Head Gasket Troubles!

[Blkdawdg]

DONE!

I put a 12V gasket on mine so that it would lower compression and everything is doing just fine. Max boost is up 3-4 psi and power it pulls hard after spool-up.

 

[Blkdawdg]

Pretty Easy

All that you have to do is enlarge 4 coolant holes and make sure everything is REALLY cleaned up.



Good luck and feel free to call me @ (512)426-8561



Eric (Blkdawdg)

 

[Amianthus]

Tools

Dude! Bummer on the gasket. Drop me a line if you need any tools. I will see if I can break free to come up and help, let me know when you are going to tackle this.

Also, you probably know this, if you get a thicker head gasket you will need thinner injector washers to keep your spray geometry right.

If I come up I might even help you with that LPG.

(608)304-0399

 

[rubberneck]

injector washers

BLKDAWDG, what did you use for the thinner injector washers, i was talking to HVAC earlier in the week, and he was going to research the issue on the washers, but had not gotten the part # as of yet. I am going to order the head gasket and everything else this week. Does anyone know if the washers on a 12 valve injector are the same inside and outside diameter, i have seen thinner washers for those maybe that is the answer. thanks Phil



PS, blkdawdg i love your sig.

 

[Wally19]

Dealer Will Cover It!!

Talk to the dealer today, and they said "they will cover the head gasket. " Thats a direct quote from the service manager and district manager. :--) But, I think I am going to skip the freebee and install the 12v one myself for reasurance that it will not happen again. Hopefully. Talked with both HVAC and Blkdawdg, and I think that this is the way to go.



BD, I forgot to ask you if you changed the washers to a thinner ones. If so do you have a part number for them?



Jason

 

[HVAC]

Wally,



It's rather attractive to have the dealer replace the gasket at first glance. But a local fella here took them up on the very same offer and his truck was down for two weeks!!!



Turns out the mech didn't know what was going on and he couldn't get the push rods out of #5&#6. He decided to pull the motor mounts and drop the engine. This degraded to become a real circus act.



So once you have the valve cover off, run your hand under the windshield overhang just above #5&#6 on the drivers side a bit. There are two pop out rubber plugs that need to be removed to allow you to raise the push rods up high enough to clear the head. You don't need to take the motor mounts loose and jack the motor



Moral, most of you bucks out there can do this yourself and do a better job. A cherry picker is a big help (the head is near 200 pounds!). Be sure to remove the injectors before pulling the head. You could damage the tips otherwise. Watch for the banjo bolt on the rear of the head that ties into the return side of the fuel system.



Good luck bro

 

[Wally19]

Dealer Install!

HVAC, I was really tempted, but I dont want to reinstall an OEM gasket that will just fail again. So I am going to do the twelve valve gasket myself. A cherrypicker is a must, and No Floor jacks neccesary. Thats why I bought a 4X4, I can crawl underneath without jacking it up.



Jason

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

After the job

Wally, when you do your gasket job and change your oil you may want to run some standard oil for just a few miles incase there is still moisture from the coolant in your engine. Maybe run it easy 20-30 miles to get it good and warm and then dump it.



When you go to change your oil when you are done it may not hurt to flush some engine flush with the oil drained and the plug out. It may be a good time to do it after you reinstalled the head but before putting the valve cover back on. That way you can dump a couple quarts of the flush over the length of the cylinder head and wash it down good.



This is just an idea, any moisture or coolant in your oil system is a killer on rod and main bearings.



Vaughn

 

[Wally19]

Engine Coolant

Thanks for all tips on getting the head off, and cleaned, but what about the coolant system. How do I clean that out. Should I buy cummins pre-mix stuff. I think there was a trick using Cascade, but dont remember. Any other tips, tricks I should know. Plan to so this Friday or Saturday.



Jason