Rotella T15W40 22K on the oil (making metal)

[A310]

Luke,

My engine is a stock green 4-53T as well with 5C60 injectors and a rebuilt green turbo. The only mods I'm planning for it are 7A75 injectors that I already have new and a natural rebuilt blower that I have to buy. After spending hours of searching and talking to different vendors, the ZF6 is too much work to fit on my #2 flywheel housing. So I'm going to source an Allison 1000 6 speed for it and switch to my #3 housing and it's a easy bolt up. I've spoken to many different tuners and you can now run the oem Allison TCM,TPS and tune it for the Detroit. I have considered the 6V53T, but it's too heavy. I think I can get a modest 200 horse out of my engine when it's finished, so that's enough for me. I'm just setting up my shop, so I'm about 6 months away from finishing it and will give me lots of time to get a good Allison and gear.
Here's a video of my Detroit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhM0563drn8&t=144s

 

[CT8]

Turbocharged? Is that factory? Years ago when I drove truck out of the line drivers local the Detroits "they were all 2 strokes then" the engines that were turboed were just plain super to drive.

 

[FlyNavyP3]

The 4-53 & 6v53 were both available as either "natural" (only a scavenging blower) or as a turbocharged (T designation with both blower and turbo) the T models had different camshaft, blower, pistons, oil cooler, head cooling, injectors, rack and some other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. A Turbo 2 stroke Detroit is a thing of beauty. The 71&92 series were used in both OTR & marine duty. The marine power levels are staggering. 53 series were never intercooled nor after cooled. 71&92 series could be JWAC (jacket water after cooled) or intercooled depending on the application. Later Silver series engines also had bypass blowers which allowed a valve to open up and "bypass" the scavenging air blower once the turbo was lit lessening the heating and pumping losses of the blower. 53,71 & 92 engines were all made in silver series, which IMO are the best of breed in 2 stroke Detroit engines with my personal line haul favorite being the DDEC IV Silver 92 rated at 500hp. In a non electronic Detroit 71 or 92 series anything WBP (water below port) was also a stellar engine and helped to keep cylinder temps down compared to the earlier block design.

It's really hard to beat any series Detroit 2 stroke in terms of parts interchangeably simplicity of design and cost to overhaul. Even today over 75 years after their introduction new ones are still being made for military use and millions are still in service around the world.

 

[Brons2]

Detroits are great motors if you like making glorious noise, but if you have any actual work to be done, stick with a modern engine.

 

[A310]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Turbocharged? Is that factory? Years ago when I drove truck out of the line drivers local the Detroits "they were all 2 strokes then" the engines that were turboed were just plain super to drive.


Yes it's a factory turbo charged. The only thing I'm going to change is adding larger injectors and a natural blower. This gives it better lower end torque and a bit more power. I think I should have around 200-220 HP when it's all done.

 

[A310]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
Detroits are great motors if you like making glorious noise, but if you have any actual work to be done, stick with a modern engine.


The Detroit's are more than capable of making enough power to get the job done. At 200-220 H.P. it can easily haul more than my F350 is rated for and do it day in and day out. As I do all my own maintenance and repairs, I'd rather work on a Detroit any day compared to my 6.4 Powerstroke. There is no comparison in cost and reliability of the Detroit versus a 6.4 Powerstroke, so Detroit it will be. Plus I like glorious noise as well so it's a win win.

 

[FlyNavyP3]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
Detroits are great motors if you like making glorious noise, but if you have any actual work to be done, stick with a modern engine.


I completely disagree. 71 Series Detroit's have been getting the job done since 1938, landed troops on D-Day, powered numerous Tanks, artillery craft, Busses, OTR trucks, Fire Engines, stationary power, backup power generation, submarines, pleasure and working boats etc. ever since! The direct descendant of the 71 is the 92 series which is STILL built today and is valued for its high power to weight ratio. Can a modern engine make more power, yes, better emissions, yes, better fuel economy, yes, quieter, yes. Cost to overhaul? Not likely, simplicity of repair and interchangeability of parts, not a chance.

Is it an old design, sure, but in the 70's and 80's prior to the EPA crushing the sales 2 stroke Detroit's ruled the roads.

 

[FlyNavyP3]

Any update on this 6.4? How's it doing?

 

[A310]

Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
Any update on this 6.4? How's it doing?


The 6.4 is running great thanks, no change from when I bought the truck. I've put about 5000 miles on it since I changed the oil, but haven't sent any samples out yet. I've just been busy getting my shop ready so I can do the engine swap. I've spoken to a few people about my 6.4 making metal and they all say the engine is prone to that, so not to worry too much. I really like the engine, but as mentioned earlier I don't like the prospect of replacing it with another 6.4 or the cost to rebuild it. On the bright side I started my Detroit 4-53T up after 5 years in storage and it ran like a champ. I'm in the process of ordering a gasket kit and some other goodies for it as well as sourcing out a good used Allison 6 speed, so it's slowly coming together. At this point I should be ready to swap the engine at the end of this year. Here's a video of my 4-53T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyZtlRJfFaA&t=2s

 

[FlyNavyP3]

Nice to hear the 4-53T up and running again. Judging by the limited smoke I'm guessing it still has the original 5C60 injectors in it. I'm still really jealous of your Jacobs master and slave units living under that sweet tall valve cover. The Detroit sounds great, nice catch on the sticky injector. These are just simply fantastic engines. Best of luck on the rest of the swap. I'll be curious to see the results of your next oil sample on your 6.4.

As an aside, any thoughts on retaining the 6.4 air to air intercooler for use with the 4-53T? If it was at all possible that would be a nice upgrade to keep air temperature entering the blower nice and low.

 

[A310]

Thanks, yes it still has the original 5C60's with the fuel modulator attached so it won't roll coal. I still need to install my new injectors and looking for a good used natural blower to rebuild and install, I just missed one on ebay as the owner took it off before the bids finished. The Jakes are a nice touch and took around 8 months of hunting to find them. I could not find the risers, so I fabbed the tall valve cover instead. I'll be using the radiator and cold air cooler from the 6.4 and anything I can salvage for the swap. There's a lot of work to be done so I can get the ecu to communicate with Detroit, but that's half the fun

 

[FlyNavyP3]

Originally Posted By: A310
Thanks, yes it still has the original 5C60's with the fuel modulator attached so it won't roll coal. I still need to install my new injectors and looking for a good used natural blower to rebuild and install, I just missed one on ebay as the owner took it off before the bids finished. The Jakes are a nice touch and took around 8 months of hunting to find them. I could not find the risers, so I fabbed the tall valve cover instead. I'll be using the radiator and cold air cooler from the 6.4 and anything I can salvage for the swap. There's a lot of work to be done so I can get the ecu to communicate with Detroit, but that's half the fun


If you come across another set of Jakes let me know, I haven't been able to find any for a price I'm willing to pay. I'd take any combination of Master and 3 slaves or 2 masters and 2 slaves. I'd also like to get a natural blower for my engine, I currently have the non bypass turbo blower. I do wonder if in your setup if there would be benefits to running the silver series bypass blower since you'll be feeding nice cool air to the blower, potential for extra power by not having to drive the blower under boost and lower air box temps without that added beating of the air by the blower once the turbo is lit. The trade off would be the reduction in throttle response and torque from a turbo blower before the turbo itself is making boost, but I'd wager that with an automatic the end result would be nearly no loss since it always has load unlike a stick where it looses everything every time you unload the engine to shift. Just thinking out loud I suppose.

 

[Colt45ws]

Please post pictures and vids when you do this. Im excited. Ive gone though YouTube a couple times looking for videos of Detriots running so I can listen to them. Done that for hours at a time

 

[A310]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Please post pictures and vids when you do this. Im excited. Ive gone though YouTube a couple times looking for videos of Detriots running so I can listen to them. Done that for hours at a time


I sure will, I'll be starting the swap in around three months time and doing weekly youtube updates on the project.