Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Headgasket

[JoshPeters]

Well guys, I finally blew it. Last weekend I reset my timing. Fuel prices are so high I had no choice but to take a day and fine tune the truck. I set the timing to 16. 5. Wed I pulled the beast into the shop and found passenger side battery wet. Taste test... . antifreeze... . overflow bottle 3/4 full Radiator about a gallon low So I started checking things... . I found the radiator cap bad... only would hold about 11lbs... then blow off like a wet fart. OK that must be bad... I took the truck up north this weekend. Duluth Diesel asks me "what kind of boost can you get out of this thing?" So of course instead of just giving him a verbal answer, I stomped on it... . no problem the first time... it was a short burst. Second time was from a standing stop... . BINGO! It looked like I was driving in the rain..... temp guage went quite quickly to 230 and I pulled over. I found the lower radiator hose off completely So we horsed around and got the truck back going again and the temp guage won't go much past about 145ish. I'm assuming the T-stat is stuck and my headgasket is blown.



Now my big question... . How much time am I looking at to do the job? Is there anything that I should pick up and have on hand that I'm going to need to do the job other than the Headgasket?



Thanx,

Josh

 

[1dslram]

Get a thermostat and the "O" rings. consider having your head "O" ringed while it is off and use the 20 over marine gasket to put it back together. If you don't have studs already I wouldn't put it back together without them. "O" rings and studs equal peace of mind. Be sure to torque the studs as the manufacturer recomends, just remember more is not always better.

Bruce

 

[JoshPeters]

I would love to do fire rings and studs, but right now Money is really tight and time is just about as close. I'm leaving this next weekend for Chicago, I HAVE to be in my Mercedes update class monday morning. I'm just going to "band-aid" it so I can get by till I can afford to do the job right!



Josh

 

[ProMac1K]

I envy you Josh!!! Serious! :-laf



Must be nice to have your headgasket blow itself for you. I wouldn't want to be in the same boat as you, but I wouldn't mind the condition. Got some future plans for my truck that i'm going to have to attend to, that means a fire-ring job and a new gasket at some point in time. After the transmission is done though. Also going to need a good amount of $$$.



Give Diesel Tim a call! Didn't he do the work to his own head?



Trever

 

[Jeff H]

I've got a Cummins repair manual. If ya would like to barrow it get back to me. Or if ya need a hand. I'm learning this stuff. Right now we are in the tear down phaze in diesel 1. Working on an 8. 3 cummins. Got it bear down to the block. Just started doing some measurments.

After running it that hot. Check for warping and cracks.

Any antifreeze in the oil?

Or oil in the radiator or over flow jug?

About a month ago I pressure checked my system. Found that my cap was around 11 lbs too. I back flushed and replaced the radiator cap.

So what was your max boost?

Anything over 30 is really going to cause problems with a stock turbo. Or blow gaskets.

I've been running 19. 5 for timing for 5,6 years now. I adjusted the waste gate for max of 30-32 psi. I can do 40 without the gate. But $hi? happens over that. Good luck.

Later

Jeff H.

 

[SBrandon]

Josh,

I just did my head gaskett this weekend, I had the same exact problem. I took my time, and did the job in about ten hours, THIS TIME CAN BE GREATLY REDUCED. One thing I did that saved lots of time was leave the exhaust manifold on the head.

I only needed a head gaskett (74. 00) from cummins dealer. They conned me into the whole kit And I will be paying them a visit today ( complete gaskett kit is 170. 00)One problem I had was the final three pushrods. I used rubberbands to hold them all the way up because there is no clearance to pull them straight out. This task alone took two or more hours and it helps to have very small and long arms.

The only other thing i will say is to sand the head and cylinder deck good, and cleanout the head bolt thread holes goood vveerry good. .



Also before you buy a gaskett kit pm me I may have a cummins set im willing to sell for 25. 00 less than what I paid for it including shipping.

 

[JoshPeters]

Josh,



I only needed a head gaskett (74. 00) from cummins dealer. They conned me into the whole kit And I will be paying them a visit today ( complete gaskett kit is 170. 00)One problem I had was the final three pushrods. I used rubberbands to hold them all the way up because there is no clearance to pull them straight out. This task alone took two or more hours and it helps to have very small and long arms.

The only other thing i will say is to sand the head and cylinder deck good, and cleanout the head bolt thread holes goood vveerry good. .



Also before you buy a gaskett kit pm me I may have a cummins set im willing to sell for 25. 00 less than what I paid for it including shipping.

Thanks for the offer, being I'm giong to try and get the head off and cleaned tonite and back together tomorrow, I don't know if I would get it in time. I will thread chase the bolt holes, that's a good idea. What was the problem with the final 3 pushrods, they wouldn't clear the firewall? Could you leave them in the block as you pulled the head?

I've got a Cummins repair manual. If ya would like to barrow it get back to me. Or if ya need a hand.

After running it that hot. Check for warping and cracks.

Any antifreeze in the oil?

Or oil in the radiator or over flow jug?



So what was your max boost?



Jeff H.

Well I'm going to be doing the repair at my work, so I have access to all my tools. The only thing that I "should" need is the torque specs for the head.



It only ran that hot for a second, the temp spiked because there was no coolant, it was actually shut down prior to the temp guage getting that high.



I have no oil in the antifreeze, or antifreeze in the oil.



Max Boost is my boost guage was a purchase prior to the TDR. It's only a 35lbs guage. I can peg it at will. I'm estimating 45psi max.



Josh

 

[Jim Fulmer]

I used rubberbands to hold them all the way up because there is no clearance to pull them straight out.



There are two plastic plugs in the top of the firewall you have to pull out so you can push the push rods and head bolts through to get them out!



If you pull the head at least take the time to run it down to a shop and check it for flatness, if it were me I'd do that and at least have it pressure checked. I hate to see you have your troubles but you shouldn't have had it at your power level IMHO unless there is an issue with the head or the gasket, bolts ect.



Check the bolts against each other at least (cummins strech gauge is better) and make sure there the same length. Don't use scotch brite pads on you sander to clean the block... ..... that's a big no no, use a new 2x4 block with emory cloth on it using a rough 120 grit then a 320 grit to clean the block off... ... . just block sand it back and worth from end to end till all the junk is gone and it looks flat sanded.



Jim

 

[SBrandon]

Jim I knew there had to be somekind of trick to it, like they say you learn something new everyday, Thanks.

 

[Jeff H]

Where does that grit go when using sand paper?

Maybe Scotch brite would be safer?

 

[JoshPeters]

Well 2 hours 17min..... the head is off... . everything looks good. I popped it in 7 places total. One place is from cylinder 3 or 4 (can't remember) to one of the main cooling galleries. Bent the gasket. I'll get some pictures for you guys. I am replacing the gasket as well as the head bolts to assure that I don't have any issues with bolt streach.



2 questions..... What is the torque of the head bolts, and what do I set the valve lash to? . 18 and . 20 if I remember right? I'm pressed for time... . so I may not have a chance to look those items up.



Thanx in advance!

Josh



PS, The truck has 256,000 miles on it... . it may have just been the end of that headgaskets life.

 

[McCRam]

Valve lash numbers are . 010 intake and. 020 exhaust. I don't remember the head torque numbers, but they were in the last tdr mag.

 

[JoshPeters]

THANK YOU HOLESHOT! I can't say enough for a guy who takes 4 phone calls and probably made as many to help me out with the torque specs for this truck. I have some pics I'll try to post... . I count a total of 12 blown spots, most to coolant. One enough to bend the gasket, a few to head bolts, when when detorqued, depressurized. One from cylinder 4 to 5. Hey when I break stuff I do a quality job! :-laf

 

[JoshPeters]

PS... . when I blew it the last time... like I said it blew the lower hose off... and apparently turned the T-stat sealing rubber inside out!





Josh

 

[C. Harlan]

Make sure you get the head machined!!

When I blew my headgasket (Both times this year in a month's time) Money was hard to come by too. I know what you are going through!



I did a fix to get by like you were talking about, and head gasket blew twice as hard a month later. . Jim Fulmer saw my truck, being the Trailer Queen, with the oil all over it, and spewing a sludge out of the overflow bottle. Just get it decked, it is like ~65 dollars, and its cheap insurance.



And for the . 020 Over marine gasket. . Why 20 over, if you didnt deck that much off the head? They shaved . 006 off my head, so a . 010 was sufficient for it. Keep that in mind, and do it the right way the first time!



If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Good luck, and hope it all works out!



-Chris--

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Josh,



Feel free to call me any time, dude. I'm glad I could help with the T-stat, but I feel bad about not having torque specs right off the top of my head.



What is the spec for these things? The spec I gave him resulted in a broken head bolt. My bad. (Run 'em all down to 40. Run 'em all down to 80. Finally, run 'em all down to 120. )



I want to see multiple answers by the end of the day, people!



Matt

 

[RonA]

My book says step 1 66ftlbs, step 2 89ftlbs, step 3 aditional 90 degrees. Same book says metric 12mm 12. 9 bolt in cast iron 95 ft lbs. I was told head bolts to 120 on final. My studs are at 105 with moly lube.

 

[TurboTweaker]

Fat Kid Specs tighten till they spin and back it off 1/4 turn. sorry i dont know jp off the top of my head. im just good at breaking stuff and welding weather i touch it or not i can weld it or break it. GOOD LUCK JP!

 

[SBrandon]

Torque specs



According to Cummins all to 66, 12mm long bolts only to 89lbs in sequence, Then all 90 deg.



Not all of the bolt go to the 89 sequence.

 

[SBrandon]

http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40413&highlight=torque+cylinder+head