im finally replacing my hg.. its been sitting for a few months.
just pulled the beast out and now considering taking them to a shop
to have them checked.
there are no obvious signs of leakage but decent amount of
buildup on heads and block and i was gonna just wire wheel it
and slap the heads back on. (before i forget how!!) kinda kidding..

any good shops in san jose, santa cruz area?
i already have arp's and black onyx gaskets. i would just like
to know what else should be replaced now that the engine is tore..

my heads have the plastic rocker retainers, and ive been hearing about
stc fittings... not sure what else..
thanks!

 

I'm in the middle of a head gasket job as well.I took my heads to a machine shop and had them pressure tested,the valves were vacuum pulled and cleaned.They also checked for warping and resurfaced or skimmed them.I think it was $300 but wanted the piece of mind.As for the block i'm not sure what the best thing to do is.I have been spraying gasket remover and carefully scrapping the old gasket off.A wire wheel might scratch it to much but maybe a light 400 grit sand with a straight edge.Hopefully someone chimes in that has cleaned the block before.

 

guess 300 aint too bad...
i just keep throwing money at it and
it never seems to stop!!
did u strip your heads down and did they
magnaflux then as well?

 

I just got done doing the exact same job you guys are doing. I used a small paint scraper and just made sure i was very carefull. I took my heads in and had them checked and skimmed aswell. I also replaced the valve guide seals they were cheap so I just swapped them. Also lapped the valves and cleaned them up. Dont worry about the discoloration just make sure the block is smooth you will have some color spots but no worries. Dont use a wire wheel imo.

 

how much was all the head work??
thanks!

 

$140 they magnafluxed them and shaved them down.I have a bunch of pics in my head gasket gallery if u view my profile. Might help you two if u have questions just ask

 

nice pics. good work dukie!
looks like you tore down the heads yourself
taking them to a local shop today!

 

I couldent get anybody to work on them with them together lol had no choice

 

Thank you I appreciate that

 

well im hoping to get this thing back together soon..
i took the heads to victor machine shop in san jose and
they were 350$ bucks to vacuum test valves and skim heads..
they seemed to think the head gaskets were leaking for sure.
the guy was also pushing to pressure test the sleeves which the injectors
reside in for another couple hundred... i declined.
anyone ever hear of this?

also, my truck is an early 2004.
ive read that i dont need to replace the hpop stc fitting,
but that i should replace standpipe and plug o rings?
im still searching for more info on those plastic rocker arm
guides also...
just wanna be sure i dont have to go back into this engine again!!!

my problems started with puking and overheating and ended
when my entire cooling system became a thick batter of white
oil and water mixing..
guess i should probably rebuild my oil cooler again.
thanks all for future help!!!
this FTE website really does impress me everytime.

 

Yea good on ya for having them pressure check the heads. I dident have mine pressure checked but I had them flake tested and I had a couple very small cracks that were not visable with the naked eye around the exhaust ports I opted to reuse them being how I could not afford to get new heads and im hoping they will last long enough for someone to come out with an aftermarket set. The work you say they performed seems inline. valve stem seals are cheap I bought a set on ebay for like $50 if I remember right. You are going to want to replace the stand pipes. A new set of stand pipes comes with the OEM gaskets just another reason to get the oem gaskets. You are also going to want to replace your oil cooler if you can afford it. The egr cooler can either be pressure checked to make sure its not leaking or just get a delete for it. I used a sinister egr delete just be carefull if you have emissions. If you do the oil cooler make sure you plug the hole in the Hpop cover to try and keep the ipr from getting taken out in the process. when it comes time for me to do mine over again I will order an ipr at the same time to change out after I crank on it for awhile. I used Ebay for allot of my stuff and it has saved me a ton of cash. Consider getting a coolant filter to keep your new oil cooler happy through out the years. Another top priority is a scanguage II when the cash is available.

My list when I did my heads
1-Checked heads
2- OEM gaskets & new stand pipes
3-New oil cooler
4-EGR delete kit (Sinister)
5-4" down pipe
6- Exhaust manifold gaskets (Felpro) & manifold bolts
7-Valve guide seals
8-Lapped valves
9-Turbo rebuild (my turbo was busted)
10- Upgraded turbo drain tube
11- New EBP sensor
12- New IPR & pig tail
13- New ICP pig tail
14- Sinister Coolant Filter
15-ARP Head Studs
16- New oil & coolant
17- All new OEM Filters both fuel and the oil
18- Injector Oring kit x8
19- Lots of advice and a few misc pieces I busted along the way.

Keep us posted and goodluck.

 

Use a razor to clean the block.. get a straight edge and a good feeler gauge and check your block. No need to feel the heads,take em and get em decked,valves reseated,valve gguieds,and pressure checked. Most important is to check that block.

 

good bits there thanks.
wow, new stand pipes. i wouldnt think they were a part
that wears... how much were yours?
also noticed that there were no exhaust manifolds, which
i thought was strange. definitely getting some.
guys at machine shop vacuum test valves and pressure
tested heads which is why i didnt have another couple hundred
of head work but i will grab some guides, thanks
i just did the egr delete and oil cooler 500 miles before this
but will go thru that stuff again.....
i will look at the block more thoroughly as well...
thanks man!

 

I bought a set before I decided to go with OEM gaskets they were $120 for the set. After doing some reading I decided to not go with black onyx and purchased OEM gaskets and they came with a set so I returned the other stand pipes. Remember valve guide seals you shouldn't need three entire guide