Head gasket question

[wmoguy]

Just go for it Eric. The $1500'ish you spend now will always be cheaper than selling this thing and buying a different vehicle.

You don't strike me as someone looking to go hog wild on these things in terms of power. I wouldn't even bother w/ head studs. Just get the heads checked out, flattened as needed (for a smooth mating surface) and slap some good head gaskets on it and go.

My heads were R & R'd inframe. IIRC I paid about 14-15 hours labor to have it done. What jacked up my price big time was having the heads completely redone in the process.



* Obviously first determine without a shadow of doubt its a Headgasket issue

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

this leaking has been there for quite a while now, but it just recently started using coolant.

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

how much can i get a set of head bolts for?

 

[wmoguy]

how much can i get a set of head bolts for?

Free. re-use the ones you have..

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

i thought they were TTY bolts?

 

[93f250idi]

thats on a psd. idi head bolts are reusable

 

[wmoguy]

i thought they were TTY bolts?

IIRC they are not. Mine were re-used, and have a hard year on them (mucho harder than you'll put on them)

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

* Obviously first determine without a shadow of doubt its a Headgasket issue

pressurize the cooling system and check out the area in the pictures?

 

[wmoguy]

Seriously though, Eric. If you just dropped a grand on teh turbo, etc... you might as well fix the HG issue if that is the case here. You'll never get that grand back out of the pickup, and you don't strike me as the kind of guy that would sell a vehicle w/ a bad headgasket and not disclose it. YOu'd get killed selling a 2wd truck, in Michigan, with a bad head gasket this time of year.

 

[wmoguy]

pressurize the cooling system and check out the area in the pictures?

Ask the pro's here on that man. I don't wanna lead you down a rabbit trail.

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

to the "pros"

How do i !00% condemn a head gasket failure with the engine all together?

 

[MUDKICKR]

there are two ways that a head gasket can leak, internal or external, internal would mean you would need to do a block test. block test finds hydrocarbons in the coolant. here is a block tester from napa.
http://napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=BK_7001006_0361073538
external would mean you would need to get engine to operating temp and then pressure test it, OR, you add dye to the coolant and then run the engine for a while and look for the dye. here is the type of dye im refering to from napa.
http://napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=NTE784702_0282517235
either way, good luck.

 

[justinray]

In order for pressurizing the radiator to show, I'd bet you'd need the thermostat to be open. Maybe not though, I'd definitely try it.

 

[MUDKICKR]

In order for pressurizing the radiator to show, I'd bet you'd need the thermostat to be open. Maybe not though, I'd definitely try it.

it wouldnt matter if the thermostat is open due to there being an inlet and outlet to the radiator. pressure will be on both sides of the thermostat if its closed, as well as if it was open.

 

[Knuckledragger]

I'm not a pro, but I play one on TV.

Really, the simplest way to find out is to drive the truck hard for a few (5-10) miles, then look at the place you have posted as a picture. If it is wet, you have a leak. I'm betting that is the place, according to the traces already there.

And if you are changing the HGs, why not invest a few bucks in studs? New bolts (yes, you really need to use them) cost nearly as much.