Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Lost a head gasket!....O-ring gave out!

[Cummins724]

Jetpilot is the man! He told me to loosen the bolts one at a time & retorque each bolt in cummins sequence... . Worked great! I actually got it to seal & gave it a good heat cycle & all is holding great. I never thought that I would be able to get . 026 protrusion to seal, but it is... . unbelievably! Thanks Jetpilot for taking time on a Saturday evening to help me out..... I really appreciate it. I owe you a cold one, or two, or three. LOL

 

[csutton7]

. 66 x . 041 = . 02706 which leaves a protrusion of . 01394----I wonder if your guy means the depth was cut to . 026 vs the protrusion being . 026---I'd ask him again to be sure---JetPilot is a top notch guy no doubt--hopefully it will hold----chris

 

[Cummins724]

. 66 x . 041 = . 02706 which leaves a protrusion of . 01394----I wonder if your guy means the depth was cut to . 026 vs the protrusion being . 026---I'd ask him again to be sure---JetPilot is a top notch guy no doubt--hopefully it will hold----chris

I used a . 049 wire & . 026 protrusion. I wish I would have checked it before installing the head, but I was in a hurry to get my truck back & just trusted the guy that it would work. I'm crossing my fingers, but it is holding so far & I am now waiting for it to cool off again & going to check the torque to be sure.

 

[csutton7]

cut depth is . 66 x . 049 = . 03234, so the protrusion should be . 01666



for . 041 wire you would use a . 039 bit and cut to a depth of . 02706 & the protrusion is . 01394



for . 049 wire(which I've never heard of being used, but I can't imagine it matters) you would use a . 047 bit and cut to a depth of . 03234 with protrusion being . 01666



for . 051 wire you would use a . 049 bit and cut to a depth of . 03366 & the protrusion would be . 01734



if you do receiver grooves opposite of your wires your groove depth should be . 75 or 75% of the protrusion and 150% or 1. 5 of the o-ring width---



receiver groove bit size for . 041 wire should be . 062 and cut depth would be . 75 x . 01394 = . 010455



receiver groove bit size for . 051 wire should be . 077 and cut depth would be

. 75 x . 01734 = . 013005



of course you can be off a little a here and in fact when we cut my receiver grooves years ago we only had a . 085 bit for the . 051 wire(yes I was nervous) and it's held from either '02 or '03(I don't remember exactly when we did this--I need to go back and check)---I'm double oringed with an . 041 wire and . 051 wire using a copper gasket coated with yamabond 6b... ... chris

 

[Cummins724]

Well it is 11:00 pm ET & I just come in the house. I drove the truck & checked for leaks & none found. Then I took the valve cover off & adjusted the rockers. I got out the air intake cleaner & sprayed the head while the engine was running... . just to check for air bubbles. The front of the head still doesn't leak, but I noticed really fine air bubbles coming from below the head gasket under the exhaust manifold. I mean really fine bubbles... . no antifreeze in oil. I am going to call the shop tomorrow to get this taken care of.

 

[Jim Fulmer]

for . 051 wire you would use a . 049 bit and cut to a depth of . 03366 & the protrusion would be . 01734





That's mine and still holding great.



Jim

 

[Cummins724]

for . 051 wire you would use a . 049 bit and cut to a depth of . 03366 & the protrusion would be . 01734





That's mine and still holding great.



Jim

Thanks Jim..... I just may go your way on this. I'm gonna see what the guy tells me tomorrow about fixing the problem & I'll let you guys know.

 

[csutton7]

if you have bubbles you have problems or the problem will become bigger and bigger as time goes on, so taking it to the shop is a very smart thing---good luck----chris

 

[Cummins724]

Well... hauled the truck to his shop yesterday & after he pulled it we measured the grooves & they are setup for . 041 wire. Problem that we had the first time using . 041 wire is that he used a wire that was too soft & had the dent in it... ... picking it up tomorrow morning.

 

[Cummins724]

Well got it back today. The grooves were cut with a . 039 bit to a depth of . 026 & . 041 stainless wire was used giving me . 015 protrusion. I felt the difference in the old . 041 wire & the new stuff was much harder wire. I wish I would have never tried going with a bigger wire after the problem, but I just thought that it was needed if I lost a gasket. Live & learn I guess. I really apreciate all the help that you guys have given me. Thanks again.

 

[Jim Fulmer]

That setup will work great, make sure you heat cycle/retorque a few times. The first one should be heated up at idle.



Jim

 

[Cummins724]

That setup will work great, make sure you heat cycle/retorque a few times. The first one should be heated up at idle.



Jim

I want to thank you also Jim for the help you gave on this matter. After the install... . the first retorque was done after idle & cooldown. I could have taken the truck home last night, but I left it at the shop. The engine was heated up [idle] & left cool all night..... then retorqued this morning. Then a drive cycle & cool off till this evening & another retorque before driving it home 60 miles tonight. I'm going to check the torque again in a week.

 

[Cummins724]

for . 041 wire you would use a . 039 bit and cut to a depth of . 02706 & the protrusion is . 01394

Thanks for the info Chris... . really appreciated.