Well, my oil into coolant problem persists. $600 and a new oil cooler later.... Head gasket is the next culprit, I assume. Can I reuse my head bolts or do I need new bolts. Are there upgraded bolts I can use? If I go with head studs, can I get the head off the engine with it still in the truck? How hard is it to replace the gasket? The fun never ends....

 

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sheriffavr8r:

Let me see if I can help you out here.

Cummins makes a Headbolt Gauge that you can use to check your stock headbolts to see if they are still usable. You just lay the bolt up against their measurements and if they are within that gauges' tolerances they say they are alright to use again. But,.....with that being said, I have seen stock used bolts that were within spec on that gauge break when they were torqued down. I don't know of any "aftermarket bolts" but maybe the other Members will chime in here on that. Yes, you can also get the head off with it still in the engine.

The replacement of the head gasket is not a real hard job, but make sure you check the head and block to make sure they are true and level with a good metal straightedge. If you find warpage, then machine work will be needed.

Hope this helps you some. Good luck!

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John_P

 

THere has been quite a few articles in Diesel Power lately addressing the issue of blown head gaskets caused by the factory head bolts stretching after a lot of miles and heat/cool cycles.

What I am hearing is its cheap insurance to replace the headbolts rather than re-use them. One get broken off while you're buttoning up and the fun is just starting.

We used to re-use them between races but that was for gassers running around 10.5-1 compression.

ARP head studs aren't cheap to me, I think they were listed around $700 for the set. You may just want to get a new set of stockers from Cummins.

Just my .02

 

How heavy is the head? Is this an "in my driveway" deal to replace the head gasket or is it a little more involved?

 

I have read you should attach it to an engine picker to lift it off the easiest way.

 

My neighbor, a strong 'ol boy and I took mine off...it's a wonder we didn't get hurt or broke anything.
Used an engine hoist to install it.
I reused my old bolts, they met spec according to the info in the head gasket box and had the head machined dead flat...took .0025" to clean it up.
Scraped the block deck until no carbon left to scrape up.
I posted the whole thing somewhere...

 

Allowable warpage is .006" over the whole length of the head, .003" over a foot.

Head weighs a good bit over 100 lbs. Engine hoist is advisable, so you can set it down slowly and smoothly.

ARP2000 studs are around the $400 mark, the 625 studs are the ones closer to $1k.

 

One of the other issues on the head bolt article I was reading was re-torqueing headbolts after considerable mileage. They did this on a 12V but I imagine you could expect the same on a 24. They marked a line on all headbolts and snugged them a little in increments to see how much movement was available. If they went past 90 degrees they were replaced. 45 deg. was considered acceptable.

Do you think this may have contributed to your head gasket failure, loosened headbolts over time?

Just a thought.

 

Well, now my mechanic doesn't think it was ever a head gasket failure. Thinks it is the oil cooler sludge still getting out of the engine. I'm going to give it another week of cleaning and flushing before I look at something else. BTW, Cummins wanted $3100 for a loaded head while Clearwater Cylinder Heads has a fully loaded new cast cylinder head for $1500. We'll see....

 

Have you pressure tested the cooling system yet? That will help diagnose the problem.