Any opinions on a 903 Cummins?Not many around,is there a reason to avoid them?Thanks for any opinions.
I drove one once in an IH Transtar. They had the nickname of Nine O Nothing due to comparably low power with other engines. I hauled lumber in that truck, I remember it crawled up hills. I only worked for that company for a few days, I can't say much about the reliability.
U.S. Coast guard had them in 41' UTB twin screw, we never had much for problem, then again we swapped them out at 5,000hrs. I think they where 300-350hp
I think that says a lot, if they were good there would be more around. For my opinion I be looking at the NT855 engine .
The first place i worked at when i got out of school had one in a autocar. It had a strait pipe and would run 45mph flat on the floor. It never gave us any problems but i havent saw one in years so unless its dirt cheap i would stay away from it.
What is the application? I think they were fairly reliable in the tractors. I know there were probably a lot in trucks, but not around here. There were a lot of Versatile tractors around here that ran them. And the "Triple Nickels" too.
Having said that I do know where there is a fuel pump and set of injectors for one. They have been sitting in the store room at the shop where I worked up till the end of April. Seems the guy who was the mechanic for the quarry back when Our shop was separate from the actual quarry had pulled them off the IR Drill rig he was going to rebuild and they got sent to the pump shop in town. Well as it was when he got a bit deeper into the overhaul he found a problem with either the block or crank or both and the boss said "Scrap it!" Wouldn't you know the pump shop for once was right on the ball and had the pump and injectors rebuilt and delivered before the real bad problem was found! 20 or more years later they are still sitting in the box from the pump shop!
This thread piqued my curiosity so I went to YouTube to listen to one running, it's been about 25 years since I drove one. In the process I saw quite a number of them with crank issues, thrown rods, etc. kshansen mentions one with a crank issue here now too. Seems to be a trend.
I have no direct experience with them, but everyone I have ever talked to had nothing good to say about them, other than their quality as a boat anchor or scrap iron.
Clark built the 880 skidder with a 903 in it rest of driveline was similar to 275C Michiagan loader CZ had some in Bogalusa, La. pulling choppers. They did change trans in one from 4 speed to 8 speed like used in the 280 Rubber tired dozer. Didn't hear much about engine trouble except low power and parts availability. I think the engines were built in England.
Thanks for the input.I think I'll pass on this one.