Thickest Head Gaskets?

[jhenegh]

Finally have news.

I took my heads to the machine shop and they've been decked to minimum spec already and would need it again, and the valves are out of spec. They're junk

Also took in 2 extra heads I had off another 7.3. Both cracked. Junk.


LOOKING FOR 2 GOOD HEADS IN INDIANA!

 

[OLDBULL8]

HOW FAR ARE YOU FROM DELPHOS OH ? Damn caps lock not shouting. I've got 4 heads, one has had a valve job. Free, You can have all. got two 7.3 that are not going to get rebuilt. PM me for my cell phone or I'll PM you tonight with it.

 

[jhenegh]

HOW FAR ARE YOU FROM DELPHOS OH ? Damn caps lock not shouting. I've got 4 heads, one has had a valve job. Free, You can have all. got two 7.3 that are not going to get rebuilt. PM me for my cell phone or I'll PM you tonight with it.

Very interested! PM sent. Less than 3 hours from home, doable.

 

[jhenegh]

Found some deals on some gaskets since it seems to be taking FOREVER to get my heads figured out.

If given the option, would you go with Corteco white head gaskets or OEM IH? I'll be using 6.9 gaskets and will punch a hole in my block plugs to match the head gasket hole.



Met Bill Sunday! Got some more heads to have checked over and (eventually) run on this truck! Thank You!!!

 

[snicklas]

How old are the IH gaskets. If they are fairly recent, I would use them. If they are from 1985...... I would use the other ones if they are newer. There has been a lot og gasket improvement in the last 30 years.......

 

[PwrSmoke]

How old are the IH gaskets. If they are fairly recent, I would use them. If they are from 1985...... I would use the other ones if they are newer. There has been a lot og gasket improvement in the last 30 years.......

I agree 100% "aged" NOS head gaskets on IDIs are not usually a good thing. Head gaskets are one of the weak links for us and an area where corners are best not cut. The most modern ones are the best in every instance I am aware.

 

[fsmyth]

Just curious, and haven't searched for an answer.
Why does no-one O-ring the heads?

 

[OLDBULL8]

Just curious, and haven't searched for an answer.
Why does no-one O-ring the heads?

Where would you put the O'rings?

The configeration of the water passage is not condusive for an O'ring.

Head gaskets already have a silicone trace around the water passages for extra sealing.

Permatex Gasket Maker is a very good sealer, but be very carefull using it, too much is worse than not quite enough.

 

[79jasper]

It would be very expensive to O-ring these heads because the pre-cup. Maybe even impossible.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[fsmyth]

That was my question. Never having seen one apart, I didn't know.
If not the heads, how about the block. I seem to recall that was
what some guys that used to work for me did to their race car to
seal it up. Like 12.5-1 But those were small-block chevy

 

[jhenegh]

Patiently waiting...

I think I should get into the engine machining business. First shop took 3.5 weeks to even check my heads out, to find out they were too far out of spec. Went to a different shop with the heads I got from OldBull to try and move a little quicker and their "2 day turnaround" will be at 8 days tomorrow and they haven't even finished inspecting and pressure testing. Say one thing, do another.

Is it usually this hard to find a good metal massager? Or am I just expecting too much for a relatively straightforward head checkover and valve job?

 

[fsmyth]

Patiently waiting...

I think I should get into the engine machining business. First shop took 3.5 weeks to even check my heads out, to find out they were too far out of spec. Went to a different shop with the heads I got from OldBull to try and move a little quicker and their "2 day turnaround" will be at 8 days tomorrow and they haven't even finished inspecting and pressure testing. Say one thing, do another.

Is it usually this hard to find a good metal massager? Or am I just expecting too much for a relatively straightforward head checkover and valve job?

Sorry to hear about your troubles. But it seems to be more and more a normal occurence.
I have been in and out of the business for 35 years, and it seems to me that the folks left
around can't get the job done if it isn't in their books or on-line databases.
Pretty much the same for auto parts stores.
If you throw something at them that they don't know or have done 37 times, it scares
them and goes to the bottom of the list.
It's a shame, but today's world seems to be: replace and throw away the old.
Parts changers masquerade as mechanics.

 

[jhenegh]

UPDATE! DONE

Got my heads back awhile ago. SO, it ended up that I went and pulled my heads out of the 1st machine shop and went to another shop for round #2. I took shop #2 the 4 heads that I got from OldBull as well as the original 2 off my truck that I had been told were "junk" and "out of spec" and "unusable". Long story short, machine shop #2 decided that the best ones to rebuild were my"junk" heads and that's what got done. I'm not sure what shop #1 was doing. They wasted 4 weeks of my time. THANK YOU again to Bill, even though I ended up not needing the heads from you, I'll pass on the generosity.

I assembled the engine with ARP studs torqued to 127 ft lbs. (Click type wrench with 4% +/- allowance and I didn't want them to be below 125. I'm fine with 130 too ) I used Corteco 6.9 head gaskets and used an awl to punch a hole in the block and head plugs in that extra cooling passage to match up with the gasket hole. Put all that together with some hairspray for good measure. Used one of my IH valley pan gaskets and torqued everything to spec up through the valve covers. Put the 093 turbo on with the newly installed Wicked Wheel that I got from Mel & Joel & Suzi at Conestoga and proceeded to put this chunk back in the truck.

While I was at it, I decided to intercool and permanently remove the wastegate. Thank you Russ/typ4 for the turbo compressor housing clamp to replace the wastegate. I had previously relocated my driver side battery to the passenger side so I had room for a 6637 air filter feeding the turbo now through some 3" exhaust piping. I plumbed the intercooler with 2.25" exhaust pipe very similar to the way FORDF250XLT Mr. Maine guy & cpdenton did their Banks, with the necessary modifications for an ATS 093 and my Western snowplow mount hiding up there in the frame.

 

[jhenegh]

more pics

 

[cpdenton]

That looks great!

How's it run?