The optimiser I didn't know I had

[SmithvilleD]

A local cyl head shop in Kansas Citry does a good deal of 6.5 cyl head work on the area's fleet of Frito-Lay step vans w/ the fuel mizer 6.5's. They do that valve guide liner fix on all the coolant ports as a matter of std practice when rebuilding a set of 6.5 heads that showed any external cracks btwn the valves.

 

[HighSierra86]

A local cyl head shop in Kansas Citry does a good deal of 6.5 cyl head work on the area's fleet of Frito-Lay step vans w/ the fuel mizer 6.5's. They do that valve guide liner fix on all the coolant ports as a matter of std practice when rebuilding a set of 6.5 heads that showed any external cracks btwn the valves.

I sleeved the few broken ones on my heads, along with of the rest of them for the same reason, "just in case". Ive got 30K miles on that job with no issues so far. IMO it was both a cheap and effective way of solving the problem of cracks between the valves. You just have to be carefull as to not drive them in too far. They say to drive them in untill they stop, but i found that when you did you would partially block one of the coolant passages from the head to the block.

 

[bk95td]

I got a price on a "kit" for doing the coolant liners from jamie @ diesel depot. All the special reamers and holders,drivers,cleaning brush,sealer,and 50 liners for $250.I'll be getting it in a couple of months to do all my engines and spare heads. Cracked heads can be used if the cracks don't extend too far down the seat area. Seat can be replaced if cracked.
New tool in the shop today. I bought a blast cabinet. All the brackets and small pieces will get blasted before paint. I should have bought one years ago. I gave it a good breaking in today.Should be painting by the weekend.

 

[SmithvilleD]

You'll love having a blast cabinet. Once you've got one, everything tends to get blasted or glass beaded clean.

If you get to the point of using it a lot, I've found the carbide nozzles to be well worth their expense because they last so.... much longer.

If you're using a shop vac for cab evacuation, using one of the finer (sometimes made w/ gortex) vac filters will help save the vac motor from getting killed by abrasive.

 

[NoDak]

What is the current thinking, do the new castings really need the coolant liners?

 

[bk95td]

What is the current thinking, do the new castings really need the coolant liners?

Jamie from diesel depot says he's seen the gep castings crack.Not anywhere as common as the GM heads. They could have been heads from iraq hummvees that got run very hot. He didn't specify what they were from. I'm having it done as a cheap insurance policy. The last thing i'd want to happen is a hydrolock on my good engine. Or coolant in the oil:sad:

 

[bison]

i did cut a cracked head up a while ago to see if it was worthwhile to put sleeves in the coolant bores and new seat inserts for the valves in cracked heads, i found it was not worth it for me as the there aint gonna be enough metal left in the seat area after boring to leave a solid base for the inserts.

If one wants to see pics let me know , i think i still have the cut up pieces laying around some where.

IMO,to put sleeves in the passages between the valves will weaken and thin the metal left on the compression side by the reaming process, it may prevent compression to enter the coolant but over time the crack will extend into the valve seat and cause burned valves.
For the cost involved and the dubious life expectancy of a sleeved head one is cheaper of in the long run to buy new heads.A bare head (chinese ofcourse,but well made)can be had for around $200.

 

[bk95td]

A little progress to report. All the brackets, braces,pulleys, tin and other misc. pieces are blasted,washed,primed and painted. Waiting on the heads that were sent to diesel depot for precups and coolant liners. I had jamie handle the shipping because he gets a much cheaper rate. He messed it up very badly.:rolleyes5: Everything was delayed a week and I ended up paying the high rate for the heads I shipped him:mad2::mad2:.Lesson learned. Don't let someone else handle the shipping.:nono:With fedex, If you open your own account you get a 8% discount or more if they are running a special.:thumbsup:UPS was doing the shipping for diesel depot and did less than satisfactory also.:mad2::mad2: A few pics of all the parts. I did some leftover parts from the bus engine and others also.

 

[NVW]

your parts look really nice:thumbsup:

 

[chevyCowboy]

man i wish i had that kind of space my painting had to be done in steps

 

[ak diesel driver]

maybe you should start selling prepainted parts

 

[bk95td]

maybe you should start selling prepainted parts

):h All the v-belt stuff from the bus engine will be sold with fresh paint. It makes for better pictures in the ad.:thumbsup:

 

[Matt Bachand]

):h All the v-belt stuff from the bus engine will be sold with fresh paint. It makes for better pictures in the ad.:thumbsup:

Makes it worth more too!

Sure does look nice man... Nothing like having a nice area like that to work in.... My truck is bigger than my driveway.

 

[bk95td]

Finnally got the heads here from diesel depot yesterday:rolleyes5:. UPS is very slow. 2 days longer than FedEx and costs the same or more. USPS priority is faster than UPS is now.RANT OVER.
The aftermarket precups that diesel depot installed are a different color and duller than GM or GEP precups are. As long as they work,who cares. Getting all the gasket surfaces cleaned up. Will be chasing all the threads in them tommorow. I took some pics that show the GEP casting numbers on the heads. A couple of pics of more extra parts I blasted and painted while waiting for the heads.

 

[ak diesel driver]

Is it just me or does that pic of the precup show it to be not quite square to the world? Is there anything to index or orient them? Does it matter?

 

[NVW]

It looks a few degrees off to me.

 

[bk95td]

There is no notch to orient them as I would have thought. I'll get some pics of the old precups to show what they look like out of the head. I would think it would make a difference where it points the blast. It should hit the center of the piston.

 

[Matt Bachand]

Do they look alright? Rushjob to shut you up?

 

[bk95td]

HAHAHA that could be. I'll have to run a straight edge down them to check. Fairly easy to turn in the bore with a punch and light hammer.

 

[6.2 turbo]

All my precups have a notch in them.