For the last couple of days, this green Dodge Ram has been all over my computer screen in various locations, all for the same reason: as you can plainly see, something severe happened under the hood. What could possibly have happened to make a Cummins turn itself into confetti? That answer is easy enough: 8,250 RPM. Think about this for a second: the normal Chrysler LA small-block starts to get unhappy just before six grand and the big-blocks aren’t much better. Even the 5.7 Hemi wouldn’t be too happy at that speed. The Cummins, which generally doesn’t like life above 3,000 RPM or so, never had a chance. While making a lap down the track the diesel went into runaway, never a good thing. The truck did have an emergency intake air shutoff system, but when it failed, the Cummins spun to over 8,200 RPM before detonating in a big fireball.

To say that the engine is dead is an understatement. We’ve seen the carnage teardown footage and trust us, there isn’t enough JB Weld and red RTV in the world to put that thing back together again. From Power Driven Diesel themselves:

“The throttle stuck/possible rack hung after powering through the 1/8th mile at 120 MPH in 3rd on a moderate Fuel-Only tune-up that started at 370 cc’s and ramped up to 960 cc’s. When Todd lifted after the 1/8th mile finish line, the truck kept pulling. He hit the emergency kill switch which activates the BD Power Air Shutoff and it failed to actuate. (We’ve used/tested this combo of BD Shutoff butterfly / charge pipe blowoff valve a couple times in the past with successful shutdowns that did not hurt the engine nor the turbos at full boost) Unfortunately there was nothing he could do as the brakes are useless when the engine is churning along at full throttle so in an effort to preserve the rest of the truck and his life, Todd shifted the truck into neutral. At first glance it appears that the Carillo HD Rods experienced a rod bolt failure on #3 or #4 hole at which point the crankshaft ejected them through the sides of the block starting a chain reaction. The remaining still under full power #1, #2, #5, and #6 cylinders then had enough force to finish off the weakened block by lifting the entire upper half off the lower rotating assembly. Todd was uninjured despite the big fire and flying metal parts. Thankfully no one was hit by the engine debris. The truck safely skidded to a stop after the engine failure punctured one of the front tires and Todd steered the remaining good front tire away from the wall. As much as we’d love to claim we made enough power to blow up a solid Hamilton block, the rod bolt failure is most likely the real culprit in this engine failure.”