redillinois
New member
Hello all. I am a new member with a 1993 GH 721D named "The Warrior" and recently acquired GH 722D. I gambled on the 722D, knowing it had gotten hot, but at 1,987 hours and $1,225, and watching them sell for $3,500 to $5,000, I felt it was a worthy gamble. Figuring the I could part it out in a worst case scenario and recover my investment.
I first found a hole in the lower radiator hose where the hose had rubbed on the head of a front cover/injection pump bolt when I went to drain the coolant/antifreeze before the subzero winter storm hit. I noted very rusty brown fluid.
The starter was off so I mounted it up and it wouldn't roll over the engine. Seller said it was freshly rebuilt so it should be good. But I couldn't get anything on the key so I eventually jumped the solenoid posts. I still couldn't get it to turn over.
Eventually I got a pry bar in a flywheel tooth and with a slight pry it rotated, then the starter would engage, but crank slow. I couldn't get it to fire on several attempts over the course of several days. Allowing the battery ample time to recharge.
Investigated the fuel and discovered a quart of water in the diesel. Replaced. Still couldn't get it to fire on good fuel so I heated the unit with a forced air heater. No change.
Yesterday I removed the valve cover and confirmed all the valves appeared to be operating. I thought one might not be opening. I removed the intake manifold and what I saw was UGLY. Lots of rust, etc. But it did visually appear all valves were opening and closing. However, I suspected one or more wasn't mating with the valve seat due to the amount of rust. So I removed the head to find it had at least one visible small crack near area of combustion on the #2 cylinder.
I don't see any cracks in the pistons, but need to clean them up a bit more to be more confident. I am still debating about what I am going to do. Repair or part it out.
Do you have a source for a good used head? It would seem one should be available somewhere, but I haven't experience much success locating one yet. The D722 had many, many applications. But either the D902 is still too new for good availability on parts or didn't have as many applications.
I first found a hole in the lower radiator hose where the hose had rubbed on the head of a front cover/injection pump bolt when I went to drain the coolant/antifreeze before the subzero winter storm hit. I noted very rusty brown fluid.
The starter was off so I mounted it up and it wouldn't roll over the engine. Seller said it was freshly rebuilt so it should be good. But I couldn't get anything on the key so I eventually jumped the solenoid posts. I still couldn't get it to turn over.
Eventually I got a pry bar in a flywheel tooth and with a slight pry it rotated, then the starter would engage, but crank slow. I couldn't get it to fire on several attempts over the course of several days. Allowing the battery ample time to recharge.
Investigated the fuel and discovered a quart of water in the diesel. Replaced. Still couldn't get it to fire on good fuel so I heated the unit with a forced air heater. No change.
Yesterday I removed the valve cover and confirmed all the valves appeared to be operating. I thought one might not be opening. I removed the intake manifold and what I saw was UGLY. Lots of rust, etc. But it did visually appear all valves were opening and closing. However, I suspected one or more wasn't mating with the valve seat due to the amount of rust. So I removed the head to find it had at least one visible small crack near area of combustion on the #2 cylinder.
I don't see any cracks in the pistons, but need to clean them up a bit more to be more confident. I am still debating about what I am going to do. Repair or part it out.
Do you have a source for a good used head? It would seem one should be available somewhere, but I haven't experience much success locating one yet. The D722 had many, many applications. But either the D902 is still too new for good availability on parts or didn't have as many applications.
