apache

For you guys that have had to pull the head on your 12v and do a gasket or otherwise can you tell me if you had the heads checked for cracks, and if so how many of you had to replace the head? My 95`s head gasket is shot and Im told by most everyone around my area that the head is most likely trash also from cracking. Also will I need new head bolts? Cummins only? and I recall hearing about marine head gaskets?? Is this the way to go?? Truck is stock and will stay this way as long as I own it.
Thanks.

ratsun

I'm sure there will be cracks but if they will be bad enough to cause problems it a crap shoot. If you need a new head Piers was selling brand new ones for $500 but I dont know if he has any left? Ideally you should use new head bolts but....Good Luck

apache

Were they complete do you know? Other than Piers who sells them rreasonably? anyone know of a quality source? No Ebay either.
Thanks.

vssman

I thought the non-IC 1st gen heads were problematic by cracking due to the nozzle diameter being larger. I haven't heard of significant 2nd gens having this problem.

John Faughn

Do not replace anything with out testing , unless your just trying to keep the economy going , find a good machine shop to have the head tested [ pressure test, magnaflux , ect.] then if its good have surfaced and maybe valves & guide , they can be be tested also to figure if needed[ valves -pour a little gas in the in. & ex. ports any if theres any getting by the valve touch up or complete, leakdown test for valve guides.

apache

Frankly at this point John the fact that I have owned 3 CTD`s Ive unwillingly done my part to empty my bank account and keep the economy running and a truck. I wont replace anything unless absoloutly nesessary. However I dont want to take any chances by cutting corners. As far as reputable machine shops in my neck of the woods theres none to be had. Ive been quoted $1300 for a new complete head. Is this about right?? I know you guys really love your trucks but I gotta be honest and say the 3 Ive had have been a **** poor and my neighbors as well with his 94 feel like were both in so deep you cant sell the thing cause youll loose our rear ends. Im 45, he`s 70, weve both been thru some trucks in our lives and feel violated from owning Dodges, maybe we got 4 lemons, I dunno anymore. I would like nothing better than to part with mine at 1/2 what Ive got in it and Ill never look back. Ill shut up now cause its not what you wanna hear, sometimes one just has to vent a little.

signature600

PDR will have a shipment of heads in about a week...not even close to $1300!

Just FYI,
Chris

John Faughn

Thats no fun , not knowing all the facts , some I can see , I bought the cummins not the the dodge , I been wrenching for about 25+yrs and found that to do yourself right you need to follow all 3 and pick & chose the yr.& mod. , they all seem to make junk at differant times , things like the cummins is good but if dodge has anything to do with it ,its a problum , example I had a trans. cooling line wear through and can not find the same matieral [ 1/2" OD aluminum] just lines made by dodge for way too much $$$ , where in cal are ya , I do not know if they are still there and run the same way but one of the best machine shops I've been to was kraft or craft machine in santa rose , sonoma county , but calf. is a big race, performance ect state that it shouldn't be too hard to find a good one .
I read some thing about piers having new heads for a good price but for ,I think it was 500 , that would be a bear head , but still to check out yours should be more that 50-100 , its an industry standard to test for condition then surface , in the old days of racing when the only thing to build was the factory eng, you wanted a used eng becouse with all the heating and cooling cycles the cast iron stablized.

ccmckee

The PDR heads are brand new and come with 60lb exhaust springs and are ready to go for $500 us. I have one on order for my truck just to have on hand as i have just rolled 300k km's.I will probably do a change out this summer.Head bolts are highly reccomended as they can stretch, cummins ahs a guide to measure if they are stretched or not. Shop around for head gaskets as well, They vary from $240 to $85 cdn up here.Just helped a buddy doa n inframe on his F/L, we had to pull the head 4 times befroe we got all the issues solved.

apache

Thanks for the info guys, that sounds like a great deal from PDR on the heads. I`ll try to find a reputable shop but????? round here its mostly part swappers. last time we dealt with Cummins west on a 8.3 standby genset it cost us 1 month of 24/7 staffing and over 20K in teardowns and rental CAT generators due to a bad head they sold as rebuilt. It was removed 2 times and sent back for magnafluxing and returned as good. unit went back together and and the coolant dissapeared again. It eventually took three different mechanic services to get it goin. Shoulda know when the guys who actually got it done drove a Chevy with a Cummins in it.

Smkndzl

Hey Apache , something about that story with the genset doesnt add up , Cummins West did the head to begin with and then they had to send it to have flux ? I am thinking there was some input from your company on how they wanted that repaired, Cummins would have used a Recon head and any problem with a Recon would have been sent back to the factory and another recon head would have been put on the engine with no charge to your company. I know that if Cummins West was at fault with any of this and cause you any problems they would have also set up a generator for your company. and it wouldnt have been a CAT gen.

apache

The unit was going thru coolant. Its a emergency standby genset here at the water plant so compromising its abilities is a no no. We called in one of the better shops?? They set up a rental unit and tor down ours. Pulling off the exhaust we say coolant in #4 or 5 cyl. head came off and was replaced witha supposed Cummins recon, back together and the same thing, back off again after more inspections etc, same cyl leaking, head goes back and it was either checked or replaced. Back together again, same problem now worst. By now its been 3 weeks and the boss mans a little mad. fires the original mechanic outfit and calls in another, they pull it down, same leak, send it to their shop and find cracks everywhere in the exhaust port area. They put a new head on and been fine since. Logistically I dont know the whole deal with who ate what etc but a law suit was in the works. The original shop billed us over 20K for their work and rental bill. I dont know what they got in the end.
Not to sound to cold but In 15 years of living here in this area after living in the big city of sorts mostly I cannot figure things here. Even folks I work with from out of the area are baffeled at how the econimic sturcture stay put here. Guess they dont call it SLO county for nothin . Anymore we go else where for parts or service. BTW Im still waiting for a oil pressure sending unit for the 8.3 that works with the Onan panel. Its been goin on 2 years of dealing with the BIG generator experts here to fix it, and nothing.

Smkndzl

are you dealing with Cummins West for the Onan stuff ?

MnTom

Sounds to me like somebody had some "extra" parts laying around and tried to pawn them off as ReCon.

Rhino

I'm not sure how much Cummins gets for a set of head bolts but if it is excessive I would look strongly at a set of studs.

As far as the gaskets, I personally would go to a 10 over gasket, assuming you did not have to machine the head to true it up, 20 over is the head was machined.