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M1123 engine blocks chinese?

springbok

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M1123 Engine Blocks

Was thinking about maybe, pending the wife giving final approval, bidding on an M1123.
I have heard that the blocks are NOT OEM but Chinese made blocks.
Does anyone know if this is true or not ?
 
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juanprado

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Carl_in_NH

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http://www.meltons.com/remanufacture/diesel-engines/

the ISO 9001 certification is not given away freely
I work for an ISO 9001 company. It's a standard for documentation - typically related to process. It's not a measure of quality produced - only that whatever process you're using to produce whatever you produce is documented in compliance with the standard. You'll see a lot of tools from places like Grizzly that proclaim "Made in an ISO 9001 Factory". Trust me, those tools aren't that great - the process they make bad tools with is documented to the standard, but it doesn't make the tools any better.

That said, Melton's might be great - I know nothing about them - but having ISO 9001 certification doesn't insure that they are great - just that they have done a good job documenting the processes they use, and that documentation has been verified by an independent ISO auditor.

Compliance will result, typically, in consistency - not necessarily better quality. If you're a great company and your processes are ISO 9001 documented, then you should consistently make great products.
 
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TacMac2012

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I wouldn't worry too much about a M1123 from GovPlanet, but some of the engine rebuilders that sell "GEP" engines do use non authentic GEP blocks. USengines is one such company. They can't (or won't) verify the engines are NEW GEP blocks, and if you contact AM General (that makes GEP), they did not SELL blocks to US Engines. The US Engines blocks come from Brazil, China, etc, but they are not true GEP blocks, they LOOK identical but the metallurgy is not the same, and the parts they put inside them are often take-out parts from used 6.5's.

Regardless what you buy, if it's a 6.5, I personally wouldn't buy it unless it was a GEP block. Chances are the GM 6.5 would be fine but that's a chance I personally don't want to take.
 

3000gt

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hernando ms
I wouldn't worry too much about a M1123 from GovPlanet, but some of the engine rebuilders that sell "GEP" engines do use non authentic GEP blocks. USengines is one such company. They can't (or won't) verify the engines are NEW GEP blocks, and if you contact AM General (that makes GEP), they did not SELL blocks to US Engines. The US Engines blocks come from Brazil, China, etc, but they are not true GEP blocks, they LOOK identical but the metallurgy is not the same, and the parts they put inside them are often take-out parts from used 6.5's.

Regardless what you buy, if it's a 6.5, I personally wouldn't buy it unless it was a GEP block. Chances are the GM 6.5 would be fine but that's a chance I personally don't want to take.
So are IP 1123 engines GEP blocks?
 

avman

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Do they have 10k or 12k axles?
No, not all m1123 have gep engines. 1999 is when GM sold to AMG operations. So in 2000 they were considered AMG. The problem is that AMG was using old GM parts to build GEP engines. The block is the main concern and you need to look for the navistar markings on the block

i bought a 2000 m1123 and was told it had a GEP block. In a way it was but was not a navistar block. I was not happy but could not fight it. I would not buy a m1123 unless it is a 2002 or newer.

Also, most of theses engines were rebuilt in 2009. In most the the pictures on GP website you can see the rebuild sticker.
 

Retiredwarhorses

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Brentwood, Calif
I wouldn't worry too much about a M1123 from GovPlanet, but some of the engine rebuilders that sell "GEP" engines do use non authentic GEP blocks. USengines is one such company. They can't (or won't) verify the engines are NEW GEP blocks, and if you contact AM General (that makes GEP), they did not SELL blocks to US Engines. The US Engines blocks come from Brazil, China, etc, but they are not true GEP blocks, they LOOK identical but the metallurgy is not the same, and the parts they put inside them are often take-out parts from used 6.5's.

Regardless what you buy, if it's a 6.5, I personally wouldn't buy it unless it was a GEP block. Chances are the GM 6.5 would be fine but that's a chance I personally don't want to take.
US Engines is by far the worst company and product I have ever dealt with...period.
As far as the M1123's, I wouldn't worry about if you have a GEP or GM motor, just drive it.
Yes, the GEP is better, but if I were looking to buy a truck, the overall condition of the truck is more important than what motor is in it....motors can be replaced quite easily. A Take out GEP can be swapped in in a very short time frame.
i have had many trucks with Meltons, they have never given me any issues.
 

avman

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Location
Tampa, FL
I picked mine up directly from Albany and saw the MANY M1123 they had on the lot. I would guess there was about 100 or more. The few I looked at were made in 1999 and all seemed to look pretty good. There were a few that were beat up so be careful on bidding on them. Most seem to have weather wear on them. I dont know why the have pealing paint, it was pretty common. Just look at the pictures very closely for missing items.

I can tell you my M1123 drives 1000% better than my M998. I wish I would have got one of the M1123 and pasted on the M998. The four speed transmission and quality of ride is well worth it.
 
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