Dave is the owner of a 1974 Kenworth conventional that was re-powered in 1991 with a CPL 625 NTC 400 Cummins engine.  In 1993 Dave brought his KW to Diesel Injection in Pittsburgh, Pa. To have the engine built to 800 plus horsepower.  Around 490,000 miles into the engine Dave noticed a noise coming from the front of the engine.  Shortly after the noise was audible two thermostat housings broke, the alternator pulley on the front of the crankshaft broke and twice the flywheel bolts broke and that ruined the flywheel once.  The serpentine water pump pulley belt would not stay in the grooves and after every repair the noise still remained in the engine.

When we built his engine in 1993 a new vibration damper was installed on the front of the crankshaft.  Now keep in mind that the Cummins engineers recommend changing the viscous damper every 380,000 miles.  However, very few truck owners do so.

Dave Lanz finally grew tried of replacing parts that were breaking for no apparent reason, started reading our high performance booklet and answered his own question as to why all the breakage of parts.  His viscous damper had 110,000 miles over what was recommended by the engine company.  He called us, ordered a new damper and installed it.  The engine noise that he searched for over the past year is gone.  No further breakage of parts either.  After this experience Dave says that he will religiously change the crankshaft vibration damper every 380,000 miles.

Just think, Mr. Lanz, you could have broken the crankshaft or the camshaft.  You were lucky.  My hat is off to Dave Lanz.  He kept his cool and was very persistent in trying to find the noise problem.  Dave is going to retire in six more years and at that time the 1974 Kenworth is going to be converted into a recreational vehicle hauler so he can cruise the highways of the USA at a more leisurely pace.

The next question is from Harry Brady in Panama City FL.  “My NTC BCII 350 won’t pull over 1600 RPM in the high side of the transmission.  I installed your high performance fuel pump and matching high flow injectors and it still only goes to 1600 RPM and then falls flat on its face.  What is wrong”?

After reviewing the specification to which we built Harry’s pump and injectors his 350 should produce 440 horsepower.  The top RPM is set for 2400 RPM and in the high side of the transmission this engine should just pull right up to 2400.

For the next 45 minutes Harry and I talked about how he set the overhead, what type of lubrication he used on the injector o rings and is the throttle shaft in the fuel pump going to wide open throttle.

Next we talked about fuel restriction and being his Kenworth is a 1980 when was the last time the fuel suction lines were replaced?  Harry stated that the filter head was on the passenger side of the truck and he has never changed the lines.  Why is your filter on the right side instead of the left side where it should be?  Harry stated that the KW was originally powered by a 430 8V92 Detroit diesel and that is where Kenworth mounted the filter.

As it turns out the fuel filter and filter head are remnants from the 8V92 Detroit and do not flow enough fuel for the NTC Cummins.  We shipped Harry our V-12 Cummins fuel filter and filter head and he replaced his suction lines with #12 Stratoflex.

After the new parts were installed I had the opportunity to speak with Mrs... Brady and she informed me that the NTC 350 Cummins will now nail you to the back of the seat in any gear.  Thank you for your help.

Did you ever wonder how nice it would be to have your motorcycle with you when your rig is parked at a truck stop for a weekend?  There are a lot of beautiful places to see throughout the USA.  However, your eighteen-wheeler isn’t very practical for touring the backcountry. It sure would be nice to have your motorcycle with you however its back home and your 1,000 miles away.  If only there was a way to carry the bike on the truck.

The first question that must be answered is how much space is available from the back of the sleeper to the front of the trailer?  Second question is when the trailer is jack knifed 45 degrees from the tractor how many inches is the corner of the trailer from the back of the bunk?  This is the critical measurement because you would not want to crush the motorcycle while backing into a tight dock on an angle.  The space required is approximately 5 feet with the rig straight and 3’8” when the tractor is on a 45-degree angle to the trailer.  If you do not have the required space the frame will have to be lengthened or you’ll just have to leave the bike at home.

Now that you’ve determined that there is enough room behind the bunk for the motorcycle how in the world are you going to get it up there?  A ramp is the most logical way.  However, you may feel like your trying to be Evel Knievel riding the cycle up to an elevation of 4 feet.  If you have the ability to ride up the ramp where are you going to carry this ramp on your rig?  Don’t even think about an 8 foot ramp its too short you will need a 12 to 16 foot ramp similar to what the furniture haulers use.  You may be able to store a ramp of this size under the trailer.  However, in my case the trailer is very close to the ground.

Instead of a ramp we chose to construct an aluminum boom and use a 3500-lb. capacity super winch.  The reason for using a 3500 lb. winch to pick up a 700 lb. motorcycle is the winches are rated to pull a 3500 lb. load horizontal and are not rated for a vertical lift.  To take some of the pressure off the winch a snatch or pulley block is also used.  The pulley block doubles the lifting capability of the winch.  The boom is constructed of thick wall 4” diameter aluminum tubing.  To enable the boom to pivot, a ¾ ton Chevrolet pick up truck axle housing was used .  The axle hub assembly is mounted vertical and steel braces mount it to the truck frame rail.  The aluminum boom is now bolted to the eight wheel studs on the pickup truck axle housing assembly.  The winch is also mounted under the truck and the cable is routed up through the axle hub assembly and through the aluminum boom.  Pulleys are used to direct the cable through the boom assembly.  

The motorcycle is strapped to an H style frame assembly and the boom lifts the frame, not the motorcycle, into its storage area behind the bunk.  The storage area is a standard side kit from a steel-hauling trailer.  The side kit consists of 4 aluminum uprights, 2 96” wide bows and 2 panels, which are 4’ wide and 6’ high.  A custom tarp was made to go over the headache rack, the two bows and down to the platform that the motorcycle sits upon.  The platform is constructed from 2” square aluminum tubing and covered with 1/8” thick aluminum diamond plate.  The motorcycle is 4” wider than the 8’ platform so a dog box was fabricated into one of the side kit panels to cover the rear tire of the bike. The total weight added to the truck with the motorcycle, boom, winch, platform and side kit is about 1,000 pounds.