Friday, November 05, 2010

Cummins ISB Engine



For emission requirements the Cummins ISB engine was re-engineered to a 24 valve system. the acronym ISB stands for Interact System B with a Bosch VP44 rotary injection pump which was used until 2003. After 2003 it had an upgrade to a Bosch common rail high pressure injection system.

Torque was increased to 610 lb ft giving it higher low speed torque and a increased performance output compared to a V8 diesel in the medium duty truck industry.

5.9L Cummins ISB Engine Specifications:

The displacement is 5.9 Liters (359 cu. in.) with an inline 6 design. The firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4 with a compression ratio of 16.3:1 and a high output version ratio of 17.2:1. Direct Injection started in 1998 which changed to common rail injection in 2003. The torque is 460 - 610 lb-ft @ 1,600 RPM with Horsepower rated at 235 - 325 HP @ 2,900 RPM.

From a Mechanic standpoint I really like the Cummins ISB engine and as you can hear from the video it really purrs nicely (After the compressor kicks out). The biggest problem we've had with the 2009 models is a minor exhaust manifold leak on a few of them and one compressor failure. In a fleet of buses that is an excellent record.

5 comments :

christopher said...

AWESOME!! I wrench on the ISB every day and never get tired of that sound. thanx for that great post. chris

Unknown said...

chris, I agree with you on that! These engines have really come far and are very reliable.

Unknown said...

I give the cummins isb engine top marks for design, compatibility and especially the way it interfaces with the Allison 2000 series automatic transmission.

Glenn Rowland said...

Do you have any experience with the ISC engine? I have a problem with the CAPS fuel system and I am looking for someone who can answer some questions about the performance of this engine.Glenn

Unknown said...

Yes I've had some experience with ISC. The main problems we've had is the fuel pressure sensor, cam/engine speed sensor and the caps pump itself. Do you have any Insight software to check for codes? If the code is active you can turn on the diagnostics switch (on the dash)with key on and get an engine code number.