Cylinder head question

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Jul 4, 2019 | 02:53 PM

jgluch

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Cylinder head question

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum. I inherited my Grandpa's old F250 with a 6.9 idi awhile back and drove it for several years when the motor gave up on me and blew some rods. I have since found a replacement and decided I wanted to strip everything down and completely rebuild it. I have the block stripped down and cleaned and now I have been working on the heads. There seems to be some hollow alignment dowels (maybe?) in there and I haven't had much luck getting them out. Has anybody removed these before or even know what they are called? I haven't been able to find any info on removing them. Also, any rebuild advice would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to decide how much I want to have it machined (if at all). I don't want to spend a lot of money but I'd also like it to last a long time. TIA

Jordan

Jul 4, 2019 | 02:57 PM

hairyboxnoogle

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Some have recommended using a bolt slightly bigger to twist them out, not sure on the 6.9 with the smaller bolts, but on a 7.3 you can use the bellhousing bolts iirc. Otherwise, yank em out with some pliars if need be and a machine shop should have some replacements.

Jul 4, 2019 | 02:59 PM

jgluch

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Jul 4, 2019 | 03:00 PM

jgluch

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Thanks, I've tried using some vice grips but they seem to be pretty tight. I'll see if I can heat up the block with a torch a little and try a bolt.

Jul 5, 2019 | 07:08 AM

tjc transport

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From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.

penetrating oil will be your friend with those alignment dowels.
i can see oxidation between the dowels and head. they will never come out unless you break them free first.

Jul 5, 2019 | 08:42 AM

RaymondIV

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That's a weird one! I've done lots of valve jobs on about every diesel truck head over the years and it just sunk into my half asleep brain. Those dowels are stuck in the head which I've never seen before. They always stay in the engine block as the head is removed and are usually like new and never corroded like in your pic. Looks like the head sat out in the weather for a number of years.

Jul 10, 2019 | 11:54 AM

jgluch

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Quote:

Originally Posted by hairyboxnoogle

The bolt trick worked. Thank you. I've seen conflicting things regarding machining these heads. The service manual says if the heads are out of spec then they should be replaced but I have seen that it has been done with the precups removed and also not removed. Any advice on reconditioning these heads? I've read through a lot of Racinndrummin's build posts but I can't decide what I should do as far as machining goes. The flatness of the block and heads are within spec but there is some slight pitting. I just don't want to go through all this work and have the head gaskets blow.