855 Cummins

What kind Of Tractor? .....Steiger?
What are The Specs on the Original motor?
The older Panthers Came With Big cam Cummins Engines, And I think Some Years Of John deere Came With the n14 (the 855s spiritual successor) It absolutely can be done, But A Big Engine will only be as Powerful as the Transmission and Hydro pump behind it!

 

Hi a4t1600, the 855, I feel, was the best motor out there. Years ago, it was all 855's, with a few Cat's mixed in. I've trucked for many years, and nearly every truck I drove had a 855. ( even my own) The small cam, I feel had a little more power. Big cam means, I believe, the cam journals were bigger, which meant they could run lower oil pressure, theoretically, meaning less power to run the oil pump at 40 lbs. instead of 60 lbs, in a small cam, and better fuel economy, which it did. ( small cams got 5 mpg, while the Big Cam, got almost 6, or more, which probably won't make much difference in the field, and parts are everywhere. I worked at a farm that he bought a new JD chopper ( 10 years ago) and had an 855, and it did a good job. I'd go for it.

 

Most of the 855s I ever drove got some here between 3 and 4 mpg. I saw lots of them that never made it to 200k before they had to be overhauled.

 

Hi mountaingote, I beg to differ. Cummins 855's routinely go between 350 and 400k without a rebuild. And the rebuilds, generally, are much cheaper than say a newer Detroit or a Cat. Most people that don't get that kind of mileage, usually drive them too hard, you have to "baby" a Cummins, as they aren't the most powerful motors, but a Cummins motor never left me stranded. I got between 6 and 6.5 all day long (Big Cam). Sorry, I'm a firm believer in a 855 Cummins.

 

855 Cummins is like a 350 Chevy motor.
Just about anybody can rebuild one.
I rolled in a set of bearings at 240,000..
Truck was still running great,when I sold it with 495,000 miles.

 

I have an old 800 versatile articulated. It has a small cam 855 no turbo set at 250 hp. It has all the torque it needs. No need for a power shift just throttle it back, round the corner and push it ahead and away you go.

 

Merits of big cam over small cam: Longer head bolts less prone to brake. Camshaft is larger in diameter and should last longer. All had piston cooling nozzles. Newer and easier to get parts. All had poly groove water pump belts. All had turbo's and are more efficient than small cams without. That is my answer to your question so someone can tell me I am wrong.
I do not hate small cams and a friend of mine has army 6x6's with 240 small cams, made in 1990, pulling dumps under a corn chopper. They do a good job for him as one of those engines would for you. It is not all about HP, the long stroke produces torque and lugging power. There is also no substitute for cubic inches.
If gote's 200K overhauls were due to liners allowing coolant to leak under the head I also saw that at one time.
I agree with Mr. retired. The mileage on turbo engines was normally 5- 7.5 mpg and we expected to see 600K before the heads came off.
1600 : If you buy a big cam be sure it does not have low flow cooling for what you are doing. Would it not make you the coolest guy around if you bought a naturally asperated 12V Detroit with split manifolds and two three inch chrome straight pipes with flappers on each side?

 

Care to elaborate?? Application?? 6.31 rears and an auto in the toy soldiers?? This runs counter to my experience with older Cummins...........

 

Rears? Trans: Big 5 speed auto. It runs counter to my experience also. I may have confused the year with the one with an 8.3. Could be mid 80's. Still years after I thought production had stopped except for the Komatsu-Cummins small cam. Should not have brought it up and just said some later model military salvage trucks have N855s, small cams, with almost no miles. I have seen good results from them. Non-turbo, turbo, turbo and after cooled equals good, better, best. On the farm that works out something like 80, 70, or 60 gallons per day.