good practice to check fluids before starting any engine or transmission that has been worked on, ESPECIALLY by another person. I was told by a classmate that the fluids were good, however I think back to my instructor's words of wisdom "verify, then trust." I have seen this in action in the real world, I think a good habit to get into.

Cummins ISB, 5.9L diesel. On the battery charger, fluids checked, ready to start - hopefully.

With the fluids good, diesel in the fuel tank, a battery charger on the battery, I turned the key. Nothing. We hooked up a second battery in parallel, which doubles amperage but gives us the same cranking voltage. Turn the key, it cranks but barely. We left it to charge for 10 minutes. Cranking improved but only marginally. We attempted to connect diagnostic scan tools to it (notably Cummins Insite) but had technical difficulties with our software. We did manage to hook up a different scan tool and pulled all active engines codes of which there were 3. Stay tuned next week as we progress on this project.

So we moved on to our Series 60 Dyno Engine, which has recently been made to run. We started her up for a minute or two. However, we are unsure about the lubrication and requirements of this old dyno that hasn't seen action in years, so for now I was instructed to remove the driveshaft so we could run the engine without the actual dynamometer hooked up. So what did I find?

Never worked on this kind of yoke before. Time to learn something new?

I have experience with half-round and full-round driveshaft yokes, but not this kind. The u-joint is held in with snap-rings, and I am still not entirely sure I had to unbolt the yoke "strap" part at all. Due to the awkward position of the snap-rings I needed to remove, and the inability to turn the driveshaft like I would working on a truck, I had access issues to one of the snap-rings.

These pliers were a huge help with solving my accessibility issue. I have made note, and will likely be seeking to add a pair to my own toolbox in the future.

 I was successful in removing the snap-rings, but it was time to clean up and head home before I could make any further progress.

Finally, and a bit out of order as this was pulled in before anything I have just written about, we got a chance to take a closer look at a brand new Freightliner Coronado on loan to us from Matheny Truck Center. It was the task of another team to do an inspection on this vehicle.

If only I could work on trucks this clean.

My reflection:

In addition to all that I have just written about, we also had our midterm to take first-thing in class. A busy day, for sure! Multitasking is yet another skill a good mechanic needs to be able to do. Whether we have multiple projects going on at the same time, or quickly switch from one to the next. This is a lesson I have learned working at a real shop as well. This is simply another reason why organization of parts and tools is so important, as we try to seamlessly move between projects. Paperwork and documentation also plays an important role here.