Cummins isx puking coolant

The cylinder liners sit on a shelf, or a ledge in the center of the block. When a liner fails, it is called fretting. The liner moves around and scores the bottom of the head and takes it out. That exhaust pressure has to go somewhere and it does, right into the cooling system.

Odds are, you needed an in frame right then and there due to a liner. If this is your issue, a fretted liner, at the time of the in frame that shelf, or ledge that the liner sits on needs to be recut. That is where the shims sit in the block, on that shelf. The liner is then installed, a special tool is needed. The tool compresses the liner like the head is sitting on it. This is when you measure the liner protrusion. The Cummins manual states anything from 7 ten thousandths of an inch to 14 10,000th is acceptable. Most of us in the know set the liner protrusion at 14 10,000th of an inch.

And you cannot just replace one liner and one piston, I have heard shops tell guys that too... When one goes, the rest are soon to follow. And the block has to be machined! I have already been through exactly what you are going through now. Except I had mine in framed, I told the dealership to machine the block. THEY DID NOT! Two years to the day I was in framing it again, this time I did it myself with help from Rawze and Mr Hagg from Haggai Automotive and Diesel repair. I did the in frame in Rawze's driveway...

And here is the kicker, we figured out the problem and went to see Jerry (Mr Hagg) and he discovered that the parts the dealer installed were not for my 600hp CM-871, but for a newer 450hp CM-2350! you cannot make this sheet up!

I know what you are going through, trust me on that.

 

The heads are throw aways, one time use only.

 

Well, you won't crack the head, it will just have a nice gouge out of the underside of it. Run up to NAPA and get one of those block test kits, follow the instructions and you will know in short order if there is exhaust fumes in the coolant.

And no, I am not a mechanic, I in framed my motor with the my iPhone and Rawze's videos. He machined the block for me and helped with installing the head and pistons, I did the rest.

As far as a shop? The only man in this country I would trust with that motor of your is Jerry, Haggai Automotive and Diesel repair in Griffin GA. He is located just South of Atlanta, not far from the Atlanta Speedway. His address is 1228 High Falls Rd, Griffin GA 30223

His phone number is... (678) 688-8107

ISX motors are Jerry's speciality, he is the #3 ISX rebuilder in the country, #1 in GA, and he helped me immensely when I was in framing my motor over at Rawze's house. I could not have done this job without either of them. Call Jerry Monday after you do those tests, he is normally booked out four weeks in advance. And if it is the head, get it taken care of before it gets to bad. I nursed mine for a year prior to my first in frame, and there was no way it would make it to Jerry's shop. It was so bad it actually blew my radiator to pieces along with many a coolant hose. Call Jerry.

 

If it is a fretted liner, the weight and the torque to move those heavier loads puts stress on the liners. That is what I think is a design flaw in the motor. The liners sit at 90 degrees to the block. So, when the piston is making its stroke, it is putting an obscene amount of stress on the inner wall in the direction of the stroke. When a liner is already wobbling around in there, those gases will find it much easier to escape through the head gasket and into your cooling system.

If the liners were offset in the head, that stroke would not be so much of an issue, the stress would be relieved.

 

Yes, more than likely. Test the air compressor, sometimes they fail, but it is rare.