i was driving my truck tonight and when i got home i went inside and realized i forgot something. go back out and i see antifreeze on the ground and see its coming off the oil pan. i trace it back to a few lines coming from around the #5 cylinder where the exhaust manifold bolts on. i put my new turbo on and hammered down on it a few times during the week. i pegged the guage 2 or 3 times at 35lbs. any chance in heck that i didn't blow my head gasket and if i did, how much does it normally cost to fix

 

oh and i checked my heater hose lines and they are good, checked the oil on the dipstick and it also looks normal....no oil prescense visable in the antifreeze in the radiator either

 

mine leaked in the same place, was running hotter water temp, it even steam cleand my block.

when the engine cools off if its leaking antifreeze into the cylinders it will pull the water into them, but mine seaped out the side under the head and still ran fine just couldn't tow with it

and i bet you were pushing alot of boost with that set up so you might have blown yours if nothing eles is leaking

 

so how far can i run it and how much does a head gasket normally cost to replace...i'm really paranoid if you cant tell

 

i ran 100 miles then pulled the engine,
just the gasket is about $100
but if you buy new bolts and some other stuff, its about $400, i think

 

so i guess i'm looking at 500 to 600 bucks at a shop since i don't have the time to do it myself..

 

do a compression test and a leak down test if you can

 

not sure how to do a compression test and leak down test....i just don't have any other idea what it could be but the head gasket.

 

compression test uses a compression tester and adapter in the injection holes.
a leak down test pressureizes the radiator to see if it leaks down(losses pressure)

 

If I remember correctly, a member on here did his own head gasket replacement and it took him about 8 hours. So figure about that for shop labor

 

8hours sounds about right for shop labor (remmeber, they dont work for free, so they pad the time when possible). It took me about 6 last time, no lift, no cherry picker, no helper, in 20deg and wind. If you have a closed shop and a cherry picker, you should be able to get it done in 5-6. Check the head for flatness.

Head gasket set is about $150-175, and includes EVERYTHING you need, and a lot of stuff you dont if you arent rebuilding the head. If you have a stock head gasket on your 90, I'd bet you blew it with 35psi boost. The older original gaskets werent as strong as the 91.5 and up intercooled gaskets.

You can reuse your old head bolts- check them on the gauge that comes in the kit to make sure they havent stretched. I had a few that wouldnt torque down, so I replaced all of mine in 2007, and it was a little over $100.

Get the kit from Cummins, nowhere else. I have seen a commparison of Cummins vs Felpro, and there is no comparison. The Cummins gasket may be over-engineered, but that's a good thing.

 

You can try retorqueing it to see if it stops leaking, but I wouldn't bet on it.

If powertripls1 has time to help you, I bet you guys could knock it out on a Saturday.

 

I ain't skeered, I offered and it even happened right after I finnished cleaning out my garage and building a new work bench. lol But he's got work i think so its off to the "pro's".

I think its time to upgrade to a 60psi boost gauge too, it could be running just 36psi now or 46psi. Who knows. lol