DesertBen44
Full Access Member
The closer I get to a cummins swap the more you realize that there is NOTHING cheap about it!
you are going to be upset with me.
all I do is buy a used truck, run it for a while to see how the motor behaves and if it has any problems.
if all is good, I pull it out of the truck, regasket the outside tin and new seals on the front and rear.
hang a turbo kit and maybe injectors and pump. stuff it in and run the dogcrap out of it.
if I have put pull off heads, it's not going back together. the ironic part is I am paid to build motors for others, yet I run used.
I too can get in any of my frontline and secondary trucks and drive anywhere I want (or paid to) and have no worries.Why would anyone be mad? You may be Mad when the engine eats a lot of oil or coolant.
For getting around town your practice is sort of ok. your time has to be worth it.
For driving cross country, the train ride back is your cheapest route.
Maybe free if the scrap yard takes the truck for you off the road.
My truck I can get in it and drive anyplace I want, no worries under the hood.
Javier
I too can get in any of my frontline and secondary trucks and drive anywhere I want (or paid to) and have no worries.
where we differ is the confidence in the product. IH intentionally did not max out the performance on these motors for one very simple fact. working a motor hard is not the same as wringing every ounce of horsepower out of a motor. These motors are designed to last 500k/mi with proper maintenance. most members here will never see that number. a motor with 100-300k on the odo is considered "just broken in" if it has received the proper coolant service and oil changes, what is the difference compared to a multithousand dollar rebuild? imho.....none. I'm not vain enough to insist that I have to be the one driving all those miles and I certainly don't care to do it again. Case in point....my '92 F350 CC dually. If you read the archives, you will find my purchase of this truck in Nov of 2004 well documented to where it is at today. I have a news flash for you if you don't have the ability to read through the archives.....there is a used motor installed into the truck with 127k on the odo when it was first removed from it's donor. YES A USED MOTOR......OH THE BLASPHEMY. fast forward to 2012, I decided to make a trip to the Michigan rally with my smoking pile of junk that's ready for the scrapyard ticking 300k/miles on the odo. Oh.....and get this....the hunk of junk was loaded with building materials so I can go home to Texas after the rally and work on my houses......wow.....what a leap of faith!!!!! And get this...I made it home to kali with no major breakdowns.....oh lord have mercy!!!!!!! Whatever minor inconvenience that occurred along the way was easily solved with hand tools and spare parts. WAIT.....STOP........i didn't need/want/or remotely had the desire to sell my hunk of junk for scrap value!!!!!!!!!
bottom line. maintenance is the key to reliability. not pushing your equipment beyond redline will lessen the chance of breakage.
since the installation of my "junk motor" in 2005, I have not had to do any major surgery to the truck since. I have gone through a couple of junk injection pumps due to the feeding of used motor oil, but I have not had to do anything else to my "junk" motor.
Now here's the quiet moment of self discovery for you Javier.......can you say the same for your truck?
thank you.
i have ZERO money in my motor, yes you read that right!!!
Yes you do, they were part of the buy in price.
Now the engine in my truck.......ehhhhhhhh, that is a very different story.