You have a truck that the warranty is paying to replace the headgaskets and a dealership that is willing to stud it. It will cost you a set of studs to have it done. It is a no brainer.

If you go with bolts and decide to stud it later it will never be this cheap.

 

That's interesting because my TTY headbolts also went at 176K. I was pulling our 9K camper through the smokies and when I got to the other side I had coolant all over the engine compartment.

To the OP: I had my gaskets done and ARP's put on but I didn't have the warranty situation that you have. A couple of the reputable shops that I spoke to said that the heads should be machined flat or it will likely be a recurring problem.

Good luck

 

You need to insist on the heads being sent out, or get your truck elsewhere.

 

well the verdict is in my repair is covered, but if I decide to stud it the dealer wants me to sign a waiver releasing them from any liability for the repair and my warranty is void for the same repair in the future. But if I use OEM parts its all covered for the next 2yrs /24mos so I'm gonna have them put bolts back in it and hope for the best. worst case is they will blow after warranty and I will pay to have it done right but at least I will know what I got kinda sucks to start off a new (to me) truck with substandard repair but lesson learned


thanks for all your help

 

I personally wouldn't waste my time bringing my truck to a shop for head gaskets without installing studs. As long as its done properly the first time, it's not going to happen again (unless you are doing some insane engine mods and tunes an running the crap out of it). Sounds like they're just saying THAT repair won't be covered again, so I wouldn't worry about it. Stud it

 

Shoulda studded it...

 

So you are going to have them put bolts back in and are fine with paying to stud it later. Why not have them stud it and then when it doesn't fail stick that money in your pocket?

I am having a hard time understanding how in the heck that makes sense.

 

ok I havn't told the dealer nothing yet I couldn't contact them today before they closed today, so I can still get it studded but I know for a fact they won't send the heads out and have only visually inspected them and straight edged. So ya'll are saying even though they didn't and won't check the heads better and if I have internal head problems its my baby. I should still stud it?

I have the money that's not the problem and the warranty I purchased on the truck was 1600 bucks so essentially I'm paying 2 grand for this repair but the rest of my truck is still covered for the 2yr/24mo

 

Not sure what to tell you...this is why i dont go to ford. any good diesel mechanic will send the heads to a machine shop, dont think there is much of a point to just "check" them and put them back on

 

Why won't they check the heads?

 

I would pay them extra to have the heads checked, its a big job you don't want to do twice. It would be well spent money on heads & studs!

 

Did you buy a Ford warranty or aftermarket?

Either way you NEED to tell this dealer to send the heads for inspection. The warranty will pay for it. That or you NEED to send your truck elsewhere.

This is a golden opportunity to get your truck studded and you need to take advantage.

 

It is just me or does it look like every single person is saying "studs"?

-Mike

 

they are telling me that they perform the repair according to Ford standard repair practice which is all that warranty covers. and Ford standard says to visually inspect the heads for signs of wear and or damage as well as to check the mating surface with a straight edge and feeler gauge. and that every thing they checked is with in spec. so no further testing,inpecting, or machining is needed??? i'm not sure if this actually Ford standard or if the dealer is blowing smoke up my butt.

either way i dont trust ford specs becasue i feel they know what will fix the problem (studs insted of tty bolts) and over the past years of production and repair of these engines have chose to do noting about it. and i think there are even some class action law suits and settlements out there for this problem of which i dont know the outcome???


i bought a aftermarket warranty which i was led to believe was a good warranty or i wouldnt have bought it. as far as taking my truck somewhere else, its sitting in the dealers shop with the cab rasied and the heads off so i'm not sure how viable an option that is.

this NOT a Ford dealer it is a Dodge dealer with a fairly large dedicated diesel shop that i have been told has done this repair often and had a lot of diesel trucks currently in for work with many more waiting outside, so i would think they do qaulity work for the amount of vehicles their for repair. i,m sure not all are warranty jobs such as mine.

i origanlly contacted my local ford dealer who my family has delt with for years. and spoke with service writer (which is a friend of my father) and he said he did work for the warranty company that i had and that it was a good warranty but to take it back to where i bought it from because i havn't owned the truck but two weeks and he was scared that the warranty company would try to deny the claim stating that the HG's might have been blown before i purchased the truck. in which case i might have to fight with the dealer to get it fixxed.

i dont know the exact prices especially at the locality where my truck is but, where i live i'm being told to have the heads sent to a machine shop and properly tested and machined it could range from $3-500 depending on the amount of work needed. maybe thats off again not sure. studs are $450-500 depending on where i get them. so i'm figuring to do this i could be looking at spending $1000.

now that being said i have talked to some local reputable shops who have performed this repair right for some people i know and they are saying they do them for $2-2500 labor and parts. maybe thats way to cheap to be done right ??? but i have talked to people that have had their trucks done and are very satisfied. now these are 6.0psd techs that are doing these repairs on the side but have a good reputation locally

so when i do the math i am looking at about $1-1500 difference in cost in the local tech's repair vs the dealers repair if i have to do an HG repair after warranty. thats if i dont have to get into a fight with the dealer to push to have my repair done the way i want it done. in which case they could default if i tick them off and say they are only obligated to do what the warranty is paying them to do. i dont think that would happen but it could. i suppose i could get a lawyer and possibly force them to do what i want done being as i am the owner of the truck. or have the truck transpoerted somewhere else to finish a repair someone else started, but i would hate for it to get to that point.

i know that with stock head bolts its not a matter of if but when they will fail, and that studs are the best option. but i wanted the security of the warranty i bought. it is supposed to be honored at any new car dealer or ase certified reapair shop nation wide and if i stud it anything HG related will be denied in the future. maybe i got screwed on this warranty maybe not. and i know most of you will say stud it regardless. and the security lies with in having the engine studed and heads done right. but at what cost it seems i'm gonna be spending a large sum of money to get it done right either way and possibly void the warranty that wont pay to do it right lol

sorry for the long winded post jus tryin to give everybody a better understanding of how i feel and what i'm dealing with

thanks again for all of your insight and help

 

Okay let me say this: $2500 for labor and about $1500 for parts. That's a head stud job generally. So you will spend $4000 later to do the studs. Or $425 for studs and $300 for head check. $725 total.

Yes it's still a lot of money. But it's not $4,000. If the $300 finds a head problem, your warranty will cover it and the cost of checking.

As for what the Ford dealer told you, that was right on their part. I know that the Ford dealership I have a couple friends that work at, they send the heads out. What you could do is call your warranty company and have them authorize the head work, then call the dealer and tell them to do it.