2018 W900L, X15 565 Performance, 18 speed. 498,300 on the odometer, about 11,200 hours on the ECM.
the Cummins dealer here in Salt Lake quoted 1,400 for the overhead set, valves and the engine brake. the paperwork that came with the truck says the first one is due around 500k. a buddy of mine says his never got touched until 900k and it runs fine, and he's not a liar, just lucky maybe.
so is this one of those jobs you do when the book says, or when it starts ticking? and has anybody done it themselves with the barring tool? i'm not scared of a valve cover. the jake set is what scares me.
i went looking on cummins.com for a straight answer and ended up at a login screen for the service manuals.
eighteen_speed_onlyMillion milerGreat Falls, MT64 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2016 Peterbilt 579, ISX15, 18 speed / grain hopper
ISX15 in my 579, which is close enough. first overhead was at 520k. intakes were in spec, a couple of exhausts were a hair out, and the engine brake was the one that had moved the most.
i had a shop do it. buying the barring tool and the gauges to do the job once every couple of years didn't make sense to me. paid 1,150 at an independent in Billings in 2022, so 1,400 at a dealer in Salt Lake sounds about right for now.
what i wouldn't do is wait to hear it. by the time you hear a tick, something has been wearing for a while.
lease_onto_or_ownOwner operatorMemphis, TN57 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2019 International LT, A26, automated / dry van, leased on
i run an LT with the A26 so wrong engine, but my carrier's shop has this same fight twice a month. the guy who runs our maintenance escrow says the trucks that skip overheads come back later with cam and roller trouble, and that's a five figure invoice.
my honest read: the paper says 500k, you're at 498k. you already know the answer and you're hoping somebody here talks you out of it. nobody should.
laredo_reefer_runsOwner operatorLaredo, TX41 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2022 Volvo VNL 860, D13, I-Shift / reefer, produce north
D13 guy, so different animal, but one tip. make the shop hand you the as-found numbers on paper, every valve and every brake. an invoice that just says overhead adjustment and a total tells you nothing about whether anything was out.
the good shops write it all down without being asked. mine did, and that's how i found out my number 4 exhaust was tight.
x15_565_guyOPMillion milerSalt Lake City, UT73 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2018 Kenworth W900L, X15 565, 18 speed / steel on a 48 ft flatbed
done. booked an independent in West Valley for 1,180 and they let me stand in the bay and watch.
as found: intakes all in spec. exhausts on 3 and 5 tight by about two thousandths. the engine brake on 5 was out further than anything else on the engine. they replaced the valve cover gasket while it was open, seven hours of shop time all in.
it's quieter at idle, and i'd swear the jake grabs harder coming down Parleys, though that could be in my head. got the sheet folded in the truck file like laredo said. next one at a million, if i still own it.
mod_glenn_aModeratorSpringfield, OH212 posts, joined Nov 2025Runs2017 Kenworth T680, MX-13, 10 speed / regional flatbed
good thread, leaving it here for whoever searches this in two years. whatever engine you run, keep that as-found sheet with the truck. when you sell, it's the one piece of paper a buyer actually reads.
my MX-13 had its first set at 400 and something thousand and the sheet still lives in the glovebox in a zip bag.
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