Cummins recon long block or in frame?

[joesherrie12]

What are the pros and con's between buying a cummins isx recon long block or doing an in frame ? Just curious

[donaldray]

That is a 60 million dollar question. What is good for you may not necessarily be good for the next guy. In frame can mean paying more down the road as other parts wear and tear as a recon long block can mean more money then you can afford up front. Personally, I have inquire at this and decided when it is time that the recon long block would be the eventual best money maker/saver. Of course, this only holds true if you plan on keeping the truck for at least 3 years. Think there are some threads on here covering that topic already. Good luck.

[Nilao]

If it's a quality rebuilder you'll get a Inframe that will hold up better than a long block from cummins. I inframed mine and set my liner heights up to .0135. It will be able to take a bit more than what cummins recon will because I put a lot of care into making sure every but and bolt was check and double checked. And in the case of me rod bearings and piston orientation triple checked. So far at 50k miles I have had no issues other than an oil leak from a oring I tore and didn't notice. Just did my initial overhead yesterday and everything up top is looking great. The only thing I could not set was my injectors because I don't have a dial type torque wrench. I'm up to 14000 miles per gallon of oil consumed. It still smells of burning oil upon a cold start but it's not nearly as bad as when I first put it back into service. My eternal gratitude to Rawze for his patience and guidance in that project.

[Waterloo]

I priced out both when it was time to in frame my CM-871... I got more bang for the buck going in frame. As Cummins jacked the pricing on their CM-871 recons to $36,000!

We went through and replaced everything other than the CAC, fan clutch and the air compressor, which we put a new head kit on. Went through the transmission, new clutch. All new seals, oil coolers, power steering pump, all new fuel system, all new pulleys in the front of the motor, new OEM radiator, new AC System components, new OEM Cummins head, NEW injectors, I mean we went through all of it and replaced EVERYTHING except those few items up top.

Total cost with included warranty was $39,000. $29,000 in parts, $10,000 labor. Truck was down for a bit, but it was worth it. And yes, the mandate was removed prior to the in frame.

A recon with install would have been much more, quite a few thousand more when you include everything else that was done. In my case, the in frame was the way to go.

If you are putting this in a shop, interview as many as you can. I did, and wound up at my local International dealer. They did a fantastic job in my eyes, only one mechanic was allowed to work on it, the one that knows what he is doing and has been there for years. The warranty was just the icing on the cake. Already used it to replace a slobbering turbo.

[joesherrie12]

(01-14-2017 )Waterloo Wrote:  I priced out both when it was time to in frame my CM-871... I got more bang for the buck going in frame. As Cummins jacked the pricing on their CM-871 recons to $36,000!

We went through and replaced everything other than the CAC, fan clutch and the air compressor, which we put a new head kit on. Went through the transmission, new clutch. All new seals, oil coolers, power steering pump, all new fuel system, all new pulleys in the front of the motor, new OEM radiator, new AC System components, new OEM Cummins head, NEW injectors, I mean we went through all of it and replaced EVERYTHING except those few items up top.

Total cost with included warranty was $39,000. $29,000 in parts, $10,000 labor. Truck was down for a bit, but it was worth it. And yes, the mandate was removed prior to the in frame.

A recon with install would have been much more, quite a few thousand more when you include everything else that was done. In my case, the in frame was the way to go.

If you are putting this in a shop, interview as many as you can. I did, and wound up at my local International dealer. They did a fantastic job in my eyes, only one mechanic was allowed to work on it, the one that knows what he is doing and has been there for years. The warranty was just the icing on the cake. Already used it to replace a slobbering turbo.

I priced out a long block it was $24,000 and a "complete" motor was $36,000. I asked about a short block with a new head they said they didn't offer a new head!

[Waterloo]

That is quite a bit for just a block with a reman head... That $24000 is around what I was quoted for a complete Cummins reman before they jacked the prices. Sounds like a rip off to me.