Overhaul kit & New OEM Head

[Shotgun74]

Hey Guys looking at possibly doing an overhaul with a new OEM head on ISX Cummins 2010 in a 2012 Peterbilt. Where can I purchase a new OEM head & Overhaul kit. My local shop engine guy says he doesn't think he can get a new OEM head.

First a little back ground. The truck is a 2012 Peterbilt with a 550HP ISX 18 speed 3:36 rears. It currently sits with 910,757 miles @ 20,620 engine hours. It pulls heavy tanker in Northern IL, Southern WI, Eastern IA,. I use the PTO with hydraulic driven motors to unload. It was not spec'ed to do the local short haul work that it is now doing.

I was thinking of either doing a new truck purchase spec'd for the local work that I do now with the new X15 & a visit to Mr. Hagg for a dialed in tune. Or I was planning on a fresh complete rebuild with a tranny & gear ratio swap in the future. I was planning on reaching out to Mr. Hagg to have him do the work because I want quality work done. Plus that is where I went back in April 2017 to have the Milk Money Tune done. I was hoping however that this was going to be a couple years down the road. I think the engine has other plans.

The truck has been running great until Tuesday October 16, 2018. I started pushing coolant & took it to the local non dealer shop that I use for things I can't do, to have it checked out. They swore it was the pressure relief cap on the coolant tank because it was under pressure in their shop & wouldn't leak. I told them to put a new coolant tank on per their recommendation. I asked them after the new tank was on to let it sit overnight under pressure. They did & it dropped in pressure a little. They found a couple of hose clamps leaking & another small leak at the clamp on the trans cooler. They replaced the clamps with new & put it under pressure, let it sit all day & no leaks & very little drop in pressure. They felt it needed to be put to the test under working conditions because it wasn't leaking coolant anywhere. I asked about the head & again they said no sign of it leaking & no sign of coolant in the oil. I drove the truck home 19 miles pulling the trailer empty (LPG tanker). It had spit coolant out of the pressure cap again. I called my guy to let him know. He told me that they had filled it full with coolant & thought that it might spit some out adjusting itself for proper full level. He asked if I didn't mind to run it & see what it does.

I hauled a short load 100 miles each way. I smelled coolant en route to my first delivery but no low coolant signs. I used the engine brake when I exited off the interstate until I was going through the intersection. I gave it some throttle & it acted like it was drowning, so I put it in neutral & gave it some more fuel & it acted like it was still drowning for a second & then kicked out a huge plume off white smoke out the stack. I knew then that coolant was definitely getting into the exhaust side of things. It had done this before in the the last couple of months but nowhere near as bad as this time. I used the engine brake again repeatedly to finish the loaded miles & all the way back home & it didn't repeat the problem again. It performed as normal.
I was unloading when the low coolant alarm went off. I already had the hood open checking to see how much coolant if any it was losing. It had spit more out but not much. I released the cap a little & obviously the coolant level rose to where it kicked the alarm off. I tightened the cap & finished unloading. I put a drain line on the pressure relief cap stem, ran it down to the frame behind the drive side steer & tied it off. I drove the truck back home to the same local shop because they wanted to take another look at it. When I got there we could see in the drain line & on to the leaf spring, that it spit again but a very little amount. Plus no low coolant alarm on the 132 mile trip back to the shop & no engine brake problems.

We pulled the intake pipe & the egr cooler pipe, both were bone dry. I said well I think we know where this might be heading. They checked a few more things & called to let me know that they finally got the truck to spit on command every time it came off a high idle. They said either a head or gasket. I said with that many miles even though the engine hours aren't terribly high I was thinking of just doing a complete overhaul with a new OEM head. The engine guy called & said he didn't think he could get a new OEM head. I said I would check around as well.

I spoke with Mr. Hagg a little bit ago & he gave me an estimated quote & time frame with a new OEM head & overhaul kit so long as everything else internally on the engine checks out ok. I called my guy & he wants to give me a quote before I make a decision & asked when I get the quote from him to be straight & let him know if he's in the ballpark, lower or higher. I said I'd definitely do that. I should know this afternoon I hope.

I'm leaning toward Mr. Hagg regardless because of the liner & bore things that he does to the engine in his shop. Plus they did the professional tune so if there is any updating needing done they could get it done.

My guy is really good & stands by his work & is a stand up great guy & could possibly do the same work on the engine in his shop. However what little I know about his engine guy is just that. He has been with my local shop for about 8 months I think & worked previously with a local big dealer. He's also a good guy. However when he said he didn't think he could get a new OEM head I got nervous. I told him there was no way I was putting a reman head on a fresh overhaul.

Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to paint the best picture I could.

Thank you for your time on the phone Mr. Hagg. Always courteous & professional with your time.

Any advice? Or possible oversights on our end? Thank you for your time guys.