10-4 Magazine / August 2026 19 The Performance Zone: By Bruce Mallinson I belong to a Big Cam and N-14 Cummins group on Facebook, and there are a lot of good questions from owners of these engines. Surprisingly, many of the members give very good answers to the people asking for help. It is encouraging to see so many experienced mechanics and owner operators willing to share their knowledge. However, when the questions get very technical, that’s when you should call Brian Moan at Pittsburgh Power Inc. Brian has 38 years of experience working on Big Cam and N-14 Cummins engines. He has spent his entire career at Pittsburgh Power as both a mechanic and shop foreman. Many times, throughout the day, Brian and I discuss problems with these engines, so there is very little guesswork. Between the two of us, we’ve seen just about every failure imaginable. When someone calls looking for an answer, they are getting advice backed by decades of hands-on experience. Of course, good advice is only part of the equation. We also have the parts in stock, including fuel pumps and injectors built by Pat Sharp, who has been building Cummins fuel systems for 42 years. Like Brian, Pat has spent his entire career here at Pittsburgh Power. It’s becoming harder to find people who have dedicated their entire working lives to one specialty, and that experience shows in the quality of their work. Currently, we are helping a John Deere dealer repower an 8970 articulated tractor with a 19-liter K Series Cummins engine. The original engine was a 14-liter Big Cam Cummins producing 430 horsepower. The K Series Cummins will produce over 700 horsepower and an additional 810 lb-ft of torque. Once this repower is complete, this 8970 John Deere will be able to pull larger implements at greater speeds while making the operator’s job much easier. This is by no means a simple or easy conversion. Fortunately, the mechanic I’m working with is an older gentleman who has many years of experience working on farm tractors. He understands that every custom project has challenges, and he has the “I can” attitude that seems to be disappearing today. It’s always a pleasure to work with people who have knowledge, experience, and the determination to figure things out instead of saying something can’t be done. Another project I’m involved with is helping an owner operator, who is mechanically inclined, rebuild his BXS ACERT Caterpillar into either a 6NZ configuration or a single-turbo BXS. Either option will be more economical while still being an excellent Caterpillar engine. I enjoy helping people like this because they’re willing to learn, ask questions, and do the work themselves. There is a lot of satisfaction in bringing one of these engines back to life. On the marine side, I’m helping install a FASS Fuel System on a 20 kilowatt Onan generator in a boat. Mechanics who complain about working on semi-trucks should spend a day working on boats. Boats will wear out your legs, your back, and your stomach. There is a lot of climbing, crawling, squatting, and laying under decks where there is very little room to work. What might be a simple repair on a truck, often becomes a major project on a boat, simply because of the limited amount of access to what needs to be fixed. EVERY DAY PRESENTS A NEW CHALLENGE! An easier marine job I helped with last week was installing a rebuilt set of injector nozzles in a Ford Lehman six-cylinder diesel engine in a trawler boat. This naturally aspirated engine, with no turbocharger, produces about 120 horsepower and pushes the boat to a top speed of around 8 knots. It isn’t fast, but these engines have earned an outstanding reputation for reliability, and that’s exactly what trawler owners are looking for. The next marine project we will be working on is a Kubota 75-horsepower turbocharged sailboat engine that has a severe soot problem. Like most diesel engines, excessive soot is usually telling you something. Finding the root cause is the challenge, and that’s what makes this kind of work enjoyable. Every engine has a story, and it’s our job to figure out what it’s trying to tell us. Whether it’s helping someone with an older Big Cam Cummins, re-powering a John Deere tractor, rebuilding a Caterpillar engine, or troubleshooting marine diesels, every project is different. That’s one of the things I still enjoy after all these years of doing this job. Every day presents a new challenge, and every challenge is another opportunity to learn something new. Experience still matters, and there are no substitutes for solving problems with your own hands. To learn more about all our available products and services, visit us in Saxonburg, PA, call (724) 360-4080, or go to www.pittsburghpower.com anytime. We are always here to help! n
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy