Man that sucks... hate to hear it. Had almost the exact same thing happen on my '04 6.0 a couple years back. Cleaned the cups real good with some brake cleaner and a wire brush, looked fine going in, but after about a week started getting that sweet smell in the degas bottle. Ended up pulling the whole top end apart again to replace them with new ones anyway, plus all the oil and coolant. Ended up costing way more in time and parts than just buying new cups from the start.

Heard some lenders in Texas are pushing 60 day bridge loans now just to be safe.

Try skipping straight to episode 4 and see if it clicks then.

Has anyone tested these logs side by side with a regular chemical cleaner like a powder or spray to see which one actually cuts through more creosote? I did that last year and the log left way less residue after a burn, but the spray seemed to break down the hard stuff better on contact. Might be the heat from the log that makes the difference, not the chemicals themselves.

wait, people actually think quality work is a guarantee for anything? lol that's wild. @evaallen you're right though, i've seen so many talented people get passed over because the client just wanted something cheap and fast. the whole "quality speaks for itself" thing sounds nice in theory but in practice it's like showing up to a job interview with a perfect resume and then the manager doesn't even read it. it's frustrating but that's just how it is sometimes.