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I don't think you can expect to see any change from the coolant kit other than with enough of a workload you would see nucleic boiling in the head with some puking as AKBlackfoot had, and maybe long term cracking of the coolant to fuel bulkhead in the passenger side head. the head cracking issue may have been dealt with with the last design change of the head, the 20mm dowels necessary.
I was in the same boat a few months ago with coolant pressures building on my early 2005 F350. The route I went was New O-ringed heads from Kill Devil Diesel. Very happy with the quality. I chose these because they are new thicker castings. I bought them through KC Turbos for the same advertised price.
I also did new pushrods, water pump, hoses, rocker retainer clips, glowplugs, GP harnesses, Cam& Crank sensors, manifold bolt kits, belts, ARP stud & upper bolt kits, SS Y-pipe w/up pipe delete, degas hose, Felpro gasket kit. Most parts were found on Amazon or Autonation.
I also did a coolant bypass kit from Driven Diesel. For the drill and tapping the rear coolant ports I mocked the angles of the heads on the bench to get the angle and location for the fittings.
Same time I mounted the rear banjo adapters to the fuel rail ports. The kit I got for the fuel rail ties both sides together to equalize fuel pressure on the two heads. It's made by TamerX.
If I didn't think these two were worth it i wouldn't of wasted the time. Balancing out fuel pressures is a plus. Getting hot coolant from the back of the head directly up to the front is a plus. Even the Cummins engines have a kit for this.
I also did not remove the engine. Like Jack said above, I removed 1 engine mount (drivers side) to do all the work. Begin by jacking up the drivers side block. Unbolt the mount large nuts and the bolts that go into the block. Continue jacking up until you have the clearance needed. This will give you plenty of room to remove the head bolts and torque the new ARPs.
For the passenger side simply lower the engine down with the motor mount still removed. Careful of the power steering pump as you lower because it can contact the crossmember. I didn't have to loosen or mess with the pump at all. Now with the engine leaning, this exposed all you bolts with room to torque the new studs. You will have to still zip tie the bottom 3 studs halfway in the head when you install. You will NOT have to mess with the HVAC box cover at all. There is a youtube video I found for someone once that shows the process I just don't have the link at the moment.
Also take note of my "custom" head bracket for lifting. It is simple multi-hole angle for shelving available at Napa for a few bux. It was the perfect angle for setting the heads. It is bolted to the valve cover holes on the rocker box with 2 bolts. I used my engine hoist to lift & set the heads.
I have 65 pics from this job so if you have any questions don't hesitate. Just keep everything clean and take your time. It's not that bad of a job using the method. Sorry if I over did it but heres some pics.
make room, you'll have a pile of parts.
This is with the engine jacked up to remove the driver side head. You can get all the bolts out with the engine tilted.
Coolant line bypass kit and fuel crossover kit installed.
New Kill Devil Heads.
Lifting Bracket, ready to go on.
Plenty if room to torque the ARPs. No need to mess with the HVAC. You can also see the fuel rail crossover hose that passes in front of the HPOP. I added heat Sleeve tubing over the already protected ss braided line.
DONE! Now it has about 3500 miles on the new heads and no issues.
The new casting Kill Devil Diesel heads are a consideration, I just haven't found much info on their use.
David
Jared (created 6.0 bros YouTube channel) has them. Big respect to him for really pushing the limits of his 6.0. Drag racing, towing a 5er. His truck is pushing 500+ hp on stock injectors.
Jared (created 6.0 bros YouTube channel) has them. Big respect to him for really pushing the limits of his 6.0. Drag racing, towing a 5er. His truck is pushing 500+ hp on stock injectors.
He's not on stock injectors. He has Warren diesel 175/stock injectors. Researching Kill Devil Heads is how I found his channel. Since I've spoke with him and met him @ Maplegrove dragstrip for the youtube callout. Great guy and not a problem with the heads either. Him and I tow comparable in weight 5er campers.
I'll probably buy a new KC Turbo 1.5 while doing the head gasket job. Those new heads look tempting.
David
I know the feeling. What made my decision besides all the other benefits of a new heavier casting was NO core charge or sending my old heads back. I now have spare heads that I could spruce up & sell or use on another truck.
Jared (created 6.0 bros YouTube channel) has them. Big respect to him for really pushing the limits of his 6.0. Drag racing, towing a 5er. His truck is pushing 500+ hp on Warren diesel 174/stock injectors.
Check out this just released video.
At 13:21 he talks about the coolant return lines. Further along in the video he gets into some things that you may want to consider while you're all apart.
Check out this just released video.
At 13:21 he talks about the coolant return lines. Further along in the video he gets into some things that you may want to consider while you're all apart.
