Puke

For many years I have been trying to figure out why every 10k miles or so, I have to put more anti-freeze in my overflow...

I finally found, at the very back of the head, where you can hardly see with a mirror, it leaks slowly.....I can see the mineral deposits,where they ran or dripped down from the head gasket at the corner.... so I think that would be the telltale sign. My brother suggested that they may have forgotten to tighten the back head bolts when they manufactured it...

Anyway, I am guessing it came that way from the factory and it took me years and years to finally figure things out.

Part of me says to leave it like it is,..since it has never seemed to be any better or any worse.... but now that I know what the problem is,...I am going to be bugged until I deal with it.

HOW MUCH OF A PAIN IN THE REAR IS IT TO DO????? (OR MAYBE i SHOULD HAVE A CUMMINS SHOP DO IT.

I used to always do all my own stuff....But now I have to wear reading glasses just to see things close-up etc., and I'm also lazier than I used to be.

Thanx,
1998 1/2 24V 2wd auto slt quad cab. ..about 135k miles. Never towed anything.

jrs_dodge_diesel

AFAIK the only hard thing about the job is to lift the head off the block since its heavy. If you do this your self be sure you have the tools to check the mating surfaces for warping and distortion. If the head is warped badly then a new gasket will not fix the leak. Also be sure you have a good torque wrench. If the head bolts are not torqued properly then that can and will cause warping due to the uneven pressure on the head and thermal cycling.

Puke

My Torque wrench is a proto....click style. I think it's one of the best...other than being old.

As far as checking for warpage,...not sure there. I think you are supposed to use a granite block and plastiguage ...or something like that. I am not that fancy...But I could check it with a regular straightedge....that should get it to within a thousandth or two.


Hey, can I do this in a day??????

Copenhagenjunkie

I can't believe you only have 135k on a 98.5. My dads was leaking in that same spot on his 99 but he has over 300k. I would think warpage would not be a problem. It would have to be a long day for the first time, there is alot of stuff to remove just to start pulling the head.

John Faughn

1st if it were me I'ld retorqu the head and drive it if its leaking as slow as you mention.
If you haven't done a head gasget on anything before , than with out knowing your abilities I'ld say get some help , and get a machine shop to check the head for straightness and cracks , let then make at least 1 pass to get a good surface for the gasget to seal on ,
If you do deside to do it your self , make sure you take the injectors out before removing the head , if not your probubly going to by new ones.
At mimn. if you do it get only the factory manual .

Puke

I've done a few heads before......But never on anything I liked or gave a **** about...So I wanted to be careful on this one. This truck is about the only thing I have ever likes or cared about...as far as cars/trucks go.

This will be my first diesel job....Other than helping on the farm (and those diesels were very simple compared to what I see in my truck)..I have not worked on a diesel before..

John Faughn

Then go for it , but pull the injectors 1st - they stick out the bottom just enough to damage and put them in last .
Of course you need to have help to lift in & out from under the firewall .

vette95

The issue w/ your head gasket is likely from age, not mileage. If the head gasket is getting hard then retorquing will only shatter the the gasket causing way more problems. Another thing to think about is electrolysis which eats away at stuff like that. Dodges are bad about battery cables when not properly maintained, thus causing electrolysis. If you want to try a stop leak additive then try to find some stuff called "Dyke" We use it at the shop regularly and doesn't plug up the cores in radiators like "Bars leak" Good luck.

Puke

I am one of those guys who is a bit skeptical about leak stoppers.????
Are you 100 percent sure that stuff is safe?????? As far as not compromizing the cooling system????

By the way, I thought I said I believed it came from the factory that way...but I didn't pinpoint the problem until a couple weeks ago. If it was due to age,..wouldn't it be getting worse/?????
Maybe I should try to keep track of the exact rate of leakage.. It could be getting worse and I would never know unless it became very apparent.

It hasn't gotten any worse over the years that I can tell.....It's just that I finally found where it was located. I suppose there is also the chance that there is a pinhole in the heater core or something, and there is a dual problem rather than a single one, but I can find no other spot with mineral deposits or anything like that.

Thanx, Guys.

Jetpilot

A HG is not too hard a job it just takes some time. I would go ahead and get the head shaved flat and do a valve job while the head is off. The 24v engines valve guides are shot at a very low mileage...... We don't do a HG job here unless we rebuild the head, this is not to get more $$ from the customer it is to save the customer $$ in the long run. Use a good HG from Cummins, we prefer using a 12v marine gasket that has been modified to fit the 24v engines.

I would not retorque the head bolts, they are not the same as headstuds and the results are not normally positive.

Doug Smith

Huff nPuff

vette95 is right, a little antifreeze every 10k is not worth messing with.A little stop leak will probably work on your type of leak.

paulb

I agree with Doug. Have the head rebuilt, and do it right. I would also fix the leak as soon as possible, even though it may have been going on for some time. These things never fix themselves, and they always go completely at a bad time.

The head on a Cummins is heavy. Use an engine hoist to left if off and especially on the engine. Get a buddy to help as well. I would use a 24v Cummins gasket (easier to get the water passages to seal, then a 12v). Get the Dodge Service manual, and follow it step-by-step. By new head bolts (they are torque to yield bolts), or better yet buy a set of ARP studs.

I've done two head gaskets in my car port. You probably won't get it done in a day...

Paul