Need some engine repair advice

brando4905 · December 08, 2010, 05:25:50 PM

Thanks for all the wise advice guys.

I'll give John a call tomorrow, Ace, thanks for the contact.

Clifford, the Nimco engines sound good too, although after just installing a used engine a year ago---I'm a little "used engine shy"

Tom C, I did notice this replacement engine never got above 170 degrees unless I was out west on the grades in high altitude. I thought this was a good thing, since my original engine was hard to keep cool.

Thanks for the replies, now I just have a lot of thinking to do.

boxcarOkie · December 08, 2010, 06:39:41 PM

Quote from: luvrbus on December 08, 2010, 03:43:07 PM
Call John and check Ace if his are rebuilt to DD spec's it will be 10+ may be a little cheaper with aftermarket parts I am not bad mouthing John bought several 3:33 gears for Eagles from him you just can not rebuild those engines cheap any longer,bet you a cold one it will be 10 grand fwiw I saw 8v71 from a shop on the other coast that was over 20 grand,40 to 50 man hours to rebuild one out of the bus good luck

Mine cost (3 years ago) parts, labor, in and out, right at 25K.

BCO

luvrbus · December 08, 2010, 07:04:22 PM

Don, the 8v92TA cost more to rebuild than the old 71 the 25 grand for a DD out of frame rebuild is not that bad for a 8v92 it will cost more than now lol

Ace · December 08, 2010, 07:22:01 PM

Well all I can say is I am damn glad I live where I live and not where you guys live because those prices are WAY out of line! For that kind of money I can put a 60 series in my bus INCLUDNG the cost of the engine!

I have seen 8v92's rebuilt for a hell of lot less than what you guys paid but as you all say, do it YOUR way and furthermore, I wouldn't even consider getting a price from a shop down here since they have only been doing bus repair work for the last 40 or more years and I'm sure they have no clue as to what they are doing or what to charge!

Hey I tried to find the guy a deal, nothing more! If he does he does, and if he doesn't so be it but this proves that it doesn't matter what ANYONE says, someone else on this board knows more and better AND it doesn't matter what it refers to, not just this!

RickB · December 08, 2010, 07:35:23 PM

Gee Ace lighten up... People actually do disagree here once in awhile.
No ones attacking you they have just had different experiences is all.

kyle4501 · December 08, 2010, 07:36:55 PM

Quote from: Boomer on December 08, 2010, 05:22:32 PM
Kyle, the Russell's Diesel Service guy, is that a PD3751 that he has with the TA in it? If so would like to speak with him.

That's him. One of the finest guys I have ever met. I know several people he has helped/ worked on their buses & they are all ~~pleased~~ delighted with the quality of the work.

brando4905 · December 09, 2010, 06:04:33 AM

Ace,

Just got off the phone with your buddy, seems like a real nice guy. He has no rebuilts on the shelf, only a take out in the yard. Clifford was pretty close on the price, to rebuild mine, all said and done....around $9k. That is with all DD parts, not a bad deal, but my wallet is too small right now!

Thanks for all the help guys. On the way out to the shop to look at my situation.

Brandon

bevans6 · December 09, 2010, 06:07:10 AM

Engines are engines and they break. When I build a race engine for a guy, it's his when it fires. If it blows on the dyno, no warranty, and that's just the way it is - they break! If I get a crank magged and crack tested - the guy tells me "it's not cracked now" and it may crack on the way home to your shop if you drop it. If you do a rebuild, you could crack a liner firing it up the first time - it's happened. The quote I got from my local DD machine shop and rebuilder was $12K CDN to rebuild an 8V71. It just costs a lot to do it right. Sure the kit on ebay is $1800 for aftermarket parts, but if you want the real deal, it costs a lot.

I would just take my best guess. I bought a never-used DD rebuild and I am slowly turning it into a bus engine. If you buy a bus takeout, low miles, you don't have to do the conversion. If you buy an engine that you know runs well, either dyno tested or from a guy who is honest and knows the engine's history, I think that's the best that you can possibly do, except for buying a new engine from DD.

Good luck, it's a hard decision! If you are like me, you are basically betting your bus on it.

Brian

Van · December 09, 2010, 07:33:36 AM

Lol Dang Clifford, you were right on the mound with the 10k +/-, incredible!

brando4905 · December 09, 2010, 01:31:22 PM

Well, got to see the inside of things this morning. Didn't look too good, but looks like I will be able to get by with an in-frame, no block boring needed.

One of the cylinder liners was actually in two pieces!

I found a rebuild kit for around $1,300, machine heads for $800, +or- 40 hours of labor for $2,800= $4,900. I'm sure there will be a few more odds and ends expenses. Still a lot to spend right now, but maybe I'll have a good engine after this.

Feel free to add to my list.

Thanks,
Brandon

eddiepotts · December 09, 2010, 01:40:01 PM

When something breaks there is a reason. Did you get any information of what happend? Like idling to long and oil starved? try to get some info to go with the pics you have. Your re builder should be able to tell you something. You don't want to just feed it parts and not fix a problem. An in frame would not be good if you have a plugged water passage that caused overheating on that one cylinder. Not that any of this could be what happend. I would just like to see what particular defect caused that kind of problem.

bevans6 · December 09, 2010, 01:45:55 PM

My only comment would be to feel really comfortable about the quality of the kit you get for $1300. That is a lot less than any kit I found, and they were all off-shore manufacture. But your supplier and mechanic will be able to advise you far better than I could.

Brian

Len Silva · December 09, 2010, 01:48:32 PM

It would be nice to get an expert post mortem on this engine. That's a problem with a used engine, you have no idea how it was driven or maintained.

I've been burned a couple of times on used engines, though not expensive diesels.

brando4905 · December 09, 2010, 02:57:01 PM

Quote from: Len Silva on December 09, 2010, 01:48:32 PM
It would be nice to get an expert post mortem on this engine. That's a problem with a used engine, you have no idea how it was driven or maintained.

I've been burned a couple of times on used engines, though not expensive diesels.

I wish I knew more about what happened. I can say that the 10k miles or so I had this engine I took as good care of it as I could, used the right oil, didn't idle it, and didn't lug it either. It was a used engine, who knows how it was treated before.

Brian, I'm looking at this one http://www.dieselpro.com/tkrebuildingkitfor8v71detroitdieselnaturalengine.aspx Are these ok ?

Brandon

RickB · December 09, 2010, 06:42:11 PM

Brandon,

How much oil was it using on average since you've owned it?

Was there alot of oil coming out the spitter tubes since you bought it?

What was your oil pressure at idle ?

Do you have a remote mounted mechanical oil pressure gauge in the engine compartment and if so what was it normally reading?

It will be interesting to see how the rod and main bearings on that halved liner cylinder. Did any of your valves meet a piston?

You have one thing to be grateful for... If that would have been a wet sleeve motor you would be doing an out of frame at a considerably higher cost than your 8V71...

Feeling for you brother. Gives me the shivers to think of how you must feel after dumping so much time and hard earned cash into this engine. Keep Clifford and Don in the loop when trying to figure out what caused this.

Rick