I built a D333 CAT engine for a customer last year and put it back in service in late July, early August. Since that time it shows he has put a whole 124 hours on it, as shown on the brand new, mechanical, hour meter (((I installed it as part of the build so I know it's new and relatively accurate))). Anyway, I got a call that the engine made a loud clunking sound, spit water up under the hood from the front end of the engine, so they shut it down. Here are a few pics of what I found when I went to check it out. Looks like it broke the head off of the intake valve on #1 and inbedded it into the top of the piston, and then proceeded to hit the end of the percombustion chamber and knocked it out the top of the head.
Now this was a brand new head that was bought to replace the old one which was cracked. Given the age of the engine this was the ONLY make/brand head I could find anywhere so using it was the only choice. It came completely assembled, ready to set on. In other words neither myself or the customer did anything to cause the problem.
That said the actual waranty period on the head was 6 months but it has been about 8 months since it was installed. I called the place I got it and they said to return it for inspection. Hopefully they will still warranty it no more actual hours than it has on it.
The customer and I both agree that neither of us is at fault, because the head came completely assembled and part of that assembly was what failed. That leads me to a question for ya'll since I have never run into a problem like this with any of the engines I have built. What would you expect warranty wise on the whole deal? I mean I know we both expect the mfg of the head to cover it, especially given that the loaded head was nearly $3000. Personally I think they ought to be on the hook for all of the damage caused by a faulty product but at the same time I know every warranty written finds a way around that. Given that it is out of warranty, even with the low hours, they have an out if they choose it, but if the do decide to cover the cost of the head, what else would you expect out of the deal? Remember now the customer and I both agree that the problem was not caused by anything either of us did.
I have what I think is fair in mind, given the circumstances, but I am still curious as to what you guys think.
Oh, almost forgot, here are a few pics
Now this was a brand new head that was bought to replace the old one which was cracked. Given the age of the engine this was the ONLY make/brand head I could find anywhere so using it was the only choice. It came completely assembled, ready to set on. In other words neither myself or the customer did anything to cause the problem.
That said the actual waranty period on the head was 6 months but it has been about 8 months since it was installed. I called the place I got it and they said to return it for inspection. Hopefully they will still warranty it no more actual hours than it has on it.
The customer and I both agree that neither of us is at fault, because the head came completely assembled and part of that assembly was what failed. That leads me to a question for ya'll since I have never run into a problem like this with any of the engines I have built. What would you expect warranty wise on the whole deal? I mean I know we both expect the mfg of the head to cover it, especially given that the loaded head was nearly $3000. Personally I think they ought to be on the hook for all of the damage caused by a faulty product but at the same time I know every warranty written finds a way around that. Given that it is out of warranty, even with the low hours, they have an out if they choose it, but if the do decide to cover the cost of the head, what else would you expect out of the deal? Remember now the customer and I both agree that the problem was not caused by anything either of us did.
I have what I think is fair in mind, given the circumstances, but I am still curious as to what you guys think.
Oh, almost forgot, here are a few pics