pulling head tommorrow

[swankmetal]

anybody have any tips? hints,do's, and "definitely do NOT's" are all welcome. i have the b series service manual, just wondering if there are any steps i can leave out since i'm not taking the whole thing apart.



thanks

dave

 

[Greenleaf]

There are "too many" tips for me to mention, so I'll simply say that you will want to re-read the back issue(s) that give lots of tips and step-by-step advice.



OR



Don't spit into the wind.



GL

 

[Forrest Nearing]

don't tug on superman's cape

 

[1stgen4evr]

Pulling the head

I pulled the head on the 89 thinking I might be able to fix something without pulling the engine. No such luck. The only thing we failed to do was unhook the return line at the correct point. That was not a big deal however.



We did this without a lift and that made it a bit tricky but with two to lift and one to guide, it came out ok. Don't know what you plan to do but if you have the place and equipment, take the hood off and that will allow clear access all around the top of the engine. Then with a hand operated chain hoist, you will be home free with the lift. Ease it up and over. Don't sit the head where you might damage an injector.



If this is the first time doing this, read the material that Greenleaf mentioned carefully. If you have a camera, take some pictures of how everything fits before you pull it down. There are lots of things to unhook and sometimes it gets fuzzy as to how it all goes back.



Get several of those magnetic trays and put things in the trays according to how it comes down. This will make bolting everything back together easier as you will have the bolts organized in grouping as to where they came from. I am picky as to where the pushrods go back so I have a tray that allows me to put them in order as they come out.



As with anything, order is going to make the job easier and better. Don't just jerk all the stuff off and throw it in a pile. I don't mean to make this sound like I think you are a beginner but even if you are, you can do it. Just follow the rules.



The lift bracket on the back of the head is on upside down. Unbolt and turn it up and you will be good to go on that. When you finish, put it back down.



Why are you pulling the head?



James

 

[MMiller]

Definatly pull the injectors. I am a diesel tech, and "I" thought I could pull the head off my truck without hurting the injectors. It was off, and no problems, then I hit one with the buffing wheel cleaning the head surface off, effectivly weakening the injector tip, I needed to replace it to ensure no failure.



Replace the head bolts, exhaust manifold bolts. If the truck is bombed, torque the head the way PDR, Haisly, Shieds would do it, not to book spec. If the truck is bombed, I would recommend having the head milled, to make sure it is flat on installation. Remember the fuel line that goes around the back of the head. Pull the hood, it works much better in the corner of the shop, out of the way. Don't take the alternator off, just the belt and the top mount.



Order parts from Cummins. When I did mine it was cheaper to get a standard head gasket kit+ a . 010 over head gasket, to compensate for the . 010 off the head to make it flat. To order a . 010 over head gasket kit was $300+ more then buying a standard kit and thicker head gasket seprate. Cummins even bought my standad gasket back for list price out of the gasket kit.



Is this what you were looking for? Oh yeah, don't kneel on the fenders, when you get all done you will be able to see the dimples in the shiney paint. Been there, done that .



Or where you looking for remove bolts before lifting truck up? :-laf



Oh yeah, my mind is in the gutter most of the time, and your title to the post gave me a good giggle! :-laf

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

You got lots of good info on this so far... so, I can't resist the next line..... "... you don't pull the mask off the Ole Lone Ranger..... "



pb... . I'm sooo weak...

 

[Greenleaf]

... ..... don't mess 'round with Jim.

 

[swankmetal]

hee,hee,heeee. thank you for all the VERY good info. you guys made me laugh too. i'm pulling it for some port work. gotta go to work now, but i will fill in the details soon.

 

[bgilbert]

How bout the $400 12mm stud kit, no retapping needed.

 

[swankmetal]

i'm guessing those are larger than stock? i was also thinking about o-ringing the head while off. any ideas on where to get parts? think pdr would sell parts w/o doing all the work? the reason the head is coming off is that it's going to get ported(along with the exhaust manifold and housing) and the hot stuff is getting ceramic coated. if i have time, i will be doing some exploratory surgery on the engine as well. just to see how she's doing. thanks again for the responses, and if anything comes to mind i'd love to hear it.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

stock head bolts are 12mm threads...

 

[dpuckett]

WHen I did mine, I got 6 coffee cans, and then put one rubber band around the intake pushrod, two on the exhaust pushrod, then put the rocker ***'y, pushrods, and bolts in the can, marked a #1 on it, and moved on to #2, #3, etc. I took the injectors out and got them tested. I had the head checked for flatness, and it was within . 002 overall. It had 6 cracks in it- between each intake valve seat and injector bore. Guy at the machine shop said he'd seen them run with cracks twice that size on Case tractors, so I put it back on, cracks and all.



Make sure you get everything cleaned out really well- cylinders, make sure you dont get too much of the old HG down in the oil galleys.



This is also a good time for a coolant change. Oil change as well. I left the manifold on- as I had 2 bolts that had sheared off, and didnt want to put an ATS manifold on the credit card, too.



If I had it to redo, I'd get a head stud kit, or at least new head bolts. THe HG kit comes with EVERYTHING you'll ever need, even a few gaskets I cant figure out where they go, or what they are for.



Daniel

 

[Moose Truck]

More tips at:

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1070574#post1070574



There are 15 posts, Help this helps, Moose

 

[DieselTweaker]

I agree with MMiller Pull the nozzles... . and keep everything together and watch your pushrods

 

[MMiller]

I was always a stickler for push "tubes", as Cat calls them, order until I started working at Caterpillar dealer. I have never seen anybody keep track of push rods for at least 7 years. I no longer worry about them, but that is just me. I get pretty anal about other things though too, just a matter of preference.



Michael

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I'm right there w/ ya... I don't keep pushrods organized... just check for straightness and put 'em in the nearest cylinder.



Forrest

 

[swankmetal]

well, got all disassembled tonight. will have a loaner hoist tomorrow for lifting. pretty un-eventful. thanks for all the help. the camera came in handy as did pulling the injectors.



If the truck is bombed, torque the head the way PDR, Haisly, Shieds would do it, not to book spec.



can i just call and get these specs? or are they listed somewhere?



stock head bolts are 12mm threads...



shoulda seen that coming.



what's the difference between fire rings and orings? my neighbor has a CNC shop so i'm thinking we can cut the holes, just need specs and the other parts.



many, many thanks

dave

 

[MMiller]

I know if you call PDR and talk to Mark he will help you out. Like said before, those guys at PDR are great people to deal with. I have never talked to Shieds or Haislys but I am sure they are the same to deal with.



I don't know if the specs are on PDR's webcite, Hey pastor, a little help here- is it written down somewhere or just floating around in Mark's head?



Michael

 

[swankmetal]

heads off. looks pretty darn good. i think i will be doing a valve job while it's off though. the exhaust valves look kind of pitted. the intakes had a bunch of gunk on the back side of them, and i mean a BUNCH. i will be talking with pdr SOON. it's good to see the hone cross-hatch after 400,000 miles, right? gotta go, but will ask more questions soon.