Alabama Cylinder Head advertises a loaded, ready to bolt on head which they claim to be "redesigned and stronger" than the OEM unit for $405. Sounded a bit fishy - price wise, so I asked where they were made. Yup, you all guessed it......CHINA! They say it is "rough cast" in China and finished at their location. I don't think I want Chinese parts on my good old made in the USA Cummins. Boy, I sure hope the OEM's aren't cast there. I may have put foot in mouth. W.E.I.N.?

 

I was pretty sure, but went to check and make sure... I just pulled the head off of a 93 CTD. It has USA cast right into the head (it's on the bottom side of the air intake, towards the back of the motor)

 

Thanks for the backup! I'm relieved. Should've known better than to make such a foolish comment about Cummins. What was I thinking?

 

There are castings from all over the place. When pred did his HG, we found that his head was cast in Germany.

 

I'm about to pull the trigger on one. By the time I get my used head and get it to the machine shop, I'm gonna have 300 bucks into it and it'll still be a big question mark untill it's mag'ed and pressure tested, which will bring me to about 400 bucks for a questionable piece. Too much risk. For the same 400 bucks, I get a brand new head that's guaranteed. The only thing I'm waiting on right now is the other place advertising on e-bay from Canada. 50 bucks more than ACH but with a 1 year warantee rather than 3 months. ACH got right back to me with answers to the questions I had..still waiting on the other guys. Even at $450, I don't think a sub-400hp truck owner can go wrong. I assume they're both cast overseas. I'll be the guinnea pig one way or the other by the end of tonight. Look for my 'Headgasket, part II' thread soon I plan to do some port matching, but nothing major. Gonna practice on the junker first

 

the brand new oil cooler that I bought at the cummins store was made in china and looked identical in fit and finish to the USA made one that I took out.

 

most parts we get from cummins ars made or cast in china. I think its the way most things are now. The head on my truck is a new cummins part cast in china the casting was as good as the head that came off.

 

at least they were honest and told you where they are made,not dont know,must be made in US, You could have ask them what there return ,failure rate was.who knows they my have told you as they did not seem to be hiding anything,also it would be nice to know what the improvements are.

 

Interesting info--welcome to the site!

greg

 

Dervolksfuhrers trucks head was cast in Brazil.

 

The new one on my 93 is from Brazil too, Tupy foundry. I think the original one is cast in germany. I know the 89 I have is.

 

Cummins has operations all over the world, yeah. On the plus side it's most likely made in a factory owned and operated by Cummins, rather than some factory that Cummins pays to make it.

 

Maybe the Cummins parts are built under stricter standards, than a co. casting them for brand x auto parts retailer? I'm just looking for any excuse to not install "made in Cheena". We'll see what the "guinea pig" thinks when he gets his. Hopefully its all good, the price sure is.

 

Well, I'm officially the ACH Guinnea Pig, or AGP for short I just ordered it this minute. Once I get a tracking number, I'm gonna tear my engine down AGAIN and begin a practice port job on the junk head. I removed the entire front clip this time, so I'm gonna go through and re-seal a bunch of stuff and paint the engine up. Is there such thing as Cummins Grey? I want a lighter color so I can spot oil leaks easier, but I don't like the industrial beige and marine white would just look silly
Here we go!!!

AGP out.

 

Cummins engines in Ford medium duty trucks were always painted gray.