People like to destroy stuff. Something within our animal side likes to see things dismantled and ultimately destroyed. It is our evolved minds that keep these impulses rightly in check. Sometimes folks bypass our advanced minds with the simple phrase, “what if..” In this case, some good ol’ boys decided to see how much dirt they could force-feed their old and ailing Cummins diesel. It turns out; it’s a lot. 

How reliable is a Cummins Diesel?

Apparently, they are far tougher than we ever realized. The Drive reports that this crew of dudes managed to feed 10 lbs of dirt into the old oil-burner before the engine finally blew. Let me back up for a second. 

The Drive explains that this old junkyard dog has seen its fair share and is likely ready to go to the big tractor pull in the sky. As the video shows, this old Diesel International had been made to pop wheelies and raise all sorts of hell before these guys finally put it out of its misery. 

The truck featured is an International S2200 with a Cummins Diesel. Even after the forced wheelies and a lifetime of hard work, the 14-liter diesel was still running, if only barely. 

Let the diesel destruction begin

They kick off the Diesel destruction party with a matching pair of five-gallon buckets filled with dirt. It is at this point that any car or truck lover will start to whence. The fellas behind the carnage kindly decided to give the old diesel a chance by sifting the dirt and ridding the soil of any rocks or twigs which would undoubtedly bring about ruin in no time flat. 

Being thinking individuals and learned mechanics, these guys know the danger they could potentially be in, so they ran a long hose to the engine so they could stay safely distanced from the diesel. After a little bit of coaxing, the dudes to get the old dog to start breathing in the dirt. The international quickly starts chugging and smoking like a 1950s business person but doesn’t stop running. 

The oil Blowby gets bad, quick. The smoke and the labored chugging sounds are damn near heartbreaking. This old truck is fighting hard to keep firing as it fills with debris. During its all-you-can-eat-buffet of dirt, the old Cummins gets choked out a total of three times. 

The diesel dies the first time pretty earlier on

As soon as the old international dies, the first time a man off-screen can be heard saying, “What a piece of s%#*. That thing didn’t even suck half a bucket.” Coming from Alabama, I can very much appreciate this brand of dry humor.

The old Cummins aint going out like that. After a little bit of love, they get the old dog fired back up and sucking more dirt. The truck continues to eat dirt for a few minutes until it chokes to a halt for a second time. More and more coaxing of the dying Diesel leads to a third and final start-up. After a grueling 10 minutes or so, the truck finally dies for the last time. 

The fellas try to force it to turn over with a giant cheater bar and still couldn’t get the mighty 14-liter to crank. You gotta hand it to the truck and the guys; both pirates left everything out on the field. 

The cool part is when our diesel destroyer goes the extra mile to tear down the locked engine and see what went wrong. Anyone can destroy a motor, but few are willing to take apart a 14-liter diesel and find exactly what went wrong. It turns out the cause of death was a spun bearing that ultimately seized the motor. 

RIP International S2200. You did not go gentle into that good night.