I have a new cummins 6bt 5.9 210hp and I regret not getting the 260 or
315hp versions. Is it feasible to upgrade the 210 to a 260 or 315.
Other than an after cooler what else is different? Would it be easier,
cheaper just to replace the engine.

Haven't a clue myself but one thing that might help is if you can get
your hands on the illustrated parts breakdowns and lists and then
compare. That will tell you if the major engine components are
different or not.

On Jan 24, 5:43 pm, "mark" wrote:
I have a new cummins 6bt 5.9 210hp and I regret not getting the 260 or
315hp versions. Is it feasible to upgrade the 210 to a 260 or 315.
Other than an after cooler what else is different? Would it be easier,
cheaper just to replace the engine.

On Jan 24, 2:43*pm, "mark" wrote:
I have a new cummins 6bt 5.9 210hp and I regret not getting the 260 or
315hp versions. Is it feasible to upgrade the 210 to a 260 or 315.
Other than an after cooler what else is different? Would it be easier,
cheaper just to replace the engine.

I would check directly with Cummins, and one of the first questions I
would ask would be, "What happens to my warranty on this engine if I
add an aftercooler, increase fuel delivery (probably), change the cam
(maybe), and make all of the other modifications required to get an
additional 50-100 HP out of this same block?" I suspect the answer
won't be one that pleases you very much. Maybe if you hire Cummins
factory certified people to make the upgrades you would be OK, but if
it were me I'd want something in writing from Cummins in order to
protect my engine warranty.

Is there any chance you actually have adequate HP but aren't using it
effectively? How's your prop? Is there a chance that changing your
gearbox could tweak performance to a satisfactory level?

On Jan 24, 5:43 pm, "mark" wrote:
I have a new cummins 6bt 5.9 210hp and I regret not getting the 260 or
315hp versions. Is it feasible to upgrade the 210 to a 260 or 315.
Other than an after cooler what else is different? Would it be easier,
cheaper just to replace the engine.

I suspect it's probably going to be cheaper to put your engine up for
sale and buy the one you should have in the first place.

Things that are probably differant, the head on the bigger engines is
probably a four valve per cylinder (if it's not the valves are probably
differant), I suspect your's is only two valves per cylinder. An
intercoller, a larger turbo, larger injectors, a larger injection pump,
probably a bigger supply pump, larger oil cooler, possibly a fuel
cooler, larger cooling system, cam shaft, pistons might be differant,
larger oil and fuel lines, differant engine mounts, ect. It would take
a lot of work, probably void the warrenty, not worth it.

I checked with a local dealer and they said they can recalibrate my
fuel injector pump and I could get around 225 hp ($750.00) but other
than that it would be better to change the engine. The engine only
came with 1 year warranty which will be up this May. Imagine that, $20
000.00 engine and 1 year warranty, in my case around 150 hours but
these engines commonly live to 15000 hours or more.

On Jan 25, 12:59 pm, "Capt John" wrote:
On Jan 24, 5:43 pm, "mark" wrote:

I have a new cummins 6bt 5.9 210hp and I regret not getting the 260 or
315hp versions. Is it feasible to upgrade the 210 to a 260 or 315.
Other than an after cooler what else is different? Would it be easier,
cheaper just to replace the engine.I suspect it's probably going to be cheaper to put your engine up for
sale and buy the one you should have in the first place.

Things that are probably differant, the head on the bigger engines is
probably a four valve per cylinder (if it's not the valves are probably
differant), I suspect your's is only two valves per cylinder. An
intercoller, a larger turbo, larger injectors, a larger injection pump,
probably a bigger supply pump, larger oil cooler, possibly a fuel
cooler, larger cooling system, cam shaft, pistons might be differant,
larger oil and fuel lines, differant engine mounts, ect. It would take
a lot of work, probably void the warrenty, not worth it.

On 25 Jan 2007 10:37:33 -0800, "mark" wrote:

these engines commonly live to 15000 hours or more

Not without a rebuild or two along the way.

Wayne.B wrote:
On 25 Jan 2007 10:37:33 -0800, "mark" wrote:

these engines commonly live to 15000 hours or more

Not without a rebuild or two along the way.

Is in common for a maintained diesel to last 5000 hrs before needing a
rebuild.

On Jan 25, 5:41 pm, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
On 25 Jan 2007 10:37:33 -0800, "mark" wrote:

these engines commonly live to 15000 hours or more

Not without a rebuild or two along the way.

Is in common for a maintained diesel to last 5000 hrs before needing a
rebuild.

Generally speaking, the lower the HP rating of the engine, the longer
it will last. In your case, they have that engine rated all the way up
to, I beleave, over 400 HP. On that engine, at only 210 HP, I would
say that 10,000 hours is not out of the question, maybe even higher.
The engine is just not being pushed very hard, so it should last a
very long time, provided it's proped correctly.

What kind of boat do you have it in? Beware, if your dealing with a
displacement hull, adding a lot more HP usually does not result in a
significant increase in speed unless it gets up on plane and has a
very small keel, so it doesn't keel walk, which can be scary.

John