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M936 Cummins Big Cam 3 Engine Swap

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
My M936 (FLUFFY) is almost ready to run with it's new Big Cam 3 engine upgrade. NTC350. Thank you to everyone who has posted their comments about their engine swaps. They are very helpful. To repeat other comments about what you can expect. I had to do the following.
1. Front engine mount needed some serious fabrication work to get the engine aligned properly. I made a completely new engine and frame mount.
2. Fan clutch mounting hardware needed to be fabricated to get the right position with existing radiator. Spacer needed to be machined for drive accessory fan belt pully alignment with fan clutch
3. Alternator adapter plate was made to align existing 24vdc alternator.
4. Transmitting flex plate housing needed upper left hand bolt hole reamed out to mate up with engine.
5. Be sure to jack up front of cab 4" to get engine out and in. It is a heavy monster, use rated hoist and be safe.
6. VS fuel pump from existing engine needed to be worked up to run the ntc350. I am having this done at a diesel shop. Need the VS pump instead of the PT pump for constant power while running PTO.
7. Turbo intake piping needed some fitting and fabrication. Same with exhaust piping. I added a 5" muffler stack to replace 4".
8. May need to add 1" cab lift to clear back of engine in firewall. I have about 1/2" of clearence.
9. Everything on this truck is heavy and I have lost 20lbs and my muscles are getting toned. Women have noticed and have been seeking me out. Thank God they don't know where the shop is. I wouldn't be able to get any work done because of the line at the door.
10. More modifications are coming, but I need to get this part done first.

Those are just the highlights. This is a serious project and not a weekend swap out. I am on week #5 of nights and weekends and I have about 2 left...

I will upload pictures when I am done. To say that I am excited is an understatement.
 

simp5782

Feo, Fuerte y Formal
Supporting Vendor
12,122
9,367
113
Location
Mason, TN
My M936 (FLUFFY) is almost ready to run with it's new Big Cam 3 engine upgrade. NTC350. Thank you to everyone who has posted their comments about their engine swaps. They are very helpful. To repeat other comments about what you can expect. I had to do the following.
1. Front engine mount needed some serious fabrication work to get the engine aligned properly. I made a completely new engine and frame mount.
2. Fan clutch mounting hardware needed to be fabricated to get the right position with existing radiator. Spacer needed to be machined for drive accessory fan belt pully alignment with fan clutch
3. Alternator adapter plate was made to align existing 24vdc alternator.
4. Transmitting flex plate housing needed upper left hand bolt hole reamed out to mate up with engine.
5. Be sure to jack up front of cab 4" to get engine out and in. It is a heavy monster, use rated hoist and be safe.
6. VS fuel pump from existing engine needed to be worked up to run the ntc350. I am having this done at a diesel shop. Need the VS pump instead of the PT pump for constant power while running PTO.
7. Turbo intake piping needed some fitting and fabrication. Same with exhaust piping. I added a 5" muffler stack to replace 4".
8. May need to add 1" cab lift to clear back of engine in firewall. I have about 1/2" of clearence.
9. Everything on this truck is heavy and I have lost 20lbs and my muscles are getting toned. Women have noticed and have been seeking me out. Thank God they don't know where the shop is. I wouldn't be able to get any work done because of the line at the door.
10. More modifications are coming, but I need to get this part done first.

Those are just the highlights. This is a serious project and not a weekend swap out. I am on week #5 of nights and weekends and I have about 2 left...

I will upload pictures when I am done. To say that I am excited is an understatement.
 

Attachments

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
Funny, not sure how that got there that is not the picture of the front motor mount I built. I can't take credit for someone else's work.
 

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
Using the M915 cross member is a good idea. I have a metal fab shop, so it was fun for me to build from scratch. Here is a picture of the engine alignment jig. I lined up the point on the center of the nhc250 crankshaft before I pulled it out. Then I used it for measuring and final engine alignment. It made measuring a lot easier
 

Attachments

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
Where in the world can I buy a remote oil filter kit for a big cam 3 with bypass oil filter. Been looking but can't find one with filters big enough for my engine
 

simp5782

Feo, Fuerte y Formal
Supporting Vendor
12,122
9,367
113
Location
Mason, TN
Swap the oil cooler to that of a big cam i. It is a single oil filter setup. There is a remote filter setup for the 8.3 which use the same head as the B96 filter. They just use a short B205 filter.

It is pricey.


Or notch the frame to fit the oil filter. A B205 filter type is half the size of the stock filter.

Ill find the number for the short bypass filter
 

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
Swap the oil cooler to that of a big cam i. It is a single oil filter setup. There is a remote filter setup for the 8.3 which use the same head as the B96 filter. They just use a short B205 filter.

It is pricey.


Or notch the frame to fit the oil filter. A B205 filter type is half the size of the stock filter.

Ill find the number for the short bypass filter
Thank you!!! That is extremely helpful. What a challenge to overcome
 

74M35A2

Well-known member
4,145
330
83
Location
Livonia, MI
Keep the progress pics going. Great to see somebody go further than I did, this makes me want to continue my swap. I'm also watching the big engine swaps such as this to see if the ISX would fit in my truck with the cab. It is a DOHC engine, so being 4 valve has a really wide head and valve cover. I think it would need to be placed almost too far forward to clear the cab at the rear, and then you are into the radiator with no room left for a charge air cooler, unless you just start cutting away and make a custom doghouse, which would not be that bad to do...

Nice work, keep going, keep telling key points, and keep posting pics. Thanks.
 

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
I raised the cab and hood 2". The wrecker body wasn't raised. That extra 2" is perfect. They should of made the truck that way from the beginning. It is amazing how much easier it is to get at things to work on.
 

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
Does anybody know where I can get a seal kit for the wrecker swing gearbox? It is leaking gear oil out from the bottom. The swing motor is fine.
 

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
I tried the blaylock. It just didn't have the top end guts with a load.
Interesting. I haven't tried mine under load yet. I'm waiting for my fuel pump to come back. Right now she is a shop princess. What engine do you have? What size blaylock did you run?
 

J4Jenius

Member
44
31
8
Location
Iowa
Keep the progress pics going. Great to see somebody go further than I did, this makes me want to continue my swap. I'm also watching the big engine swaps such as this to see if the ISX would fit in my truck with the cab. It is a DOHC engine, so being 4 valve has a really wide head and valve cover. I think it would need to be placed almost too far forward to clear the cab at the rear, and then you are into the radiator with no room left for a charge air cooler, unless you just start cutting away and make a custom doghouse, which would not be that bad to do...

Nice work, keep going, keep telling key points, and keep posting pics. Thanks.
Be careful which ISX fuel pump you have. The ones with the super high pressure rail have ceramic dowel things in the injector pump head. Around 300000 miles they fracture and contaminate the oil. The engine then needs new rod and main bearings. New oil pump and oil cooler. Worst of all the engine needs to be flushed out to remove all the tiny ceramic pieces. Not fun. I am working on one now with a friend of mine. Check YouTube for "Common ISX fuel pump faiures for more information. The replacement upgraded pump uses steel instead of ceramic dowel/push rod things. (Very technical terminology lol)
 
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