To Mahle or not to Mahle

Mahle makes the original Detroit oem pistons. So yes it’s a great kit, made by a great company. They’re piston technology is probably the best you will find.They also own Clevite bearings, another Company that makes the majority of oem bearings, for 100 yrs. They also just purchased another automotive parts supplier, Baer? I think? Don’t take my word for it, google Mahle aftermarket. I opted for a FP ( Federal Mogul) Kit.Another good OEM supplier, that’s been around for over 100 yrs. It was cheaper,and a very good kit, but Mahle claims to have the edge on the piston cooling design. They were my preferred choice. Bring it to Detroit , my mechanic will fix you up good. Just had my 12.7 done for $3500 US Labor. Local vendor carry’s Mahle kits, direct shipped within a week to the shop.Those big shops aren’t what they claim to be, definitely not worth the cost. Count on 3 weeks downtime max. Probably less. You supply parts. Much better OH than the Dealer. If you’re taking the head off, might as well spend a few thousand more, do it all. Don’t waste your time, or money with the arrogant Know it all Dealers, They’re full of BS, all they’re good at is jacking up the total amount of the bill.

 

I would honestly rather have tha Mahle Kit, over a Detroit Kit. The head is a different case. OEM only. Or a reputable A/M. The standards are questionable, from what Ive been told. Detroit studies engines that have been Overhauled. When you buy an oem Kit, pistons have a core charge, for r&d purposes. They study the competition, along with their own. I’ve been told by an Engineer at Detroit, a lot of problems have been seen with aftermarket heads, mainly being milled to much, causing the cam gear to mesh too tightly with timing gears. I went with a Detroit reman Head, for that reason. Shop around a little, you may be surprised at how much $$ you can save. It all adds up in the end. Worth the effort to be in control of the build, instead of another Dealership Victim.

 

I haven’t seen it personally, but have been told the OEM pistons actually have Mahle printed on them. Also was told by one supplier, that OEM kits have Chinese liners. He may have been selling Me on Mahle, I don’t really know. But I would not be surprised. Cummins OEM, is full of Chinese parts.

 

You better have your shop check the block deck. Fretting of the deck was a huge problem for these engines. I used to work on them a lot. I turned away more head gasket replacement jobs than I can remember because of this issue Please have them check it well.

 

We have installed a Mahle engine kit in a 1987 Pete with 3406B Cat a few years ago. Engine still working good.

We are in the process of installing a Mahle kit into a 2005 freightliner ACERT C15.

The mahle kits are far cheaper than Cat.

 

Lockport: I think there are posts mentioning the mechanics putting some kind of sealer around the coolant passages along with the upgraded heads and gaskets.

We have a dump truck with a 6 head Mercedes and it does use a little coolant too. We haven’t opened it up yet but I’ve not long ago started to do some looking into research for that as well.