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

[Waterloo]

2008 ProStar with a bad head gasket... Cummins CM-871 600hp... Approaching 900,000 miles... I was trying to nurse her until I could save up some money... She had other ideas.

Went and had the oil changed the other day... All went well, took off back towards the house, grabbed my trailer and entered I-94... I got about a 1/4 mile and warning buzzer going off! Steam pouring out of the passenger side of the truck... I immediately hit the shoulder and shut her down... Water Temp shot up to around 230 just as I shut her down... This all happened in about 15 seconds, it was 0230 so no traffic... I was 5 miles from the house. I called the TA and they brought me out some coolant, I clamped the heater line that busted with my needle nose vice grips and limped her home.

The heater hose in my TriPac blew out, fixed that, new hoses, through in a new radiator, fan and thermostat for good measure, she is running fantastic now... LOL! Yes, the radiator was bad.

Now for the truck... I went and filled the coolant bottle, cracked the petcock breather on the top coolant line, started the truck, let her warm up, all sounded good... And then it started raining, RAINING COOLANT! It was shooting out of the bottle a good foot or more in the air... I went and got it to temp and let the thermostat open and she settled down a bit, but it looks like she is toast, still puking coolant.

I called around, looked at all of my options from just doing the head and lower end which also needs to be done... To dropping a Cummins reman in, or a used motor or just going ahead and doing the in frame.

Going with the in frame, it is the least expensive and probably the best route to go right now. Best case, looking at $18,000, worst case, $25,000 This also includes a new clutch, pilot bearing, flywheel reface, etc.

The International dealer up the street is doing the work, supposed to have two excellent Cummins guys on staff for the rebuild. I know of one of these mechanics, and he has a very good reputation locally. They have a machine shop and will reman the head if it is salvageable, if not, going with a Cummins reman. I need advice on the cams, if they are solid, should I keep them, or replace? I am leaning towards replacing, your thoughts?

I did the cut out test for Injectors no issues there, nice and strong on all cylinders, so staying with those.

Replacing fuel metering actuators on fuel pump, all four.

My Turbo is not factory, but an OEM replacement, I have no idea how old it is, or when it was installed, but shows no signs of failure, so looking at keeping that. Thoughts?

Using all Cummins parts, comes with a two year warranty, and they will warranty it with the @m*m^2... I'm a good customer.

The truck all in all is solid, and I have run out of things to replace, it is essentially a new truck except for the motor...

She goes in this coming Wednesday 3/16/16, told I should have her back in 7 to 10 business days. They have the bay reserved and will get right on it for me.

There may be other things that can be done, but I am really getting tired of nursing this thing and having to replace so many parts relating to this head gasket issue. I just installed a new radiator a few weeks ago. She is currently using three to four gallons of coolant a week, and trust me, I don't go anywhere with this truck, as I am driving local right now. I think it is time, get it fixed and be done with it. The truck is paid for, and if I can get a solid repair I think I can take her another 900,000 miles.