Overhauled or lower miles?

low miles trumps overhaul any day.

you never know how the overhaul was done. and you still have the rest of the truck NOT overhauled.

i've seen lots of bad overhauls. and read about them on this forum.

 

i would say it depends on the budget, id take a recently overhauled truck over one that's showing signs of needing a overhaul soon.

also depends on overall condition of the truck

say two trucks identical price one has 1.1million on it overhauled 100k miles ago good samples no blow by well maintained recent suspention rebiuld. clean inside and out new breaks and virgin rubber. the other has 850k blow by low hp on the dino no overhaul, going to need a suspention re-bush some slop in the gear box and a half worn set of caps. id take the 1.1 million mile truck

 

Only overhauled if it has quality papers that can be verified. Any major shop will have a record of the work. When I bought mine, the best advice I was given was it needed to have one of the major three done. They are a avg of 10g to repair:

overhauled. Poor boy version can be done for around 10,000
transmission w/ clutch
rearends.

Avoid low mileage fleet or lease maintain. Low miles mean it was broke more than it ran, an once it started to become a money pit for the company that owned it they just threw it away an got another.

I wouldn't let a high mileage detroit scare ya to much. There are a lot out there that have a million plus an still running great. If you search truckpaper there are pre egr/ accert columbia with 12.7 non egr an 6nz cats for less than 20k a few n14 red tops too. They may not be the prettiest but they make the same money the big fancy trucks do. An if your really tight on money I would stick with the n14 an 12.7 detroits. Cheaper to maintain. 6nz is a beast of a motor but heavy an maintence cost is higher for parts, but easier to find parts for too.

 

Make sure you read the warranty paperwork. Some are worth about as much as the paper it's on, an some may not be transferable.

 

I just got done looking on TP; there are quite a few FLs w/ D 60 12.7, overhauled with papers and other misc. maintenance items, well documented, some w/ warrant, none that will break the bank; take a look.

 

Depends on who did work and what's written down.

For me to consider the claim of overhaul : Done by dealer preferred by mfg shop like Cummins. Original document, no copies. Plenty of time to look at document, no hurry. Discounts taken if head wasn't reworked and supported, old injectors used, radiator not serviced and genuine parts not used.

For warranty: Terms must be clearly spelled out and all questions answered. If salesman blabs it then it must be on paper or no good.

Then if all that passes I'll need a couple of hours with truck. Need to see hot and cold oil psi, cold start smoke, hear noises and try everything and see if it works plus bring mechanic with me for on site inspection.

Finally I need to see title ...not copy but see, hold etc.

So far so good cept Arrow tossed me out....