Hi, my name is Johnny Bradford. I’m here to talk to you about engine overhauls on your generator or fire pump engines. Generator engine overhauls are typically required when there’s a catastrophic failure on your piece of equipment. Meaning that there’s internal damage inside the engine that warrants taking it all the way apart, rebuilding it, and putting it back together with new or reconditioned parts. Learn more about commercial generator overhauls here.

Reasons to do a Generator Overhaul

Typically, you would want to do the engine rebuild for a multitude of reasons, mainly because it would be less expensive than purchasing a brand-new piece of equipment. Then, as far as reusability and getting your money’s worth out of your piece of equipment, there are manufacturer recommendations on when to do a rebuild.

Scope of a Generator Overhaul

Generator overhaul kind of ranges, as well. You can go down to a bare block, meaning that you take every single piece of the engine apart and send the block out. The block is the main component on the engine that everything attaches to, and you would get the crankshaft sent out. You’d get the camshaft sent out and inspected, and re-machined. You’d send the fuel pump, injectors, and fuel system out to a facility to inspect and/or rebuild those following manufacturer’s reusability guidelines. Basically, pulling everything apart, cleaning everything, inspecting, and putting it all back together.

Benefits of a Generator Overhaul

Some of the benefits of replacing the engine is if the equipment that failed is old and possibly parts are obsolete. Or, if they cannot get parts or special tooling to put the unit back together, sometimes replacing the unit is a viable option instead of the rebuild. To learn more from Duthie Power’s team of generator experts, visit or subscribe to our YouTube channel. In addition to our collection of short “how-to” videos, you can always contact us through this website.