Old Red let me down today. Just on a spirited jaunt out to warm it up for an oil change and now I have a glycol shower coming out of the head to block area front and back. Made it home just fine, runs like a champ and oil is not contaminated.

So... Mike, Tate, ABDTR#5.... Whats the next step? My buddy laughed and said time to O-Ring it. I'm not really that big on that idea but what are some tips to get this thing back on the road? I was thinking to just get a good gasket and let er buck. But do I invest on rebuilding the head and studs? I would need to have the rockers machined for the studs I guess.

I'll be stripping it down here in the next couple of weeks. So I am open to discussion. Now I HAVE to clean the garage to make room for parts..

Thanks guys!

Edit - The truck has 390,000 km on it..

 

Got yourself a project.... .... I bet one of the guys may even have a rebuilt head ready to go...

450K kms on my truck...knock on wood...Head gasket still hanging in there..

 

Might as well do ARP studs, marine gasket (not sure if thats the one to use, I'm rusty on my 12V stuff ), get the head checked for cracks and flatness and do some 60# valve springs.

 

Do I need to get the rockers machined for the studs?

Good idea on the valve springs. Was meaning to do that anyway.

 

I'd say do an o-ring head, then you're good to go in the future. I have a head that is o-ringed with a half *** started port job. Its a bare head, but its been machined flat, just need to check the valves and put it on.

If you're looking for a more bolt in affair, a new gasket and a set of studs should get you by. ARP's require rocker pedestals to be machined. I believe the A1's will let you leave them along, but then you need to address the webbing in the valve covers.

I have an extra set of pedestals I can lend you that you can get machined, but if your truck is off the road for a few weeks, it might be a moot point.

How wild are you planning on going? I know you can't be happy with that 64 anymore, you're gonna need something more. Multistage-ish.

 

Somehow I thought that would be suggested.. I am not looking to twin it. The 64 is lots, single is good enough for me really.

O-ring? Do I really need that if I stick with the 45 ish boost and the sticks I got? I was sniffing around for a set of 140's, but don't know how much I want to spend on this rig.

 

Its a crap shoot, really. Guys like Torrey are running 1500 hp on a stock MLS gasket and 625 studs, guys with o-rings are popping gaskets at 450 hp with twins. I'd say you'd be fine with studs on a stock gasket with what you have. If you bump up to 140hp sticks, you'd be running the same setup I did for a couple years. Depends if you want to bump the timing or not. I think that would have helped out my top end a fair bit, since I was only around 15 degrees on the stock gasket.

Get a factory gasket and some studs, and you can decide if you want to go with an o-ringed head in the end. By rights, you should be ok with just that. But there is always that nagging voice saying 'more'.

 

Had a good chat with Mike last week.. Getting studs ordered and I hope to start pulling some of the auxiliary stuff off today sometime. I really hope my head is in good shape..

 

I've got a stock 12v head gasket sitting in my garage J if you need it.

 

Hey Chris....Happy belated birthday.....

 

Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks Chris. I'll see what Mikes got in the tickle trunk for me. I still have been clearing space in the garage for the parts and getting prepped.

 

I was pretty impressed on how well a 12V head seems to stand up to the daily abuse that we give them. I had a low miler 12V head, very good shape. The guides and valve seats were in decent shape. No cracks and just need a basic valve lapping. The head deck only needed a quick decking to clean-up. Installed stiffer springs. Also score a cheap cheap set of brand new marine 370 injectors..

Jason old head, was about in similar shape to my low miler head which blows me away as most 24V head that I do, are junk from all the cracks. Its almost impossible these days to find a decent used VP head that doesn't have crack on the head surface.

Was fun build buddy, thanks for letting me help you out brother. Now I want to build-up a 12V engine.

Just finished up a 2010 6.7L head gasket failure, it has gone thru three head gaskets in 90000km's. I couldn't believe all the issues that we found that dodge had done during the last head gasket repair. The worst being that #5 and #6 injector cross tubes were loose and they didn't use any ARP thread lube on the head studs. Most been a trainee day at the dealership. The truck was throwing codes right out of the dealership. Now there are no codes and the remote starter button works again.

Well yesterday we pulled some decent boost and did a couple burn outs. Worked the truck hard enough to feel the trans to give us the converter shudder.

 

Ya I was sorta amazed how clean the engine came apart inside. I was anticipating something as its been well over 1500°F more than a few times, especially with that small S300 turbo I had. I could see where the gasket failed as well has been leaking for some time.

The valve we pulled out looked like a low miler with some wear on the seating surface, but no serious recession. My valve sets were never more than about 0.002-0.005" out every 100K Km.

Thanks Mike for the hook up on parts and tips on the install. I go the head on and torqued, now just have to finish up all the rest of the accessories.

 

Did you stud it while you were there, or just stock bolts?