MADSEN

96 cdt with 170k miles. lost all the coolant. found broken head bolts and a bad head gasket. i was told that this is a common problem but in reading on this site i dont see that many threads re this problem. is this common ?

what if any things should i ask the mechanic to change when putting it back together?
like a marine head ?
thanks in advance
JOHN MADSEN

MADSEN

ANYBODY ? HELP PLEASE

BigBlue

A broken head bolt after only 170K? Unless you are heavily modified, I doubt that. I'd just have him put a stock head gasket and all on. Unless your modified. Make sure he checks the head for flatness and cracks.

HOHN

John:

This is NOT a common problem with the Cummins 5.9!

I suspect that your broken head bolts and bad HG are related. Your HG was probably leaking coolant enough to allow the bolts to corrode. Corroded bolts are weak bolts. Thus, your leaking headgasket probably caused the broken head bolts.

Usually HG issues come up with trucks that have uprated the power by a large amount-- like 150hp+. Since your truck appears to stock (no hp upgrades), I'd say a warped head may have contributed towards the gasket failure. Warped heads are not all that rare. However, you usually don't see it until the engine is torn down. Warpage is almost inevitable with a long inline 6 cylinder head. But on the Cummins, it doesn't often lead to a HG leaking.

Fortunately, there are ways to fix this and be better than new. The Marine head is a great option, but it's pretty expensive. It's probably a wise investment if you want to keep the truck for a while.

Once you get that new head, get a new marine headgasket, but avoid the oversized (thicker) gaskets. The loss of compression will kill the bottom end and fuel economy.

Finally, you want to seal that head with ARP head studs from member Don M (Don Morrison). They are not only have the highest clamp load, they are highly corrosion resistant.

Hope this helps.

Justin

MADSEN

THANKS FOR THE REPLY. I MEANT TO SAY MARINE HEAD GASKET. THE MECHANIC SAID THE BOLT WAS CORRRODED . THEY SHAVED THE HEAD AND PREASURED TESTED THE HEAD. SAID THE VALVES WERE FINE .
john m

Redleg

Any connection to these guys?

http://madsens1.com/

MADSEN

NOT THAT I KNOW
BUT I HAD A GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER WHO WAS MORMON HAD 3 WIVES AND 39 KIDS SO WHO KNOWS