01.5 w/ 207000 miles - I replaced my head gasket at around 188000 miles, and have not had any problems since, but I did reuse the stock torque-to-yield head bolts.

I did this because I had only a weekend to get this done and this truck is my daily driver and I simply did not have the $ or time to buy a new set.

As a side note, more of a gripe I guess is that my shop manual said the head gasket set would have a head bolt stretch gauge. It was the Cummins upper gasket set that I purchased (made in China) and there was no stretch gauge, so I don't know if the bolts I reused were really serviceable or not. I have no more coolant leak at all, so I guess they are serviceable for now. I have absolutely zero performance mods on this truck and with the exception of the head gasket, new Cummins thermostat, new water pump (NAPA, made in China), 2 new batteries, and various fluid and filter changes, it is mechanically the same as it was when I purchased it with 170,000 miles.

My question is, if I decide later on when $ allow to purchase either more stock head bolts or "go big" and purchase some 12mm head studs, can I just install them one at a time without r&r'ing the entire head again?

Thanks,

Ted

 

i did the same thing as you. then later put studs in and it been good to me since.

 

FWIW, my 24v top end kit didn't come with a bolt stretch gauge, but my 12v did. I wouldn't be too concerned about it, especially if its been running fine. They are allowed to stretch a long way. I compared the long bolts out of my '94 12v with 400k+ km on it, and they were well within the specified range.

 

Thanks guys. This is what I was hoping to hear.

Ted