I'm looking to bulletproof my 6.0 Powerstroke Excursion in Colorado. I have looked around and the best price I can find is $5,600 for the Bulletproof Diesel Pro Kit , OEM head gaskets, APR head studs, EGR cooler or delete (leaning towards delete), new oil cooler and complete coolant flush and filter change. This is from Lucky's Diesel in Longmont, CO. Is this a good deal? Are there other things to look for?
thank you for the advice

 

Does this include head work if needed? That can add up, so I would get everything in writing.

He does have some good reviews I see

 

The machine work is not included. I haven't found any other shop within $5,000 of that price in my area though.

 

I assume you don't want to do it yourself? It's not that hard it just takes time and a few tools. I guess if you need the truck daily, downtime costs more.

They should be decking the heads. a cheaper alternative my be to use the felpro gaskets... should save you a couple hundred bucks.

Richard

EDT: also, I am not sure which "kit" you are referring to; "Bulletproof Diesel" is a brand name. I would skip their oil cooler relocation kits unless you drive for a living... they just don't make $$ sense.

EDT2: you can save a lot of money by doing the one-by-one method for the head studs if you have no other issues.

 

Remember cheap labor price may not mean equal quality to more expensive labor price. I would not be looking for the cheapest labor provider but the most knowledgeable regardless the price.

 

I got s similar quote for studs, STC, DPs & SPs, oil cooler, EGR delete, turbo rebuild, SCT X4. Included head inspection but no machine work if I recall correctly. This was from a known performance shop in East Texas.

 

Yes exactly packagejr. The company is a preferred installer of Bulletproof Diesel with great recommendations so I'm relatively confident in the workmanship. I'll have to talk to them about the turbo work as that was not specified on the website.

 

I'm dropping my truck off there next Tuesday to fix an oil leak. Considering going all-in and just studding / deleting. Was also hoping to find some recent experiences but here I go!

 

Dropped the truck off yesterday. Probably 10 power strokes at the shop.

They seemed to be straight shooters. Called me back at the end of the day and confirmed my oil leak was the o-ring at the base of the oil cooler. ~$1900 to replace the oil cooler, put on a BP EGR cooler, all new gaskets, flush coolant and new oil. The labor here is the real cost so might as well replace the cooler and a new EGR cooler if you're going in to replace the gaskets.

Thats the best price I've seen around here.

FWIW a full BP (studs, sct, dummy plugs, stand pipes, oil cooler, bp egr cooler, gaskets, clean turbo.. i dont think I'm forgetting anything here) runs around 6k as long as the heads can be reused.

 

I had a $7600.00 bill bulletproofing my truck. O-Ringing the heads with a full valve job oil cooler updates turbo rebuild BPD waterpump along with all new rubber hoses and belt.

So like said above get it done right and its a 500,000 mile truck. There is no way in hell I would not have it O-Ringed in the heads. That is the ticket right there, I have yet to see anyone post up head gasket failure with o-ringed heads. There are 100's of thousands 6.0 head gasket failure while using ARP Studs. The 4 head bolt per cylinder design is why. There is not enough clamping pressure with that number of fastners when making 400 HP or anything close.
The O-Ringed engines claim 800HP is no problem whatsoever. I have seen no data on that but lots with 550-600HP and never a issue.

Don't forget the 6.0 was a 215 HP platform design from International. Ford is who drove the HP output to 325HP. Reasoning was simple, as soon as they learned the 2003 Duramax had a 325HP output Ford demanded more power. Which set off a domino affect of problems with the engine that everyone is well aware of today.

Check it out

 

I'm not real familiar with o-ringed heads. Do they change the number of head bolts or the clamping force provided by those bolts? If they don't, and clamping force is limiting on the 6.0, what would make them better?

 

They cut a circle around the combustion chamber 030 deep and install a SS ring into the grooves. These rings are directly above the fire ring of the head gasket and extend past the mating surface by a small amount. Placing extreme pressure at the circumference of the head gaskets. With the most vunerable location having extreme pressure on it the head gaskets cant leak.

Google it, you can also go to UCF Machined heads to learn more. Kill Devil heads are also all o-ringed with no option without.

It comes from the racing crowd that is making crazy HP needing a better solution. Diesel shops that were having return head gasket work opted to try it out many years ago. Today its becoming very common for the 6.0 and engine shops for the first time ever are warranting 6.0 head gasket jobs with lifetime warranties.

Was not even a remote possibility anybody would lifetime 6.0 head gaskets. Because thousands of head gasket jobs with ARP studs still blow out. Most within 75-100K miles after the work and some a few months when making big HP.

I really cant stress it enuf, do it but do your diligence and research the procedure along with its history of success.

Good Luck with it.

 

I would have gone all in and done the studs, o-ring heads, etc but I made the mistake of buying an F250 when I need a dually to pull the 5th wheel we want so I'm just trying to fix the oil leak so I feel right selling it to a new owner so I can find a F350 dually.

Classic mistake, truck before trailer!