In need of a 6.9 passenger side head

[OldIron82]

This "quick" 6.9 reseal and stud project is turning into my own personal Oak Island Money Pit. Had my head checked today. Between the intake and exhaust valves 3 out of the 4 cylinders are cracked. I have no idea. Precups and pistons look great but not the rest of the head. Does anyone have a good head for sale? Thanks.

 

[icanfixall]

Just a note.. ANY 6.9 head will work. Both heads are exactly the same item. They just have different ports plugged in them.

 

[OldIron82]

Well that's it, this project is over. Driver side heads cracked as well. Don't care if it ran before I'm not putting cracked heads back on a engine. 1st and 4th between the valves. I believe I will be selling this for parts to anyone interested. I'll simply have to fix the return lines and olives on the gutless 7.3 in the truck now like everyone said I should have done 6 months ago. The pump gets heat soaked and requires ether starts after sitting more than 5 minutes. I certainly should have done more research before buying the truck in the first place. Highly doubt I'll ever do a dt360 swap ever because even though I love to fabricate my patience for turn around time is getting worse with age. Hideously disgusted.

 

[79jasper]

Depending how bad the Crack is, it could run fine for the life of the truck.
Take a good picture of it and post it up.

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[Waystro]

Wow doesn't Takeuchi for you to throw on the towel. Don't give up because of a simple issue.

 

[OldIron82]

Here is the worst one, if you zoom you can see its all the way to the valve seat. You can catch a finger nail on this. I consider myself to be a very tenacious person but THIS project has been a pain in my rear from go. If it was the monster build with no time schedule or fixed budget I wouldn't care! Let me know what you think.

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[79jasper]

Eh, at most I'd have it magnifluxed to see just how bad it is.
I've put one together that was just like that on a few cylinders, because we had no other options. Boost and fuel was cranked up.
If nothing else, put it together and use it til you get another.

So I'm guessing I missed a thread. You have a 7.3 currently in your truck, but got this 6.9 to drop in its place?

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[icanfixall]

Those are some bad cracks if you can catch a finger nail in. Remember the exhaust seats are replaceable but the intake are not.
As for a gutless 7.3 with a bad injection pump. Why not replace the injection pump and time the engine correctly? Might even install a set of GOOD rebuilt injectors from a dealer you know and trust. A 7.3 is not gutless but compared to ANY modern day diesel truck they can be considered gutless. But thats comparing apples to oranges. Our stock engine just can't compare to the new engines. Its hot a fair comparison.

 

[OldIron82]

I originally had that intention but I figured why strip the 6.9 to put the bb injectors, newer fuel pump and turbo on when I could just stud the heads swap engines and be rid of the cavitation problem? I absolutely refuse to put money on a dead horse. 124,000 miles and no SCA ever put in? ( the 7.3 ) Pfft, I don't trust it any further than I can throw it. Also after that ether blast with that subtle tick it has now, I want the 6.9.

What if I install the heads, install the starter and do a compression test and a bleed down test? Will that give me a idea if one of the cracks breached a cooling passage?

OI82

 

[Hydro-idi]

Don't blame you for wanting to go with the 6.9. I would start looking for a donor engine or hit the pick n pull yards for cylinder heads. Get it done right the first time and you will have the peace of mind that everything was done correctly. If you have cracked heads, I wouldn't even think about running them unless cracks were in pre-cups.

 

[riotwarrior]

7.3 125k...but who knows for certain ...did it indicate cavitation by issues with hydrolock? If not run it like you stole it...n build the 6.9 how you choose!

Remember if the horse stands on all four and eats n craps it aint dead maybe its weak cause it got bad oats or bad IP but you dont shoot a good horse cause it got a belly ache...

Just sayin...stop thinking inside that we cube of a box...run dat ***** like ya stole it...dont get all emotional ...have fun

 

[OldIron82]

I'm going to call the salvage yard with the 6.9 ambulance today and see what they want for that critter. If I can swing it, I'll get it. Best case scenario, I yank the heads and see no cracks I'll slap them on the first gen '83 6.9 I'm currently working on and I'll be happier than a pig in poop. Worst case scenario the heads are unusable, but at least I'll have the coveted 6.9 with the updated block and bolt in cooling jets. Then I'll have no choice but to fix the 7.3. I'll yank the valve covers and see if I can trace that tick. Fix that, swap injection pumps and turn it down, fix return lines and olives, and add SCA.

@riotwarrior: No, no indication of cavitation but always in the back off my mind.

 

[79jasper]

There ya go. A man with a plan.

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[riotwarrior]

I'm going to call the salvage yard with the 6.9 ambulance today and see what they want for that critter. If I can swing it, I'll get it. Best case scenario, I yank the heads and see no cracks I'll slap them on the first gen '83 6.9 I'm currently working on and I'll be happier than a pig in poop. Worst case scenario the heads are unusable, but at least I'll have the coveted 6.9 with the updated block and bolt in cooling jets. Then I'll have no choice but to fix the 7.3. I'll yank the valve covers and see if I can trace that tick. Fix that, swap injection pumps and turn it down, fix return lines and olives, and add SCA.

@riotwarrior: No, no indication of cavitation but always in the back off my mind.

Ya so is a warm place to crqp...at back of mind be when ya gotta go yq gotta go...no options...some service stations have the coldest damn washrooms but eh..they work!!!!

 

[icanfixall]

Tell me if you have studs for the 6.9. If so I suggest installing the heads off the 7.3 on the 6.9. I figure most never thought about this but it will work fine. Both 6.9 and 7.3 blocks and heads are drilled and tapped exactly the same. The heads will fit fine without any issues. The 6.9 head gasket has the lower corners open for coolant transfer but the 7.3 has freeze plugs in these areas. All you do is cut a hole similar to what you find in the 6.9 gaskets. No need to remove the plug. As for the different size head bolts.. Still not a problem. The difference in hole size in the 7.3 heads compared to the 6.9 is insignificant really. I have been making the recommendation of using 6.9 head gaskets on the 7.3 for many years. I have carefully measured them every way I can and they are the same. Using a 6.9 head gasket on a 7.3 allows better cooling because they have the open port on the lower edge. The 7.3 had this in the early engines but emissions changed all that for us. They needed to engine to run hotter to pass smog testing. Nearly every 7.3 runs hotter than any 6.9 hauling the same load.