This liner difference had us thinking!!!!!

[JayTwo]

[attachment=8883][attachment=8883][attachment=8882]Hi all,

Firstly, thanks Rawze for the invite to join your very informative group.
I’ll start by explaining what requirements our X15 engines have down here in New Zealand,
They come only equipped with Ad Blue aftertreatment.
We run cab over Kenworths at 54 metric tons, 18 speed RR & 4.3 diffs.
From factory we order them @600 hp and don’t touch any parameters other than the Ad Blue once they’ve cleared their warranty period.

We’ve had Cummins engines for as long as I can remember, my old man ran them in the good ole big cam days and my introduction was the 444 and N14 era.
When we got the first of the Gen 1 & 2 signatures it was like the holy grail, they performed amazing, a genuine 1 million kilometre engine.
Now, before nostalgia distracts me from a very rare rant……enter the E5 & X15.

The X15 was introduced over here before the world invented Covid, so 2019.
They performed well in our tough conditions and driver feedback was positive. Our guys were all schooled on the driving style required by these engines to last.

Here’s what we’ve found is the Achilles heal….
Dropping Liners, in New Zealand we are hearing of countless X15’s dropping liners.
I had a truck drop #6 2 weeks ago and what we found is absolutely disgraceful.
Counterbore ledge in #6 was 10 thou out, #5 was 7 thou out, but before you get too excited, 1,2,3 & 4 were only 5 thou off being square!!!!!!!
If that’s not bad enough, combine an uneven ledge with the Manufacturer’s substandard brass shim and you’ve got a small window to make some money before your radiator overflow turns into a garden sprinkler.
Unfortunately the manufacturers of these engines over here are basically dropping a new liner down the hole, crushing the head on, all the time knowing it’s a temporary fix at least until it’s out of warranty before it drops it again, then sorry, rebuild time.(if your lucky)

So, I send the block away to get machined, order a liner kit and travel to our engine builder with it, here’s where things get a little weird.
I’ll attach some photos to help explain this.
The kit was unopened(important)
In the kit 4 liners were Chinese and 2 were USA.
The Chinese liner slipped straight into the block and sat square in the freshly machined block, the 2 USA liners stopped 1/2 inch before seating and locked solid.

Has anyone ever seen this? We never have, the 2 USA liners were 3 thou bigger at the top, I spoke to the people that manufacture these engines from where the kit came from and got a very generic answer.
“ they should squeeze down “
News flash…… they shouldn’t have to, there’s no shim or water seal on the liner yet, it’s a dry fit to triple check everything.
I took the 2 USA liners back and dropped 2 different Chinese liners straight in.
We’ve used aftermarket hardened shims and set the heights at 14 thou.
Reassembly began today.

Is this unusual? We’ve never seen it.
Thanks again. (Rant over)