Making my screwups right

[Rawze]

Start by educating yourself on things that somoene should be doing, rather than what they think someone can get away with...

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Tom: "I have had coolant pushing out of the overflow tank" ...


- At 850k miles, that is a bit early, but not unusual... Especially if you have it set to 500HP or more and torque turned up in the engine past 1750.

It very well could have been your egr block-plate, that will certainly cause that type of failures, but it can also be from how it is driven and the power settings. - High torque settings (and or demand) combined with low rpm (below 1400 or so) is the killer of the isx. Too many people simply are Lugging their engines these days every time it gets into a hard pull. Pushing that fuel pedal more than half way to the floor or more and rpm is below 1500 is a recipe for a dropped liner on the isx. Trucks geared too damn tall these days, too lazy to shift, beating the liners up and engine up,.. no one seems to know any more or perhaps care, but none of it is good for them.

You did not mention what weights you haul, what rear ratio the truck has, how it is typically driven, or anything related to its use or possible abuse. more details would help.

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Tom: "I now know that the simple blockoff plate was just a way to kill my engine. No programming, just blocked." ...


Your absolutely right. Here is some technical detail towards understanding why blocking off the egr likely shortened the engine life...
http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...0#pid53580


- Trouble is that you are not going to find someone that will do the re-programming correctly just about anywhere. They all claim they can, and all talk a good game, but more than 90% + of every program I review for others is horrible and not any better than what you did. There are a couple guys on here than can make a good program for the CM870, they are 'Mommaburt' and 'Unilevers'. PM them if your looking to have it properly re-programmed for no-egr applications (assuming you live in a country where that stuff is legal...ehemm).

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Tom: "The engine is a 870 isx, originally 435st. The dealer bumped it to 500" ...


- Depending on what program they used (calibration), they could have put the worng one in. Again, here is some info on this subject...
http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=1&pid=1#pid1


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Tom: "I wont ever buy a truck from arrow ever again."...

Although I dislike used truck dealers too ... don't blame the used truck dealer ... blame yourself for not doing proper/better inspections and tests before and shortly after a truck purchase. -- Those used truck dealers are all the same, they buy used from auctions, polish em off a bit and shove em onto someone else. - You would have had the same odds anywhere else, including the auction-houses.
ref: https://youtu.be/tTu6cr1d1Lc
ref: http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...9#pid15359


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Tom: "am leaning to a new head, and compressor, plus more than likely a complete inframe" ...


- If it is not done exactly right, then do not count on it lasting very long. Most mechanics these days are horrible at rebuilding an ISX and the OEM network of stealers$its and certified shops are the worst of them all. Here is what needs to happen during an inframe...
ref: http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...8#pid46498
ref: https://youtu.be/LdTXWXKuhwY

Personally, i would do the inframe myself, .. but .. If you are looking for someone else to do the inframe, loosen the rad cap so it can breathe, zip-tie a rag over the loose cap so it does not fall off, and drive it gently down to Mr. Hags shop (Haggai Automotive in Griffin, GA) south of atlanta. - At least he will build it right, and perform all the extra recommendations that this forum suggests. He is also no more expensive than anyone else at the end of the day either, but at least you will have that piece of mind.



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Tom: "are there any other reliable options?"...

-- For the engine internal components and head ... Absolutely NOT! - OEM only!. Do not cheap-out on the internals, you will only deeply regret it later on.

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Tom: "I'm having a few beers" ...

Me too ... Welcome to the forum.