Reman Pickup Engines
Rebuilt Gas And Diesels Give A Second Life To Work Trucks
by Hib Halverson for ProPickup
Jasper Engines and Transmissions, located in Jasper, Ind., has the largest line of light-truck powertrain products in North America.
Not only does this company remanufacture gasoline and diesel engines, it also handles marine engines, alternative fuel (propane, LPG and CNG) engines, high-performance gas engines, transmissions (manual and automatic), and rear axles.
They are a fleet owners best friend when it comes to keeping trucks from being out-of-service for extended periods of time.
In an interview with Mike Pfau, the company’s director of advertising, ProPickup learned that some large operators of light-truck fleets buy reman engines from Jasper.
(Large fleet operators probably best understand the cost effectiveness of remanufactured engines.)
Matt Weinzapfel, Jasper’s vice president of engine production told us that the company’s highest-volume light-truck diesel is the T444E, which most of us know as the Navistar 7.3L Powerstroke V8 used in 1994 to 2003 Fords.
It should be no surprise the company’s best-selling gas engine is the Gen 1 and Gen 1E (Vortec) 350 Small-Block V8s used in Chevy and GMC pickups from 1955 to 1998.
With both of these engines out of production for several years, while still remaining the most popular products from a major remanufacturer, implies that the owners of these older trucks decided to replace engines rather than replace the vehicles.
Jasper Engines and Transmissions is employee-owned; everyone who works there is an “owner-associate” with some skin in the game as far as quality.
This motivation is one reason Jasper offers a three-year/100,000-mile nationwide warranty on parts and labor of some gas engines.
Last September, we toured the company’s Jasper, Indiana headquarters where one of its three factories is located. The photo gallery below gives a little peek into some of the work that goes into a reman engine. — Pro
