N14 in frame kit, which brand?

Well, you’re better off with head gaskets from Cummins. I’ll share a pic shortly of a junk aftermarket I have in the shop…

 

I’ve used McBee and PAI, these gaskets that came in the PAI kit are the least desirable to me.

If you don’t know the history of the engine make sure you look at the head gasket on the engine carefully, if the block has been decked it should have thicker head gaskets and the gaskets will be marked 0.010 with the part number. Gasket in the picture is a standard gasket….

 

Back in 1994 when I had an inframe done for my Cummins BC1 CPL 369, I bought all Genuine Cummins parts. However, back in the days, Quality was Quality unlike today. Today, I have a 2014 ISX 15(Recon 2016) and if I had to get an inframe done, I still would stick with all Genuine Cummins parts. Only because if you start mixing parts like connecting rods, bearing, head, gaskets, etc…. if any part fails, they will start blaming on the different manufacturers parts cause the failure. I prefer to spend a few bucks more and have a peace of mind that anything fails, I would not have any warranty issues. If one starts cutting corners, and doesn’t have the extra funds to cover major repairs, they shouldn’t be in business, just my opinion. Get er done right the first time.

 

Only original Cummins

 

I used PAI for mine but like oldskooler said I went with cummins for the head gaskets, .010 over

Some of the McBee gaskets look like they were cut out with a dull beaver. I gave up on those

 

When it comes to rebuild kits. 9 times out of 10 OEM parts are going to be far better then aftermarket. OEM stuff will as a general rule be manufactured to OEM specs which means its going to do the job listed on the box. Especially because warranty stuff gets pricy fast.

Aftermarket items do not need to conform to OEM specs. This means they can cut corners or may have specifications that are off and can over time lead to engine damage, excessive wear or fast wear. Not always as there are kits that are better then OEM by being basically OEM parts made with higher quality matetials or to a tighter/higher standard. But they will typically be even more expensive then the OEM kits and even then there may be small flaws, parts that are off by a minute amount and so on. And many aftermarket parts will void any warrantys or may have games played with you if something goes wrong.

Not to say an after market kit CANT be good. Just much more that can go wrong and the cost savings may not be worth it to you. With OEM parts you get a part backed by millions or billions of dollars in research, sales and experince.

 

For my application parts are going to become a little scarce in the future, Cummins is now no longer supporting the Big Cam which I still run in my truck. At least not my local Cummins dealer 45 miles away.

The N14 is still being supported.

If anyone would need the part number for the 0.010 head gasket here ya go…