The Classic Machinery Network

Tim, thanks for looking these turbo's aren't as common as they once were; sometimes I think we don't realize just how quickly time passes, I have two Perkins 6,354 engine workshop manuals, the one looks very old, when I looked more carefully it said re-issue July 1961 wow as old as me the T6,354 was a much newer engine but even so the one in this machine must date from the mid-seventies.

Naturally just like the old Ford 2700 series of engines as many older machines finally bite the dust so the requirement for engine parts dies and as all business things are trade related, so they stop making parts for them, also most of the decent second hand ones have been snapped up, many considerations have been taken into account by me, even worst case scenario is to try and find a newer different make of engine that could be shoehorned into the digger.

Jeremy

Jeremy Rowland wrote:Tim, thanks for looking these turbo's aren't as common as they once were; sometimes I think we don't realize just how quickly time passes, I have two Perkins 6,354 engine workshop manuals, the one looks very old, when I looked more carefully it said re-issue July 1961 wow as old as me the T6,354 was a much newer engine but even so the one in this machine must date from the mid-seventies.

Naturally just like the old Ford 2700 series of engines as many older machines finally bite the dust so the requirement for engine parts dies and as all business things are trade related, so they stop making parts for them, also most of the decent second hand ones have been snapped up, many considerations have been taken into account by me, even worst case scenario is to try and find a newer different make of engine that could be shoehorned into the digger.

Jeremy

The 3LD is apparently quite difficult to find, but the 3LE is potentially easier to source...relatively... the trick will be to look at the compressor map (which I have found in a Holset manual for the 3LD, 3LE and some other relatives) then see whether there is something close in a more readily available turbo. It should be possible to make up an adapter from a bit of plate if the exhaust housing fixing holes and the port don't quite match up. In saying that the 6.354 was used in some Massey Fergusson and John Deere tractors as well as in a lot of marine applications so there are bound to be people out there who have been through this

Slooby wrote:

Jeremy Rowland wrote:Tim, thanks for looking these turbo's aren't as common as they once were; sometimes I think we don't realize just how quickly time passes, I have two Perkins 6,354 engine workshop manuals, the one looks very old, when I looked more carefully it said re-issue July 1961 wow as old as me the T6,354 was a much newer engine but even so the one in this machine must date from the mid-seventies.

Naturally just like the old Ford 2700 series of engines as many older machines finally bite the dust so the requirement for engine parts dies and as all business things are trade related, so they stop making parts for them, also most of the decent second hand ones have been snapped up, many considerations have been taken into account by me, even worst case scenario is to try and find a newer different make of engine that could be shoehorned into the digger.

Jeremy

The 3LD is apparently quite difficult to find, but the 3LE is potentially easier to source...relatively... the trick will be to look at the compressor map (which I have found in a Holset manual for the 3LD, 3LE and some other relatives) then see whether there is something close in a more readily available turbo. It should be possible to make up an adapter from a bit of plate if the exhaust housing fixing holes and the port don't quite match up. In saying that the 6.354 was used in some Massey Fergusson and John Deere tractors as well as in a lot of marine applications so there are bound to be people out there who have been through this

Tim, I may very well have to go down that line, I will see what I can find out.

Jeremy

Assuming I can get my home machine shop operational in a sensible timeframe, and I can get to grips with TIG welding, I'm up for knocking something up for you if you need the help.

I'm also a one for scratching around for things too, and have already been entertaining myself trawling for information on the T6.354 and what people have done with them. Do you happen to know the complete engine number at all? Found this site earlier which gives some pointers on decoding Perkins engine numbers to get a build year at least: https://www.anglo-agriparts.com/perkins ... tification

Thanks Tim the engine number for my machine is 3541 307 679T today I will have a go at trying to find a second hand turbo or whatever I can, good job it's not time critical for me.

Jeremy

Hum, that engine number doesn't really tally with that guide that I linked to as it suggests there should be one or two letters at the front (for engine type), another in the middle (for country of manufacture) and one at the end (for year of manufacture)

If the T is the date code then it dates from 1989 apparently

I wonder if it is a reconditioned unit?

Slooby wrote:Hum, that engine number doesn't really tally with that guide that I linked to as it suggests there should be one or two letters at the front (for engine type), another in the middle (for country of manufacture) and one at the end (for year of manufacture)

If the T is the date code then it dates from 1989 apparently

I wonder if it is a reconditioned unit?

Tim I think this machine may have had an engine swap in the past; I have posted a photo of the engine number, the only questionable part may be the first bit which could read 354U and not 3541?

Jeremy

Jeremy Rowland wrote:Tim I think this machine may have had an engine swap in the past; I have posted a photo of the engine number, the only questionable part may be the first bit which could read 354U and not 3541?

Using the guide from Anglo-Agriparts a pre-1978 engine would have an ID code up to 13 digits in length

It would start with the engine capacity in Cubic inches: 354

Followed by country of manufacturer: U = UK

Maybe have a letter to represent the manufacturer it was built for: (nothing on yours)

A six digit engine number: 307679

And then letters to represent special features: T = Turbo

Probably get shot for suggesting this, but... At that age I'm guessing it would have been a low pressure system which would have been less effective on the power output than a more modern high pressure system so I'm thinking for your intended use would it make a massive difference to put N/A manifolds on it and 'delete' the turbo until a suitable one come to the surface?

Duck 'n' weave!

Tim, and Rob; firstly the engine number, after cleaning some muck of it, it does read 354U and not 3541 as it had first appeared, spent most of the day draining the old derv out of the fuel tank and reconnecting the fuel system, I had with the help of a friend fitted a gravity fed tank just to get the machine up and running after being stood for a few years.
I was concerned that the old derv in the tank may no longer be any good, so I drained it, it did look a bit mucky to me, sods law that whoever designed the diesel tank did not think to put the drain bung another six inches or so further back, this meant that the track was in the way so no direct drain. I did get a 205 liter drum under it to start with but had to finish by using a 25ltr drum.

Rob many thoughts have crossed my mind regarding this engine, my next chase will be a second hand unit or a similar turbo, then take it from there, this project is going to take one hell of a lot of TLC.

Jeremy