Cummins Diesel Engine Serial Numbers
In the market for replacement parts for your Cummins diesel engine? It's important to know your engine serial number to ensure that you're getting the right fit for your engine.
In this post, we're taking you through where you can locate your ESN on your Cummins applications.
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How to Find a Cummins Engine Serial Number
Cummins engines will have the engine serial number on the dataplate. The dataplate on an engine can be a great reference because it will often also include additional information, such as CPL, horsepower, and RPM rating. However, the dataplate can be hard to find, as it will be in different locations based on the model of the engine. The location of the dataplate for your engine will be in your owner's manual. If you've long since lost the physical owners manual, but can access Cummins Quickserve, you can see a digital copy of the owner's manual there.
If you don't have your owner's manual and don't have access to Quickserve, we have the locations for the dataplate on some of the more popular engine models.
- Cummins ISB: either rocker cover or side of the gear housing
- Cummins ISC and ISL: top side of the gear housing
- Cummins ISM: rocker housing, towards the fuel pump side of the engine
- Cummins ISX: top of the rocker lever cover
- Cummins QSK45 and QSK60: rear of the engine block
Unable to find the dataplate or don't see your engine model listed above? It's okay. Cummins also stamps the engine serial number into the passenger side of the engine block for all models.
How Do I Identify My Cummins Engine?
According to Diesel Pro Power, Cummins ISB engine serial numbers are commonly found on the rocker cover. And in some cases, they are printed on the side of the gear housing. If you're looking for Cummins ISM engine serial numbers, you can find them on the rocker housing located on the fuel pump side.
Do you need parts for your Cummins engine? Our ASE Certified Technicians can get you the parts you need!
Cummins Engine Serial Number Format
Cummins engine serial numbers look more like a classic serial number than Caterpillar ESNs do. Cummins ESNs are eight digits long and are composed only of numbers. They go in a numerical sequence, based on which engine came first off the assembly line. There is no special designation for particular models.
Cummins engines do have something a little unique, called a CPL. CPL stands for Critical Parts List and is a list of the critical parts of the engine. There are fewer CPLs than ESNs because multiple engines can have the same CPLs. When ordering most major parts of an engine, providing a CPL will work just as well as supplying an ESN.
The Importance of Your Cummins Engine Serial Number
We know that finding and identifying your ESN can be a hassle, but knowing your ESN can be crucial when ordering parts for your diesel engine. Giving us part numbers will usually work if you are looking for a single part or two, but we absolutely need an ESN if you are looking for any kind of rebuild kit. If we know an ESN, we can look up all of the exact parts that your engine was built with, and know that were getting you the right stuff.
When you go to some of our product pages, you will see a box under our price with the available options. One of the fields that appears is for you to input your Engine Serial Number. If you place an order without inputting your ESN for one of these products, you will get a call from us asking for it. We will always do this before processing an order if your ESN is required. We want to send you the wrong parts just as little as you want to get the wrong parts.
Got questions? We've got answers! The staff at HHP has ASE Certified Technicians with years of diesel engine experience. Give us a call at 844-304-7688 if you have any questions!
Originally Posted October 20, 2017; Edited November 13, 2020