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Old 09-04-2009, 02:57 PM   #1
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Re: DTA 360 info

A DTA360 is a 5.9 liter, but it's not the one you're thinking of. Cummins makes their B-series in a 5.9 as well which is the Dodge pickup motor and the one that everyone with a TC2000 seems to love. The DTA360 is made by International and is the smaller brother to the DT466 (a candidate for king of the skoolie engines). It's an inline six with a turbo and aftercooler and is all over the place. Basically, it's not a bad choice by any means. Just don't expect it to be a rocket. Then again...can any of us with these medium size diesel claim to own a rocket?

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Old 09-04-2009, 03:06 PM   #2
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Re: DTA 360 info

Here is some information I found when researching my latest purchase which has an international engine also. Chapter 4 has informtion about the DTA360. I hope it helps.

http://www.thedieselstop.com/faq/949...renceGuide.pdf
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Old 09-10-2009, 01:59 PM   #3
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Re: DTA 360 info

This is the same motor I have in my bus(although mine is the DT360 without the aftercooler). The good is that the dt360 and dta360 is generally considered the most reliable motor out there. It is overbuilt and rarely breaks down. It gets pretty good mileage (my 35' gets about 11 mpg unloaded [16,000lbs] and this was on a hilly trip to the coast that I measured). The downside (as you've seen in my other post) is that it's a little underpowered if you are weighing down your bus. Unloaded on a [very] steep hill my bus slows down to around 35, and you'll have to manually downshift to get more power. Some mods, like adding an intercooler should help, and the turbo seems a little small for the size of the engine, which wouldn't be a terribly hard upgrade. The dt466 is a bit more powerful, but has many of the same parts, which is why the 360 is more reliable, since it is using the same parts with less force. The Cummings tend to get a little better mileage, but at the trade off of building them a little lighter/thinner, and they are more prone to break down.

If I was going to start over, I would probably look for a 466, but that is in a large part because of my need to haul a fair amount of weight. The 360 is a good engine that will last a long time.

What is the transmission?
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Old 09-11-2009, 07:58 AM   #4
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Re: DTA 360 info

The cummins is no more prone to breakdown than the DT360. There are probably 500 5.9 cummins built for every 1 DT360 built. They are both good engines but the cummins is alot more common so if you ever needed to replace the engine, it would be a whole lot easier to find the parts or running cummins than it would be a DT360 and also cheaper. Wet sleeves are great but who inframes light truck engines? It's easier to just pull them out and cheaper to get a reman/exchange. These are all throwaway motors wet sleeved or not.
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Old 09-11-2009, 10:20 PM   #5
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Re: DTA 360 info

We have an old '94 box truck with a DT360 and a 5-speed. I would not agree it's a little underpowered. It's a LOT underpowered. Merging onto the interstate at maximum acceleration is done at 35 mph. You measure zero to sixty with a calendar, not a stopwatch. I joke it will hit 65 going straight down over a cliff, but actually I have seen it hit 67 once or twice, and it will go 64 or 65 all day with no hills. Just remember to look 3/4 mile down the road for slow-downs, and changes lanes to keep the flow going, because if you drop your speed it will take a very long time to get it back.

I once got a stiff neck driving the first half of a six-hour round trip. I had been pressing so hard on the foot-feed pedal the whole time, trying to will the truck to go faster. I was in a hurry because I needed to get back in time for an appointment. After that episode, I learned to be Zen about it, and whenever I draw the short straw I just enjoy the sight of traffic flowing around me like waters flowing in a babbling brook.

It hasn't been a bad engine, and our troubles with the truck have come from other things. It runs well enough that we can't seem to get rid of the truck. It is just not made for people who are in a hurry. I wonder what the engine would be like if nevrenufhp turned it up.
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Old 09-12-2009, 04:32 PM   #6
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Re: DTA 360 info

Quote:
Originally Posted by Redbear

It hasn't been a bad engine, and our troubles with the truck have come from other things. It runs well enough that we can't seem to get rid of the truck. It is just not made for people who are in a hurry. I wonder what the engine would be like if nevrenufhp turned it up.
If I got a hold of it, you would checking the status of your wallet! I'd say it could go to 300hp without too much trouble, if you are under 20k pounds. Over 20k, I'd be looking at 250hp, just to keep from having a meltdown and wearing the poor little thing out. Just turning up the fuel screw will make it a little more pleasurable to drive, but nothing too exciting.
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Old 09-20-2009, 09:28 PM   #7
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Re: DTA 360 info

How would you get 300hp out of a DT360?
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Old 09-20-2009, 10:05 PM   #8
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Re: DTA 360 info

Quite simple, just take off the pump, and bring it to a trusty injection shop. There, they should be able to double the current cc's of the pump(and up the rpm to 3200). Then, add an S300 turbo in the 60-62mm inducer range. Of course, gauges to monitor it all would be first. In a nutshell, that's how, but there's other little things to go with it, like an intercooler, and hi flow intake plumbing.
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Old 09-21-2009, 08:28 AM   #9
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Re: DTA 360 info

The terms are essentially interchangeable. Aftercooler is technically correct as intercoolers refer back to WWII aircraft that had multistage compressors. Intercoolers cooled the air between stages, but a more broad definition states that aftercooler refers to it's placement (after the turbo/supercharger) and intercooler refers to it's function (to cool the air between the compressor and the engine).
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Old 06-17-2010, 11:49 PM   #10
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Re: DTA 360 info

A DT360 is a agricultural engine in a road vehicle. It's 400# heavier than a Cummins 5.9B.

Power in a bus/truck is different than power in a car or pickup. You aren't going to add a few hp and feel it in the seat of your pants. The transmission is much more important. You have 4 or 5 gears so there are only 4 or 5 speeds where you can have maximum power. A 190hp bus hauling 20,000# is equal to a 760hp fully loaded tractor-trailer. A 475hp road tractor will kick your ass in most places, with a much worse power/weight because he has better gearing. He can use maximum horsepower more often. I have 6 gears but am in 6th by 45mph. My next maximum horsepower event is at 67mph. That's too fast for my engine to make a big hill. So to use my power-weight advantage, I need a hill that drags a semi down below 50. 6% grades I win. Even 5%. Below that, they have too many gears where it counts. My daily driver is a crewcab diesel pickup with a Gear Vendors splitter. I pull a trailer that puts me at about the weight of a bus. It's much faster on the hills (it is a little more power) and is geared for it. Being able to tap down half a gear instead of having to wait for a whole gear to downshift is great.

I wouldn't bother mucking with the 190hp unless you have a lot more power in mind--like a swap to a bigger turbo-aftercooler and a built injection pump. You just don't have enough gears with this size of vehicle to take adantage of such a small incrimental increase.
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Old 06-18-2010, 01:00 AM   #11
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Re: DTA 360 info

This thread is kinda like looking at a high school picture with a 70's hair style.
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Old 06-18-2010, 08:46 PM   #12
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Re: DTA 360 info

CC, wtf?
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Old 06-19-2010, 07:31 PM   #13
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Re: DTA 360 info

Quote:
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CC, wtf?
I posted on a thread that hasn't been responded to since September. That doesn't mean it isn't worth revisiting. On many forums people complain that someone posted without doing a search. If that person does a search, finds a pertainent thread and posts on it, he will get a comment about posting on an old thread.I think reading through old threads and making comments about things not covered is a good thing.
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Old 06-19-2010, 10:20 PM   #14
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Re: DTA 360 info

You aren't getting where I'm coming from and I'm too tired to explain.
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Old 06-19-2010, 10:39 PM   #15
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Re: DTA 360 info

Then we can talk about getting the 360 to move mountains. Lets take the pump to a shop, and get around 400cc's and add 4k rpm governor springs, then add head studs, HD rod bolts, stiffer valve springs, and compound turbos.
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Old 06-21-2010, 09:38 PM   #16
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Re: DTA 360 info

Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycal
You aren't getting where I'm coming from and I'm too tired to explain.
Well, when you feel better.

Anyway, I really like that rear deck in your gallery. Brilliant. I wish i had seen that before I welded my hitch up. Now I'm making steps that slide into the receiver.
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Old 06-21-2010, 10:29 PM   #17
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Re: DTA 360 info

Quote:
Originally Posted by nevrenufhp
Then we can talk about getting the 360 to move mountains. Lets take the pump to a shop, and get around 400cc's and add 4k rpm governor springs, then add head studs, HD rod bolts, stiffer valve springs, and compound turbos.
Might hurt my FS-5406 and it's 560ft# torque rating. I wouldn't mind a wastegated turbo so it would spool up with more enthusiasm though.

I really like to drive 65mph. Problem is, it's 2600rpm (which is fine) but there no downshifting until it hits 50mph. That's a long wait, and a low speed for maximum power. I think maximum power at 55-60 in 5th and cruising closer to 2000 in 6th would make it seem stronger. 4.11s are about right.

My competiton on the road is semi's. We have twice as big of steps between gears. We have more rpm range, but all of these new engines have absolutely flat torque bands--or worse, torque rise designed in so they don't lose rpm on hills. Nothing sucks worse than knowing you have a truck beat in the power/weight, but him pulling away on a 3% while your tach floats down to 2100 and hangs there. You can't shift without slowing down to 2,000rpm. A half-gear bump-down would be awesome. Or a whole lotta more power, which might endanger the tranny. I think on the average hill, a little less axle gear would be the thing--just so I could get down to 5th sooner.
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Old 06-21-2010, 11:19 PM   #18
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Re: DTA 360 info

Quote:
Originally Posted by Will
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycal
You aren't getting where I'm coming from and I'm too tired to explain.
Well, when you feel better.

Anyway, I really like that rear deck in your gallery. Brilliant. I wish i had seen that before I welded my hitch up. Now I'm making steps that slide into the receiver.
Anyone thinking about a deck like mine, don't build the steps hanging down like that. They will scrape. Have something that will flip over when not in use.
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Old 06-24-2010, 10:05 AM   #19
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Re: DTA 360 info

I have owned both engines. I agree that the dt360 is probably built heavier duty.

Both engines use the same injection pumps

Both engines have identical displacement

Both engines come in identical HP ratings

Both engines can have the hp and governor "turned up" for free

5.9 cummins gets much better fuel economy.

I drove over 30K miles with a dt360 bus, and got mostly between 7-8 mpg. In a nearly identical bus with same transmission and cumming 5.9 i got over 10mpg every time.

5.9 cummins and mt643 trans and good rear end gear ratio at 60mph can get over 12 mpg in a tc2000. Philbus had this setup, while i had my dt360. He got about 50% better fuel economy than i did on our 2.5K mile roadtrip. (he had better trans, and better rear end gears and the 5.9)

My preference is for the 5.9 simply because of the fuel economy.
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Old 06-24-2010, 07:56 PM   #20
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Re: DTA 360 info

hike up the timing on the DT360, and see what it does.
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