Debate: Should we still rebuild old Detroit engines or just swap in remanufactured ones?

I've been going back and forth on this since a job in Flint last spring. Old customer brought in a 1995 12-valve Cummins with 400,000 miles on it, had a cracked block and a bad head. I spent 3 days figuring out if we could save it versus just dropping a $4,500 reman unit in there. On one hand, rebuilding keeps the original numbers and history, plus you know exactly what's in there. On the other hand, a reman comes with a warranty and takes half the labor time. Which way do you lean on older rigs like that when the bill gets close to the truck's value?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahhall4d ago

Rowan makes a good point about who's paying, but I think the real question nobody asks is whether the customer actually plans to keep driving it. I had a guy with an old Detroit 6-71 who dumped serious cash into rebuilding it, then parked the truck in his yard a year later and never drove it again. If they're going to put another 100k miles on it, the rebuild makes sense even if it costs more. But if it's just a nostalgia trip that's gonna sit and collect dust, you're basically setting money on fire. The sentimental value only matters if the truck is actually gonna keep earning its keep on the road.

rowan5934d ago

You ever notice how these debates always end up depending on who's paying? I had a guy last year with an old 7.3 Powerstroke, wanted to save it for sentimental reasons. His grandpa bought it new. I told him straight up, the rebuild would cost him more than the truck was worth. He didn't care. He just wanted it running again with the same block. We did it. Took three weeks and he was happy. Meanwhile I got another customer who'd swap a perfectly good engine for a reman just to have the warranty. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.