Duramax head gasket replacement

[Nyoest]

Had a customer bring in an '05 chevy that was pressurizing the cooling system. In fifteen seconds of running it would build enough pressure to puke about a half gallon of coolant when the rad cap was removed. Plan is to install upgraded head gaskets, studs and EGR delete kit. With as much stuff as there is on top of these engines and as tight as the engine bays are we decided to pull the bullet for the upgrades. I shot a few pics as I went.

 

[Nyoest]

Somebody on dial up is hating me right now. Anywho, got the tear down done. Fire ring on the drivers head gasket completely blown. Notice the brown color on the glow plug! Last pic is all the items removed stacked in the bed. Whew Im spent.

 

[HBarlow]

Wow, your last photo above leaves me speechless. It looks like the aftermath of a large explosion.

I am intiminidated by opening the hood of a Furd or OM diesel truck. Would never even consider owning one of them.

Do you work for an independent shop or an OM franchised dealer?

 

[NIsaacs]

Wow, what a mess! Back in the day of an in-frame on an 855 Cummins I used to tell my boys I could take an 855, an Eaton 5spd, a 4-spd Spicer aux. and a front differential out of an SSHD Timken rear, mix it all up in a bushel basket then re-assemble the whole works. However, I would not be able to even start on that nightmare:-laf



I just finished rebuilding a Ford Industrial Tractor with a 3 cylinder diesel. When I picked up the head and block from the machine shop and paid the bill I told the owner (a friend of mine) I sure am glad this was not a v/8!!



Nick

 

[mpaulson]

Why not drop a 12v in there? And I'm thinking of removing the cooler that isn't funtioning just to clean up my engine bay a bit!!??

 

[PKnight]

Every Dodge dealer should display these pictures. Would be more effective than pictures on cigarette packages. PK

 

[Nyoest]

Harvey I work at an independent shop. I bought about $700 worh of tooling just o diagnose/repair duramaxes. After the first repair bill the shop owner bought everything I had! Sad part about that last pic is all that stuff is stacked! The pic doesn't really do it justice.



Mpaulson a twelve valve would be a big step backward when this engine is running correctly. I litteraly HATE chevy's but that izuzu engine sure does run good.



Oh, and if anybody thinks this is a lot of work, imagine doing the head gaskets IN the truck!

 

['strokeThis_'07]

Mpaulson a twelve valve would be a big step backward when this engine is running correctly. I litteraly HATE chevy's but that izuzu engine sure does run good.

Yep, the Duramax is a damn good engine

 

[rscurtis]

Never mind in the truck, imagine doing that job on one of Ford's latest offerings.

 

[HBarlow]

Never mind in the truck, imagine doing that job on one of Ford's latest offerings.

Yep, first the mechanic has to lift the cab off the frame to expose that mess.

I think it has two turbos, multiple individual cooling systems, and thousands of other parts.

 

[Nyoest]

Your right Harvey. But pulling the cab on the ford is actually faster than pulling the engine in the Chevy.



Here's a ford 6. 7 with a bazillion coolers right up front for Bambi to smack.

 

[SRay]

Makes a big difference if someone is paid to do the job compared to someone who wants to save money by doing the job himself. The person that wants to do the job himself would be p!ssed and not motivated at all. This is where I would happily do any job on my ol' 12v Cummins and be out of the shop in no time at all. A head gasket job on my John Deere 2130 took only an hour, another hour on the pto load dyno to work in the engine, re-torque the head bolts and finished. All in 2 hrs easily.



The Dodge is a little harder as the head is larger and a hood above it.



The Duramax and Powerstroke which are notorious for collecting big repair bills, no matter how good running they are, I myself, want nothing to do with them. If only these owners actually keep track of all the expenses involved with repairing these v8's, they could see the differences compared to the I6. Most businesses just repair them and keep going, write off the repairs as tax write-offs.



Also a lot of businesses consider Dodges as junk and don't treat them as nice.

 

[HBarlow]

Nyoest,

Do you and your shop work on a lot of late model diesel-powered Furds and OMs? I think most owners dump them at huge losses after the warranty expires.

I used to read the posts of a used truck dealer/RV puller outfitter on another website who patronizes auctions in the Dallas area and knew what he was talking about. A year or two ago he wrote of the actual cash value of clean, fairly low mileage, fully dressed King Ranch dually Sick. Ohh Furds he saw at auction. They were throwaway trucks.

I don't see many of them anymore. I wonder if they've gone to crushers? I think they are too expensive to own and maintain after the warranty expires unless they are used as commuter trucks and never pull heavy.

 

[SRay]

Harvey: You're correct, they're throw away trucks here in Canada as well. Just recently saw a 2008 4 door 4x4 powerstroke being sold for only $11,000. A 2008 Dodge Cummins sells for $25,000 still.

Also causes another problem: if I was a customer looking for a diesel for a good price with low kms, the $11,000 Furd is looking very tempting compared to spending a fortune on a Dodge.

Most of these people never do their homework before they buy. They buy the ford or gm cheap and still pay a fortune to fix them.

Shawn

 

[SRay]

I have also known a buddy of mine, his boss spent $85,000 on a brand new loaded F350 powerstroke, only to have the truck stolen a year later. The insurance company only gave him $55,000 back including his for some of his tools. He now drives a Dodge.

The fords are also selling cheap even only a year old. Pay the high cost, then end up selling for less than half they're worth.

Shawn

 

[HBarlow]

Shawn,

Wow, that would be very bad news for the Furd owner who went into deep debt with a six or seven year note to buy one of those albatrosses.

The numbers the truck guy posted a year ago for Furds a year or two older were precisely in line with what you posted for recent '08 Furd prices.

Apparently Furd's Sick. Four turned out to be no better than the Sick. Ohhs.

 

[SRay]

Harvey: It is bad news for all owners that bought them new, but apparently good news to people who buy them used as they don't have to pay as much money for a low km Ford or Gm that are only a year or two old. Now at 4 years old, they can be had for $11,000 for both brands.

Here in Canada, dodges in good condition for a 1996-1998 sell for $10,000-$15,000.

My sled pulling buddy sold a 1989 gm extended cab, long box with Dodge drive train under, including nv4500, 1,150hp sold for $45,000 as it was a top puller with a Cummins under the hood.

Funny how that works

Shawn

 

[HBarlow]

Shawn,

I understand.

Cheap purchase price is often attractive but usually doesn't mean the overall cost of owning and operating is cheaper, particularly when trade or resale value is factored into the equation.

For some applications those Furds with temporary light duty engines may be fine but for someone who will use his truck to tow heavy trailers it clearly does not work.

 

[Nyoest]

Harvey we work on everything. It sucks because you never have the tooling but in a way it's good. We have a customer that still runs an A model 3406 cat in a Pete daily. Man I love working on that ol truck. It's about as reliable as a hammer with a steel handle.



The 6. 0 and 6. 4 ford aren't bad engines if they are used like a truck and operated by a knowledgeable driver. Of course I make a living working in them and all these guys wonder why at quiting time I crawl in my crappy OLD noisy dodge. Only time my 96 is in the shop is upgrades or maintenance.



I don't know where the future of diesel trucks is headed by I don't like it. NO manufacturer has a fuel system that can make it over 200,000 miles, couple that with a really good sooted up egr/intake and your looking at $4k or better. You could BUY an entire vehicle for some of these repair bills!



Eventually people will wise up and stop buying theses turds. A close friend of mine runs a business and was looking at getting a couple new trucks. They tow periodicly but a diesel was never even discussed because of repair cost/down time and fuel cost. Sad really. And don't jump up and shout he should get a dodge either. His brother has had a 6. 7 since '07 and there is NO WAY either if them is willing to relive that nightmare.

 

[HBarlow]

Some owners could destroy a railroad locomotive.

My '08 has about 111k miles on it and has been perfect. TDR member EB had over 350k essentially troublefree miles on his last visit. TulsaOkie who hasn't posted in months retired one at over 350k and bought a new replacment.

There is nothing wrong with the products if they are used properly.

Most of the TDR members who seriously dislike ISB6. 7s have never owned one.