ISX Blown Head Gasket

$4k for an ISX head gasket isn't as bad as some pay for same.

 

That little air solenoid is about $900 just by itself, crazy! Glad to hear all else is good though!!!

 

dang, only 30 hours now, I remember when it was 38-42 hours for a isx head gasket, count yourself lucky. and yes it is a bunch of crap to do a head on isx, being a diesel mechanic I know 1st hand. good luck to ya.

 

I had at least 40 hours on an ISX head swap in an Lonestar, that really sucked. Warranty only paid about 22 hours. For those that think Lonestars are a nice truck, come with me the next time any engine work needs to be done!

 

Sounds identical to my 05 ISX 475. Cummins in Portland played dumb and said they've never heard of the ISX's having head gasket leaks in that spot as a common problem. BS!! I've talked to people and read about dozens of instances.

The local stealership quoted me $6900 for the job which was basically a gasket overhaul. The dyno came back at 98% of rated and the oil analysis was good enough to recommend extended oil changes, so I'll just run it until it won't run anymore, or causes an oil slick in the yard.

 

Wow I had 2 head gaskets done on 2 Cat 6NZ's in W900L's and they were less than $3000. I guess having NONE of the engine under the dash helps.

 

Book time for an ISX head gasket is around 35 hours. That's because you have to R&R the whole front end almost. Hood, radiator, etc. in order to get the head off.

The peterbilt dealer said they could do it for about $5500 today. Said it comes with a 1 year 100k mile warranty.

Might as well just borrow a forklift for the head removal and do it myself. Save thousands. Meh, who am I kidding. I'll stick to oil changes and brake jobs- simple stuff. I'd rather pay $5500 and get a warranty with it. Heck the motor is still making great power, but maybe have them throw in rods and mains (bearings) while the pan is off.

Meanwhile I'm still just going to run it until the oil analysis tells me it's time, or I develop an oil bog in the yard.