the resovouir were you put antifreeze is empty and the oil on the dipstick is way overfull but it was fine 4 months ago when i changed it about 1100 miles i dont know what to do but i dont want to drive it till i can tell whats wrong

 

Well, that sure is a sign of a failed head gasket. Pull the drain plug for the oil. If you get antifreesze with the oil it probably is a head gasket.

 

Pull your oil fill cap off and see if you have a white milky goo on it. That's a sign of coolant in the oil.

 

so were do i look for a new one and how much will it cost me cuase i looked at genos but i didnt see anything

 

Well, there is probablly a pair of Cummins repair shops within 150 miles of you. Perhaps a couple Dodge dealers. No telling how many parts stores. I would bet there is someone out there who will sell for over $1,000.00. I suspect most are considerablly less.

 

for just a head gasket(cummins p/n 3957650) expect to pay 100 or less... can be had by contacting Scheid Diesel or your local Cummins house...

or you can get a complete upper gasket set(p/n 4090035) from the same places... the upper would contain head gasket, exhaust manifold gaskets, valve cover gasket, intake gasket, grid heater gaskets... I'd recommend getting the complete upper since your head has to come off, everything else is coming off and now is a good time to freshen up all of your gaskets...

 

so what is this stuff im reading about o rings and such what do they do is it worth it

 

judging by the mod list in your signature, O-rings probably aren't warranted for your application.

 

While you are at it:

Have head checked for cracks.
Have head trued for "perfect flat" and with a slightly rough finish
Check block flatness
Get studs (like ARP)
Get Top end seal kit.
Change valve shaft seals
Do a good valve job.

This should give you peace of mind and some room for further modifications like bigger turbo etc.

Just my 2c

AlpineRAM

 

Personally I like using the 12v marine gasket that has been modified for the 24v......

Doug

 

have the head machined for 3rd Gen Valve Stem seals... much better design.

 

O-rings have to be flattenable to work well. If the wire is hard, it causes stress risers on the head (already prone to cracking), and also the sealing contact area is small.

Ideally, you'd have something more like a piston ring in cross section, sealing head to block with half a receiver groove cut in each.

I disagree with Alpine on head finish-- I've read Cummins tech reports specifying it should be as smooth as you can get it (RA<10), but flatness matters more than smoothness. Also, I'm not sure which gasket that RA spec applied to-- I'm pretty sure it's the new design gaskets, so that's possibly not applicable to your truck.

JH

 

Hohn,

The best wire I have used to date for O-rings is made by BHJ products. It is a semi-hard stainless steel wire..... Another good option is inconel, while i have not personally used it I know of several who do with good results. Some guys like the hard wire with the idea of better clamp force but I have seen the fire ring get cut form too small and hard of a wire. Most of the cracking we see in the heads is around the valves so i really don't think you would see any difference from hard to soft on the craked head issue.

As for the reciever groove concept, I tried that a few years ago and didn't have any better luck with it than just a standard setup. I use either .041 0r .051 wire with anywhere from .010-.015 protrusion depending upon the application.

Also as you mentioned flattness is paramount but getting a really smooth RA is a great benefit!

Doug

 

just thought id let yall know i got a call from my mechanic. It was good i didnt have water in my oil i had oil in my water. the replaced the oil cooler and it started and ran fine with no smoke and reguler presures