Interstate-McBee vs PAI ! Which one is better for Detroit Series 60 inframe?

Yeah. Need to inframe my 2008 14L DDEC VI Detroit Series 60 engine. I can't afford the OEM stuff so I'm down to either Interstate-McBee or PAI. Working with 2 different sellers and one says Interstate-McBee is better, the other one says PAI is better.

Poking around the forums, I saw a few posts about Interstate-McBee quality and nothing on PAI but I also suspect PAI is a lot smaller.

Does anyone here have real world experience that you can share?

 

OEM or equivalent.

Or find a salvage engine and drop that in and get going.

 

Get a credit card or something and get OEM parts

 

Check pricing through a Freightliner dealer.
I found the OEM Detroit engine parts way cheaper there than going to a Detroit engine shop.

 

Wow, lots of responses. I did ask at the FL dealer and here is the pricing:
Liner kit $3,529
Main bearing kit $292
Gasket kit $363
Head bolts $316
Injector ring kit $224
TOTAL $4,724

Mind you, these are the prices in socialist Canada, Americans probably pay half of that.

The dealer didn't quote me a new oil pan gasket or the liner shims, either.

PAI $2,650 and Interstate-McBee $2,850. Both those kits include everything even a new oil pan gasket. The liner shims are $16 each.

Problem: I just bought this truck and haven't even pulled my first load with it so I'm wondering what other surprises await me. Not to mention that I hate dipping into my savings and not sure how much the new job will actually pay.

Need to go with aftermarket. Quality is the same, no?

 

How about FP diesel?

Their kits are made by Federal-Mogul.

 

Quality is not always the same. Sometimes it is but sometimes it's not. Often you get what you pay for. I used aftermarket on my cat. IPD is what I used. Did lots of research, found it to be a good product. So far so good. But if you pay a lower price for a low quality product with a poor warranty are you really ahead?

 

HHP In Coleman Mi. Is another Aftermarket Supplier, and Agkits, also

 

Thanks again for the tips. IPD doesn't make a kit for the DDEC 6, neither does Federal Mogul.

Turns out that not all Detroit Series 60 are the same. My DDEC 6 is a unicorn engine they only made for a few years but 99% of Cascadias were sold with the new DD15 in starting in late 2008 so Detroit only made them for just over a year.

I even looked into getting a DDEC V 12.7L because there are way more options for that engine. Mawk Industries even makes a wiring harness for a DDEC 5 into a Cascadia but Ed told me that the Eaton ATM computer won't work with a DDEC 5. I do see a big box that says "DDEC 6 EATON" so I'm assuming he's right.

Agkits never got back to me. HHP just got back to me and their kits cost $2,000 but didn't include the cam bearings, oil pan gasket and other little things. Hmm. That's really low and closer to my budget.

I also need a new cylinder head.

Both PAI and Interstate-McBee offer a 2 year warranty on their products. HHP 1 year.

 

I redid the top end, accessory drive, and oil cooler last summer. Most of the parts I used were PAI with a few Interstate-McBee

The PAI parts all looked the same or better than the Cummins parts I took out, just different part numbers stamped on them. Their website is also really helpful for finding the right parts. I ordered everything online by searching for the PAI part numbers

The few Interstate-McBee parts didn't look as good. Mostly it was the gaskets that looked sloppy. Edges weren't cut clean and the silicon seal on them wasn't even. So far no oil leaks so I guess they are working for now