My Step Son 2008 389 Peterbilt
ISX15 550 HP Cumins 1…read moreMillion Miles
After A Year Of Hauling Live Stock
& Putting 1K Miles In A Day At Under 90K Lbs, I Talked Him Into Putting A CAT Engine,
Swap To A C15 Kitty CAT Was Supposed To Be A 625HP Accert Block,
Overhaul Total Cost $65K
Plus Renting A W900L For The Duration Of Overhaul,
That Cost $ Wasn't Included BTW
He Did His Homework For Months Leading Up To Doing His Engine Swap, Researched Shops In His Home Town Of Tennessee, He Hauls Cattle Out Of Iowa, And Other Drivers Told Him About
Severson Service
1795 Main St.
Lansing, IA 52151
563.794.1534 Office
Mark Severson Owner
These Are The Cliff Notes To The Disaster Experience That Has Taken Place, Thus Far.. I'm Writing This Review Because He's Much To Kind To Say Anything About His Horrible Mistakes For Taking His Pride & Joy To Someone That Shouldn't Be In Business!!!! For Lying About Using CAT Overhaul Major Parts & Using Aftermarket Hard Parts Instead.
Didn't Know About The Aftermarket Parts Until The Second Engine Repair Less Than 30K Miles Had An Inframe Done.
July 12,2024 Truck Went In For Engine Swap
July 23rd Old Motor Was Still In Truck, They Painted New C15 All White.
August 12th C15 Is Finally Sitting In Frame Rails
August 22nd Still Working To Finish Things Up.
September 16nd Finally Was Called To Come Get Truck And Finish Pay The Other Half Of CAT Swap Overhaul,
Showed Up To Get Truck After Waiting For Months, Out The Gate, Zero Oil Temperature Gauge Wasn't Hooked Up, The New Transmission Cooler They Installed Was Mounted Right Over His 5" Exhaust Pipe Underneath, Auxiliary Fog Lights Don't Work, After Removing The Hood They Cut The Wires And Said They Never Worked!!!
After Addressing These Issues, They Claimed To Have Hooked Up The Oil Pressure Gauge They Said, My Son Found The Wires Going To The ECM Wasn't In The Right Spot In Order For It To Actually Work, He Fixed The Fog Lights & Repaired The Cut Wires, Relocated The Transmission Cooler Himself, So Now He Could Finally Hit The Big Road And Experience 650hp From A Kitty CAT , He Was Being Very Gentle With It,
September 20th Notice Large Amount Of Engine Blow By & Oil Loss
When He Called Mark Severson The Owner To Share His Concerns, He Said To Keep Driving It, That's Normal For A CAT Engine During Brake In Period..
September 30th Started To Hear A Ticking Noise, Sent Recorded Video To Mark The Owner,
October 5th More Oil Leaks Everywhere,
November 3rd Broken Rocker Arm Assembly, Had A Load Of Pigs When This Happened, Made Arrangements To Deliver His Load, Had Truck Towed 200 Miles From Alexis, Illinois To
Severson Service
1795 Main St.
Lansing, IA 52151
563.794.1534
Mark Severson Owner
Had To Rent Another Truck To Drive For Another Few Months Till Getting It Back From Mark Severson
$5K For Having It Towed To Mark Severson Shop In Iowa,
Just To Find Out It Had A Flat Cam, Brocken Rocker Arm Assy. So It Cost Him Additional $8K To Use CAT Parts This Time, As Far As We Know He Did,
Pistons, Liners, Rocker Arm Assy. Complete Gasket Overhaul Kit,
Was Billed For A New CAT Fuel Transfer Pump, But Noticed When All The White Paint Was Coming Off Again For The Second Time, The Pump Was Rusty And Had Old Yellow Paint On It, Wasn't A New Pump Like He Said!!!
Still Today A Year Later September 13,2026
Finding Out It's NOT A TRUE 625hp CAT, Its A 550hp CAT NOTHING LIKE HE HAD PROMISED!!!
Still Dealing With Oil Leaks From Crushed Oil Pan Gasket, Valve Cover Leaking, The White Paint Is Mostly Gone Now, Well Over $85K In This Fiasco, I Don't Wish This Trouble On Anyone!!!!!!!
I Would Like To End This By Saying,
I Wouldn't Trust Mark Severson & Service With A Ryobi Riding Lawnmower!!!
I'm Not Sure How He's Still In Business, Clearly People Don't Read Reviews, That's Why I'm Posting This Review For My Step Son, I Have Plenty Of Pictures To Show What's Happening To All The Oil Leaks And Issues. Feel Free To Give Him A Call If You Want Your Life Turned Upside Down!!!!