CM871 bad delete

[Roadrailer]

Hello all. New to the forum. Ive been in contact with a guy selling a 2008 pete 388 about possibly buying it as is. It was de-mandated in May 2015. The kicker is It has a cracked head. So after looking through this forum ( all 50 pages or so ) its pretty clear that the truck has a bad de-mandate. I have the major service invoices for the last 5 years. The ECM was flashed in May 2015. June 2015 at 877000km the engine had a complete inframe. 6 liners and pistons, new head, cams, turbo, rods and mains. 34k dollar job. September 2017 at 1.1 million km the head cracked and was replaced. Now just last week at 1.3 million the head cracked again. So its a pretty consistent 27-30 month lifespan on each head. The guy is broke and cant afford to fix her. I test drove the truck and its setup perfectly for what i want to do with it which is just local aggregate hauling. Im seriously considering buying it as is and having it fixed and the ecm properly programmed. All said and done i figure ill come out cheaper or around the same amount of money in the end. What do you guys think? I know im crazy but im not using the truck to make a living. Its a side gig for me. Any thoughts are welcome!

[tree98]

How much you paying for it?

[Roadrailer]

20k. He wanted 40k for it before the head cracked.

[tree98]

So by the time your done with another inframe you'll have roughly $50K into the truck. Keep in mind there's more to a truck than just an engine. With those miles you could be looking at a rear structure/clutch job, possibly a front structure as well. Also I bet you would find leaks in the CAC. Wheel bearings/seals will need replaced or re tightened All things considered it's probably not a bad deal if you have the cash, a lot of tools/ time to do the work and mechanical ability. I'm assuming it's in decent shape cosmetically too.

[Waterloo]

Tree98 is correct, and I will add, $50,000 is just the beginning... That is if the in frame you do is done properly, if not, you will have to do it again. I know, been there and done that. Expect the rest of the items Tree98 stated along with much much more. You are already well past the end of life for much of the components on the truck. I would bet money the previous owner was not able to keep up with that stuff and just patched her together to keep her running between heads. These are not your grandfather's trucks, they are designed to fail. Few owners know how to properly care for them, no matter the make or model. Thank God for Rawze and this site is all I can say.

[Roadrailer]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have a list of everything thats been done to the running gear. Both rear ends were replaced within the last 18 months, tranny and clutch was done as well. It needs drums and shoes on the rear axle and a king pin for a safety inspection. Its a solid good looking truck. Just needs someone to take care of the motor issues which im hoping can be cured with the proper ecm programming. I spoke to the mechanic that has the truck right now and he told me the head was cracked underneath the valve spring on number 3. The cams and rockers are both in good shape. I priced out a brand new head and gasket set plus 35hrs labour. I figure it will run me around 12k to get the head replaced. Plus another 2k to get a sticker put on it. So im looking at about 15k in repairs to put it on the road plus 20 for the truck which is less than he was asking originally. Unless we pull the head off and she needs pistons and liners. Then we’re talking a 34000$ job instead of 12k.

Oh ya, this guy has only owned the truck for 2 years. He bought from the original owner after the last head was replaced to haul his tandem dump trailer and float. He was selling the truck to buy a tandem dump instead.

[Roadrailer]

Forgot about the cost of reprogramming the ECM. Im not sure what the going rate is for that now? $2500? And to find a reputable place to have it done. After all the horror stories ive read on this forum it makes you wonder.

[tree98]

(05-06-2020 )Roadrailer Wrote:  Both rear ends were replaced within the last 18 months, tranny and clutch was done as well.

If they put a clutch in it and didn't re seal the rear structure you can expect to be tearing into that in the very near future. They don't usually last long after a clutch replacement. You need another FULL inframe, don't say you weren't warned. That bad program he was running did a number on all the rest of your internal parts not just the head.

[Roadrailer]

Yea i was afraid you might say that.