3406B 7FB inframe overhaul average cost.

10-4. I got that HHP head ordered and headed to me for next Tuesday or Wednesday...$2,298.61 with a full one year warranty, last 6 mo. parts only. Interstate McBee parts, everything including injector cups. I don't think I could go wrong at that.

It bothered me yesterday when I ordered a few things directly from Cat, like a set of piston coolers (jets, squirters, etc.,) and all the lifter clips (retainer springs is what they call 'em,). The prices hurt your heart. Those piston coolers are $59.00/ea x 6...those little clips for the lifters are $9.00/ea x 12...so $462.00 for those little tidbits alone. I broke the turbo oil return tube so that's another $120.00...so $582.00 there. Come to find out after the fact that all that was available through HHP where I purchased the head from for half that, lol.

I'm not trying to skimp out...it's just the difference in pricing makes you squirm sometimes.

I'm going to put a brand new oil pump in it, and for some reason HHP is a little higher than Cat on that piece...so I'll get that from the yellow iron store.

I feel like my wife sometimes, coupon shopping for a deal. But hey, when you get all done and have a total of $8,000-$9,000.00 into an inframe on a 3406B and everything's brand new, it makes it all worth it in the end.

 

Not quite yet spsauerland, but getting closer by the day. Been several setbacks causing delays with parts mainly. Cat in their infinite wisdom...I went there 3 times and had to get something else that they didn't mention came with the thing I went for specifically each time. You buy new piston coolers for $59.00/ea., you'd just expect the bolts to be in them as any normal human being would think. Not so...they sell the bolts separate so that was another trip over there for that. They gave me the wrong Jake studs/head bolts the first time and they were all in the same plastic bag wrapped up so tight that you need a razor knife to get into them...you figure they'd give you the right ones, based on what the computer says...not so much. Back again. I was dealing with a younger kid that wasn't all that excited to be there I think. Once I got to an older veteran parts man, things changed.

After the second trip back there to exchange and buy the associated parts needed for the initial thing I bought, I smartened up and started checking the bags out on the parts counter even though they didn't appreciate me questioning them.

Then I bought a brand new oil pump that came without a drive gear. Couldn't get the old one off the old pump for love nor money without heat and a puller, then I got nervous about that one due to the heating so I ordered a new one from my friends up in Michigan, HHP where I got everything else for 1/3rd of what Cat wanted for it and it's a Cat OEM part.

So it's got valve covers on it now at least, tonight I'll put the aftercooler on, compressor,turbo, finish up all the little stuff hopefully tonight or tomorrow morning and maybe I'll get to hear it run this weekend finally.

I'm about sick of working on it too, lol...time for a change of scenery.

 

Update. Sunday night, fired this engine up for the first time. Sounded great; better than ever. For 5 minutes. Started rapping bad, so we shut it down as quickly as we could. I was standing by the front tire luckily and I heard the noise coming from up top, towards the back so I pulled the valve cover off to inspect. Bent push rod, and the bridge across #6 exhaust valves is stuck fast in the down position, valves wide open and was kissing the piston, a piston with 5 minutes worth of run time.

Upon inspection, we tried to pry that bridge off that stud and it's impossible. The stud was either slightly bent or misaligned from the assembler, and when a little heat and RPM was applied, it got stuck down and stayed there.

Head's coming back off today, throwing it back in the wooden crate and headed back to Michigan for warranty with the bridge stuck on the stud for proof.

Other than that little conundrum, she purred like a kitten.

 

Piston is 100% unharmed thankfully. I attribute that to me standing at the front tire while my coworker was sitting in the driver's seat and when it started rapping we both reacted and shut it down. The valves made contact with the piston, but only left 2 circles of coloration in the carbon. No marks whatsoever, if that had happened at road speed, this would have been fatal.

The head is back in it's shipping crate now, being picked up today, headed back to Michigan. HHP is warrantying it along with 14 hours of labor. Outstanding people to deal with. I wouldn't have been so lucky with any other supplier.

 

I can take quite a few kicks, no worries there. It could have happened with a Cat reman too and I'd be holding my hand on my arse without a doubt. I never got a darn thing from them except agony.

The head's back in the crate headed to the mfg., and they're reimbursing me for the parts and 14 hours labor. Try getting that from Cat without an all out war.

Glad it happened in the first 5 minutes and not at 1600-1800 RPM's at road speed or it would have junked itself....