This might be the stupidest thing ever but(overhaul kits)

So a guy who owns a small local shop only charges $25 an hr. labor so he isn’t raping his friends and neighbors in a small town can’t do a good job or even better job than a shop that charges $200 an hr.? I grew up with old school mechanics that did things for next to nothing and did superior work. The red flags to me are the shops that charge way more than something is worth in labor rates to pay “techs” that are way younger than me. Lol.

 

If they screw up will they stand behind their work though? A larger shop or dealer can absorb a $20k+ hit, a one or two man show is going to have a hard time with that.

Plus a rebuild at a dealer with OEM parts should have a warranty that would likely be honored country wide.

I would at least get a kit from a reputable company. Personally I would refuse to rebuild anything if a customer supplied parts from some off-brand, Chinese company. Too much risk because if it blows up 99% of people are going to point fingers at the mechanic and trash talk them afterwards. I wouldn't chance my rep on that at all.

 

That labor cost is just the labor. There will be quite a bit of additional fees for gaskets, fluids, filters and misc other parts that will need to be replaced as they're discovered during the process.

Lots of shops will quote 40 hours for a inframe so at roughly 100/hr you're getting a good deal. The problem is the warranty. What will the shop do to correct any defects in workmanship and for how long after the job is done?

Be careful with that too because some shops will only pay for the broken part but still charge labor to replace it as a "warranty". Part might cost 50 dollars but towing and labor might be a couple thousand.

I'd look into reputable parts places that include a warranty for their kits if I were you. Interstate Mcbee comes to mind but there are other places.

Frankly, the repairs are the least of your worries. Even if if everything is paid for from towing to labor to parts if the truck is down for weeks or months you will slowly bleed to death and dry up into bankruptcy quickly.

Even if you have reserves saved up you'll lose it. It's no different than taking that money and lighting it on fire. You're throwing it away.

Don't take a chance on the Alibaba trash no matter what route you choose. If the price you save with the Alibaba kit versus a Mcbee kit makes a difference to you then you aren't on solid financial ground to be jumping into hauling freight in the first place IMO.

 

I'd worry about the parts more than labor, as long as the mechanic has done it more than 1 times. I'd ask if the labor costs include cutting the deck if it needs to be done. I'd bet not. And I'd want to make sure the deck is good. I bought a "remanufactured" S60 for $10,500 in 2011, and it lasted 300~k miles before I had to go back in the engine. The deck wasn't cut and silicone was used to even out wear. On top of that, an injector tip went out on the 1st trip, leading to backfire and flames coming out the stacks. The remanufactured payed for the new injector job, but not the wrecker. I now just pay the $ to have my work done by a Detroit shop because I have one primary customer who pays pretty good. If I mostly hauled cheap spot market freight, or locally, I'd take my chances on $25/hr labor and aftermarket parts

 

Parts from China is the worst part of that idea.

 

I know precovid I had an inframe done on a 09 isx cummins engine it cuts 22,995.05 out the door. This was a local shop but used to stand by their work, they lost their two mechanics now, just some new guys I won’t let touch anything in a truck or trailer.

I’ll drive it 50-100 miles or have it towed vs that place now,
Just showing in frame price even pre covid.

 

I’ve got two good friends who have diesel shop’s. One for getting close to 50 years. Snd the other just had his 25th anniversary. They are 3 sometimes 4 man shops. They do superior work and stand by it. They have had some catastrophic problems in the past. Last major one was a Cummins Big Cam 444 going down before 50,000 into a routine overhaul. They both have insurance to cover these things. They made it right.

 

From my experience few places are like that. Integrity is something that is rare these days.

 

You are very correct. But there still are some good people out there. Hopefully the business will have the same “culture” and values when another generation takes over. But history shows it usually goes the other way.