Hey all. My 03 has had enough at 260,000 km. Dissapointing but it is what it is and by the time the new motor is done I should have something solid I can rely on, well thats the goal.

Current setup: 03 24V 5.9L CR, 6 spd manual, short shift kit, BD X-Power Plus chip, BD Air Intake with filter swapped to paper filter with pre filter cover, straight pipe exhaust.

I'm no mechanic, my knowledge and opinions are mostly based on research so I can use all the help I can get. I will do my best to get as many photos as I can into the thread as it should be entertaining at the least.

Some items are up in the air but for the most part this is the plan:
Long block - From Bernhausen Diesel (Langley, BC)
ARP Head Studs
Pistons - Mahle, .020 Over, Coated & Chamfered, Flycut
Cam - Colt Cams New Billet stage 3 "Big Stick"
Springs - Colt Cams H.D Springs
Girdle & ARP Main Studs from Motorsport Diesel
Injection Pump - Have current one tested, Install wicked diesel Arson III kit
Injectors - New bosch design in current motor (1 year old), having flow tested
Nozzles - Bosch Nozzles 90 Hp
Lift Pump - Current is BD Max-Flow (1 year old)
Fuel Filter - XX-Fuel, Remote mount, water seperator, 8 micron and 2 micron filters
Intake Plenum Cover - Glacier Diesel "Air Boss CR"
Intake Horn - Banks 3 1/2" High Ram
Turbo - BD Super B Special
Clutch - South Bend Street Dual Disc
Fluidampr
Freeze Plug Conversion - From Motorsport Diesel

In Question is the Harland Sharp Roller Rockers (Bronze Bushed), at $1,800 they are definitley out of my price range. Any opinions on wether these are worth the extra debt.

I'm also still considering going with Scheid Diesel Coated Main & Rod Bearings, not sure if if they're worth the extra $400.

The shop that will be building this knows their stuff, they keep suggestion not to Firering it as I end up lossing engine longevity, I'm leaning towards just trying to sway them into O-Ringing. I guess at the end of the day its my choice but in my eyes for this build to work it would be best to be on the same page as the shop.

Anything I'm missing, suggestions on different combinations of parts, good or bad feedback on any parts I've mentioned, any input is appreciated.

 

Coating the bearing is a good thing. Swain will coat them for half the cost you mention. I paid about $180 to coat rod and mains through them. With just a super B special and 90's you don't need firerings or O-rings. I have run up to 90 lbs of boost on mine with stock MLS gasket and 625 studs torqued to 155. I did lift the head at 80lbs running arp 2000's torqued to 125 for comparison. Firerings are supposedly not good for the daily driver as the steel ring gets brittle over time. The O-ring wire seems to last better for a DD. I still think the MLS is the better option for the DD. At least most of the time if you lift the head, it will reseal itself.

I have Haisley roller rockers and they have worked very well. Your post is confusing though... you state " Harland Sharp Roller Rockers (Bronze Bushed)" So are they rollers or bushed? The stock rocker uses a bushing and it doesn't oil well and it galls after a period of time. Some folks, like Lazarsmith, have had some success with coatings on the rockers to alleviate the problem. That is a cheaper solution. Roller rockers also change the ratio a little. That has the effect of turning your cam into a little "hotter" profile. Not a bad thing in your case.

You mention the "freeze plug conversion" Is this the head or the block? If its the head, you can save about $400 by having your machine shop tap the plug holes and use a standard 1/2" pipe plug and be good to go. You do need to use this time to address the rear freeze plug. I like Haisley's solution to that personally-- you can find that on the website. I also note that you are near Langley, and using a colt cam, it would be worth your while to talk with Harry over at Peak Diesel for some more info... he has a wealth of it.

Also the girdle and main studs... well, it's not really needed on the power potential you have with 90's and the super b special. That's overkill for sure. So I would save the money unless you plan on being over 850hp soon. Even then, the CR rods then crank (in that order) are the weak point before block flex.

Just my humble opinion... others will vary.

 

On edit from above post... I didn't realize that the Harland Sharp offered both bushings and needle bearings in the rockers. If you go with the rockers, get the needle bearings. If you don't want to spend big $$ (for your purpose it doesn't look necessary) look into the coating on the rockers I mentioned. That should only be about $200 provided your rockers are in good condition now.

 

This is why I love forums, thanks Soulezoo thats a load of help.

I really like the idea of coating the rockers that would give me some peace of mind and leave me some $.

It was the bronze bushing version of the rollers I was looking at, the shop had a reason for bronze over needle bearing. I would like to try to get down to which is better as I have no clue but I think it would be a waste of time thanks to your suggestion of coating mine.

The freeze plug kit is for the head. $79 for 11 plugs and I believe the shop will be reasonable about the small amount of time it should take to install. I'll look into the haisley rear plug but im guessing it won't be worth the cost to me.

Harry at Peak is great guy , he's been a big help to a few friends with 5.9's in the past. I've spoken to him briefly about my build but Bernhausen doing the work and them or myself ordering most the parts at this point I'd feel like I was wasting his time.

I got to meet Jeff the owner Colt Cams and he was really helpful as well.

The girdle & studs I see your point to, $600 for both didn't seem to bad. The only thing that makes me want to do it is if I upgrade to twins down the road it might always bug me in the back of my head that I didn't just do it while I was in there.

Again thanks Soulezoo, I appreciate it.

 

You NEED the rear freeze plug fix. If there is anything on your build I feel that strongly about, it is that. And it isn't that expensive-- between $50-60.

Everything else is just feel good insurance. That plug is a necessity. You'll have to trust me on that one.

Here's my experience: Blow out the back freeze plug at the drag strip 200 miles from home. local mechanic kind enough to reinstall that night after tow from drag strip to shop. Plug pushes out enough to leak just getting to RV park. Go back to shop. He installs oversized plug and cantilevers a piece of 1/8" steel and bolts it over the plug. At the dyno a couple of months later and with an Opies bypass installed, the plug pushes out enough to bend that 1/8" steel and start leaking. The steel at least kept it from flying out. I got the haisleys and have not looked back. And lest you think it cannot be that bad, I have seen a picture where the Haisley's was blown out the back taking the bolts and threads from the block with it! That was on a 12v. Get the O-ring plug, bolt it on and run the hose up to bleed off the pressure as they show. It is worth the effort.

Learn from my experience and that of others!

 

Soulezoo, thanks it's now on the list. Talked to the shop today and they'll do whatever freeze plugs I bring them at minimal to no cost so I'll definitley be doing the head and rear plugs. What is the hose your talking about, I didn't see it on they're site. Is it done using just any proper diameter hose and where did you run yours to.

Between Soulezoo and a few other people I'm convinced to spend the extra money on the ARP 625 head studs, the 2000's were included in the quote for the long block which works out, thankfully I can just pay the difference in price between the 2 sets.

Looks like im going with Mahle .020 over coated & chamfered pistons &
Lazarsmith thermal coated rockers with the oil channels machined into levers.

I hung around the shop for a few hours today and it was really helpful for gathering info.

Does anyone have a CR with a Colt Cam stage 3 "Big Stick" , I heard today from a 12v guy that it has a most of its pull from 3000 rpm on and I'd be better with stage 2. Most people disagree but I've yet to talk to a 24 V CR with the stage 3 cam to be sure it's the right one.

Looks like I can leave some things for down the road if done at all.
The Banks intake horn (or any brand) from what I've heard will be useless to me without an intercooler upgrade, which isn't happening.
The Arson III CP3 upgrade I will forget about. The CP3 will still be tested and left alone if ok, if not I'll weigh out the upgrade options.

This will free up some $ , it's been suggested I use that money for an ATS 2 piece exhaust manifold.

What is everyones opinion on Turbos for what im doing. No racing or sled pulling, just pulling a 8'6" camper with the plan to be able to throw my Jeep on an 18ft trailer occasionally. It sounds like the Super B Special isn't the best turbo for me, I'm told the Killer B would be better.

Any opinions on using a Garrett PowerMax stage 1

I don't mind buying the properly matched turbo and selling it down the road if I ever upgraded to twins. Realistically I don't see it happening so I'd prefer to get the best matched single turbo. I think I'll head over to Peak Performance and talk to Harry about this morning.

 

I'll update more tomorrow, this is where its at right now.

 

What pistons you running in your build? I was told that the Harland Sharp rockers require custom length pushrods.

You running 12V rods or stock CR rods?

I build a 03 HO running 480 QSB marine, 12V rods, 12mm gridle/ARP, ARP2000, colt cam stage 3, stock CR MLS, ported head/hellman intake eariler in the year. 03 piston squirters. Issue with the MLS gasket is there is only one size available from cummins 63 thou gasket. If you have more than 27 thou protrusion, you'll have fly cut pistons or buy a custom head gasket. My engine had to get 7 thou machined off the deck to true up.

That engine ran 150 sized injectors, arson kit CP, S468 turbo. It made 780rwhp and nearly 1000 rwhp on spray.

The cam/head spooled the turbo like a stock turbo, no lag and worked awesome. For a sub-4000rpm engine, the colt stage 3 is all thats required.

We've run the stage 3,4 and few billet cams in P7100 engines.

Seen a few race CR running big camshafts, the spool-up is aweful, with hardly any power increases thru out the rpm range.

 

Yes do the rear freeze plug. Don't ask me how I know. The billet plate and freeze plug fix has the tapped port for the coolant bypass if you need it.

 

Here's an updated parts list

Rotating Assembly Balanced & Blueprinted, Head Ported
Mahle .020 over Pistons Coated & Chamfered - Industrial Injection
Stock CR Rods
Rockers Machined & Oil Bronzed Bushing Pressed in
Main Girdle - Motorsport Diesel
H.D Valve springs - Colt Cams
"Big Stick"Camshaft - Colt Cams
Head Studs, Main Studs, Injector Studs, Exhaust Manifold Studs & C.R Bolts - ARP
Rear Freeze Plug Bypass - Enterprise Engine
Head Freeze Plug Kit - Motorsport Diesel
Side Freeze Plugs - Keating Machine
50 Hp Nozzles - DDP
Mega Rail Kit 6.7L Rails, Intake Plenum Cover & Intake Horn
6.7L CP3 & Filter Housing
Killer B Turbo - BD
ATS Exhaust Manifold
Edge Insight CTS
Smarty SSR
Magnaflow 5" Stainless Turbo Back

Im sure I've left something out but that's pretty much what is going into it.

 

Looks great. You'll have a nice solid engine there.

One other recommendation would be for a mild water injection kit.

Like a snow max mpg...

 

The Head went on last night.

Thanks soulezoo, I think I will steer clear of water/meth for the time being unless egts get high. I want something really reliable and so far it doesn't seem like a water/meth kit will be reliable enough for me.

Unfortunately I have to wait until Thursday for the rockers to be finished at the machine shop. It's coming along though and should be a solid setup.

 

I didn't say use meth...

 

Soulezoo - Sorry I just assumed you meant a mix of water and meth, It's the hardware reliability and additional tuning that shys me away from it.

 

Well it is taking alot longer than planned or wanted.

Finally got the rockers back from the machine shop, overall I'm happy with how they turned out. Hopefully the days of galling are over.