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I'm Whipped!

M

mangus580

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Location
Western NY
Wow, did a 2 day head gasket marathon....

Replaced both heads with new SS Diesel heads, as after spending $100 to find the first set both cracked, I decided it wasnt worth another $100 and waiting after I rip it apart to find the same on the second set.

Put in ARP studs...

Replaced the drivers side gasket TWICE!! (damaged the first one, and considered risking it... after pulling it apart, I should have, it would have been fine - hindsight 20-20)

Broke my coolant crossover!! (good thing I had a spare...)

All in all, a productive weekend, I was able to drive it home! Hopefully I get more than 3 days out of it this time!!

I will say I noticed a major difference in the style head gaskets from the old to the new. I suspect the ones I replaced were original 93 6.2 gaskets (as thats what the engine is). Not sure if the style difference is due to the turbo head gasket, or improvements over time?

Next on my list is timing.... my TDO is +1.76.... yes thats a +!!!
 
A machine shop charged $100 to magnaflux the heads? Crooks!! Most cracks are visable to the naked eye.
Are the new SS Diesel heads chineese or won't walt say?
Hope it works out for you. Rework sucks.
 
Yup, thats what he charged - he was more expensive than another local shop by about $20, but he was able to rebuild them before the weekend if they were good, so I chose him.

I am not sure where walt's heads are from. I only bought one, as a friend had another for me . He had ordered a van head overnight from walt, and was sent the truck head. Not only would they not take it back, they charged him full overnight shipping on the correct head too! from NY to FL!! Anyway, he sent me the head he had, so it made sense to me to buy another one just like it from Walt.

Interesting thing I noticed about these heads. They have a little metal disk about the size of a dime, hot melt glued next to the crossover port. I suspect this is an overheat indicator for warranty??
 
Yep that is what that disk is. It is in the fine print. Don't want to piss in your weaties but the set I bought from him only lasted two years. I have never seen a set of heads crack where his did either. They cracked along the machined area for the valves, entire length of the heads. Right above the valves seats took me awhile to even find it. I knew I was losing coolant but couldn't see where until I pulled the rocker covers off and pressurised the system. Hopefully you got a good set and dont have this issue ever.
 
Understood Kenny ;-)

I got one of the heads for free... and felt it would be 'smart' to match them up - besides I didnt have to pay shipping on it either as dad was in buffalo the day I needed it picked up.
 
Jeez, the more I hear about ssdiesel, the gladder I am I didn't buy any of my recent stuff from him.

His "UPS only" and "you're trying to escape taxes" (absolutely ridiculous!) policy might have actually saved me time and hassle...
 
Last edited:
mangus580 said:
I am not sure where walt's heads are from. I only bought one, as a friend had another for me . He had ordered a van head overnight from walt, and was sent the truck head. Not only would they not take it back, they charged him full overnight shipping on the correct head too! from NY to FL!! Anyway, he sent me the head he had, so it made sense to me to buy another one just like it from Walt.
Click to expand...

Am I reading this right? They sent him something other that what he ordered and then said too bad. Then he ordered again to get the right part? I would have just done a chargeback and bought from someone else.
 
well I dont know the 'exact' details of the story... what I do recall he told me like 6 months ago - anyway, it equated to a free head for me...
 
well, Walyt is "OK" to buy certain things from. Like he is the only one who sells the last ditch screens that I know of. Some other small stuff is ok too. and actually his PMD Heat sync is good quality, just don't mount it where he tells you to.
 
I did buy my gauges from walt and they worked like they were supposed too well trans dont have a hole in pan for sensor so its not hooked up yet!!! BUT shipping was slow, and I got one of his fancy stickers!!!!! How hard is it to do the head gasket replacement? I might have to do that in the future? I was losing some coolant but not sure if it was that goofy connector on the coolant cross over or the head gaskets....Coolant has been staying in.....SO FAR!!!!!!
 
My head gaskets werent THAT bad - but I just put the engine in... so all the manifold bolts were fresh (although overly tight from putting the exhaust manifolds on with the impact while on the engine stand)

I think it took me about 16 hours total. That includes doing the drivers side gasket twice, driving home and finding another coolant crossover, tool runs, etc.

I am tempted to say next time I will yank the engine out to do it. I can tell you if you use ARP studs, do not put any in the block first....
 
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