Well, she bit the dust, In Frame this week...

[Waterloo]

(03-19-2016 )yamajason Wrote:  

(03-19-2016 )Waterloo Wrote:  debated doing the head kit and or replacing the compressor. And from what Cummins said, it stays on the motor. The head is held on with 5 or 6 bolts, remove the lines on the top, remove the bolts, remove the head and gasket. Replace with new parts and bolts, torque bolts in a criss cross pattern. Clean soot out of lines and re-install. I think that is about it. And of course clean the top, I would think that you would want to bar the motor to get the piston at the top so debris does not fall in the cylinder.

THANKS! Do they have to adjust compressor head to get correct timing along with what Rawze shows here?
UPDATED LINK https://youtu.be/8mHEUnHgKoI?t=2m45s

I don't know, not that far yet, just got the oil pan off and all looks gorgeous under there! I caught her in time! My new radiator I raved about is junk, I'll post on that later, new OEM one going in along with a new fan and clutch... Fan had two cracks in it, one that I knew of, another I never saw... When we get to the compressor I will report back.

[Waterloo]

2008 Prostar, 600 hp ISX, 18 spd, steerable drop-axle, wet kit, TriPac APU, third owner... 900,000 miles and a bad head gasket, west coast truck... I am probably being raped, but I feel good in my decision to do this, the truck is paid for, and still valued at $65,000... And trust me, I have a hell of allot more in this thing. If I could do it over, I would have bought an old Pete with an old Detroit Series 60 under the hood.... But, it is what it is.

They dropped the tranny, the clutch looks really good, clean as the ace of spades and very little wear, no idea how old it is, looked new to me other than slight pad wear... Put a new one in and be done with it... Bell housing seal has been replaced, not a fun job from what I heard, fly wheel was sent out and looked fantastic... New pilot, input going in, replace it all and I know what I have.

Going to crack the head tomorrow, but they did find the Jake Brake solenoids were shot, they were already on the list thanks to Unilevers... I am expecting some cam wear, which I suspect is where I have gotten the higher copper readings on the oil analysis...

They dropped the pan yesterday, looks clean as a whistle in there, no signs of wear or abuse visually, but my oil pressure has been dropping, it is time. I have the regular rod/bearings, not the cross hatched ones... But still good to hear that it looked clean in there.

Honestly, so far so good, finding some crap parts, new radiator is already toast, I will reply on that after I see it, new OEM radiator going in to replace it. Fan blade is bad, two cracks, one tiny one I knew of, one I didn't, it was kind of on my list... Replace the fan and be done with it... AC Idler Pulley, the one you crank on to loosen the belts was toast, I twirled it and it seemed fine the other day when I replaced a pulley, but told it was bad too... But, that may explain why my pulley failed that I just replaced, I'll look at it tomorrow...

I told them to take their time, do it right. They are warrantying this rebuild, so I expect it to be done right the first time. So far so good... Looking at thirty grand when all is said and done... I just dropped them a $10,000 check yesterday...

This is insane...

[bazdan902]

I hear ya, I was 3 months in to my first shot at this owning a truck thing when mine went loll. It was my worst case scenario when I was on the fence about giving it a go.. Best of luck man! If they do er right you'll be laughing.

[Waterloo]

Reporting in, forgot my phone, so no photos... I might run up there tomorrow and grab some shots.

Cleanest motor they have seen internally with this many miles, no issues with giving me a warranty. Even the owner of the dealership stated that. I get full Cummins warranty with labor. YEEE HAAAAA!

Head is off, pulled one liner, piston and rod.... Jamie, the mechanic said the head gasket was not in that great of shape, but they are still going to send the head out to have it tested, on their dime. I have a brand new head, not a reman, coming. He also stated it was the toughest head he has ever removed. The outer bolts came right out, the center bolts were tough as nails, like they were welded in. He spent a few hours on those and eventually got her off. MAN that thing is YUGE!.

Cams looked good, still have life in them, I have two new ones coming. Head bearings for the cams though, they were showing their age, it was time for a new head, probably the reason for the copper spike in my oil analysis. The rockers all looked very good, no sign of wear, they passed inspection. The cam rollers were in the same shape, looks like we can reuse those parts. All was clean up top, no metal or signs of abuse.

Bearings in the lower end looked good, just barely starting to show wear, and very very clean in the the pan. Rods were the same, pistons and rings good. She just started using oil at 9,000 miles, and oil pressure was falling, hovering around 32-34 psi, but they said I probably had another 200,000+ left in her if not for the head gasket.

Found a bad tensioner pulley at the top for the A/C, I told them to replace both tensioner pulleys, one is going, the other will soon follow. The fan had a crack in her, and was getting brittle, so a new fan is in order. The new radiator I bought is CRAP, so I told them to throw in a new International OEM, they gave me a deal on her, with the mounting kit, $900.

Starter is going, so they are putting in a new Mitsubishi updated starter, a new one, not a reman.

What else? There are a bunch of other parts, new clutch, input shaft, etc., front and rear mains seals, Bell Housing seal, etc...

I did ask about the Cummins rebate if you get a new head and 10 grand in new Cummins parts, which I am well past. I think the rebate is going to be $1500, if it is, I will have them throw a new turbo on and be done with it. We will have a new motor and hopefully another 900,000 miles of trouble free @m*m^2 motoring. ;-)

[in2trux]

Sounds great!
Rawze said something in the past about cross drillings on the rockers getting blocked. Since you're using the old ones, you might want to make sure they are squeaky clean! Don't want anything to happen to new cams.

Nothing like a fresh engine! Hope it's everything you're paying for!
I'm already planning for the time we do ours even though its at 660k.
Next is rods and mains.

[Waterloo]

(03-25-2016 )in2trux Wrote:  Sounds great!
Rawze said something in the past about cross drillings on the rockers getting blocked. Since you're using the old ones, you might want to make sure they are squeaky clean! Don't want anything to happen to new cams.

Nothing like a fresh engine! Hope it's everything you're paying for!
I'm already planning for the time we do ours even though its at 660k.
Next is rods and mains.

Thanks in2!

Yep, talked about the rockers and getting everything cleaned out and squeaky clean! Told him I would help, he laughed in a good way and told me no, he will take care of it.

I have been up a couple of times to see what is going on... They let me head right into the shop to inspect, the guys are great, and I try not to get in their way or overstay my welcome. Brought doughnuts the other day... I told Jamie the mechanic to take his time and please do a fantastic job. I know he will get sidetracked with other stuff coming in, and told him if it takes a few days longer not to worry, I don't want to rush him. I told the owner of the dealership the same, don't rush him, do it right the first time. Everyone appreciates my attitude, and I like what I am seeing in the shop.

I'll tell you, Cummins is damn proud of their parts, they went up at the first of the year, ALLOT! I've been calling to check pricing, and man, I'm getting a better deal on much of this stuff from the dealer! Get ready for some sticker shock is all that I can tell you. I think right now I'm at $34,000! Most of that is parts, they are only charging me $6700 for labor, and I have one hell of a laundry list!

[Rawze]

$34,000 sounds high.

[Waterloo]

(03-25-2016 )Rawze Wrote:  $34,000 sounds high.

Allot more going on than just the in frame, and I am going a bit overboard, I just don't want any problems down the line... We are going through the entire system... The only thing left will be my rear ends, which seem to be fine. This will be a new motor and trans when we are finished, all new parts, nothing remanufactured.

A new drop in reman motor from Cummins was $36,000 plus install. Last year it was $28,000... My in frame gets me a new trans and new motor complete for $34,000. The price is not in stone, it will be less, right now it is at $32,093 and I still have rebates coming. I am budgeting for $34,000.

Oh, I get a full cummins warranty and labor...

And like I said earlier, Cummins up here has jacked their prices through the roof on many of these parts for the CM-871. I was told one of the reps stated that they know it is time for these motors to start coming in and they are really screwing us. And I have heard that from two other local shops I interviewed to do this in frame.

[Rawze]

When I do mine, I will show all the costs. Looks like it will be in the next couple weeks. Wife needs some more dental work done, and it will be more convenient to just go ahead with the project while she is back home. -- She came home today, and the Alternator failed last night with no warning. I guess 960,000 miles is taking its toll on everything.

She had to fire up the APU and use its alternator to get the truck home. I put a 120-amp alternator on it a couple years ago and wired it so it will run with engine if need be. Good thing I did this, as this was the second time It came in handy.