I’ve been enjoying my truck and all the help from this forum... But as it’s happened to many the headgaskets on my truck have failed. I took the truck camping towing my 35ft toy hauler and she puked coolant out of the degas bottle taking out my 4x4 shift motor, same thing happened last year. I thought I just overfilled the degas. This year I changed the radiator the day I was leaving and put a new degas bottle and cap in, same thing puked bad. I monitor my ECT and EOT the deltas are great, confused here. I created a psi gauge and pushing her up a hill I’m over 16psi not loaded. She doesn’t puke like when I tow but I’m over the stated norm. In the winter my egr delete leaks so I need to address that, I was thinking maybe the was causing an issue? Maybe not? Not sure what to do, should I have it bullet proofed again? I bought it that way, ARP studs, egr delete and updated cooler. What’s an average price I should expect to pay? Who do you all suggest here in Oregon, near the Portland area? I guess I’m wondering how many more times am I going to have to do this? I love the truck! I keep it well maintained and understand the cost of these rigs but I don’t want to spend 4K every 3 years on BP’n I’m assuming that’s what the cost is from research. I could sell her but can’t afford a new truck, let alone a used $30k truck. Just looking for some guidance and food for thought. She has 160k on the clock.

 

Many people think that a bulletproofed truck is all you will ever need. So much depends on the parts that are installed and who does the work, not just a quick line item saying what was done.

Unfortunately we can't really help you much over the internet, at least not that I know of. You have pretty much said that you should have adequate cooling, proper coolant strength, proper coolant level, and a properly functioning degas cap. Between all that and 16 psig - it sounds likely that it is your head gaskets.

What EGR delete do you have?

If you decide you are going to keep it and get it repaired ..... choose a shop wisely (do a lot of research). When you decide on the shop, talk over the parts you want to use - especially what heads you will be using.

 

Thanks for the advice! It’s just an egr delete j pipe with a silicone hose. I appreciate all the knowledge and advice from everyone here. I’m assuming lots of owners have had this dilemma... What heads should I be looking asking for?

 

Hopefully you will get some discussion on that. The only ones I have been staying up with are the "Kill Devil" heads. There are other good ones though.

 

Well I can be one of your Huckleberries!

Btw, where are you located? Someone may be close to you and might have a recommendation on a shop.

I went through this this past winter and as we speak my EX is getting a new tranny and turbo. My wife and I figured we knew what we have and to get into another truck similar to the EX we would be looking at $35-50k. It would be nice to have a newer truck with more bells and whistles, but I don't want a payment.

If you are able to find a shop that will do the labor if you provide the parts, I can suggest a few things. If you want to send me a PM I can provide more information on vendors that my mechanic uses. Since, I do not believe they are site sponsors, I do not want to post that information publicly and get my hand smacked!

There is a vendor that offers a solution kit, minus heads for a very reasonable price. All brand name parts and factory parts cheaper then you can buy them separately. If you want to toss a turbo on it at the same time there is a vendor out there that is $300-600 for a brand new factory garret under what the dealer wants.

As far as heads, if you can find a reputable diesel shop, why not have the heads gone through? That is what I did on my EX. My upper end cost me 2900 roughly for the studs,all gaskets,new oil cooler(i opted for a 4 inch exhaust) and EGR delete and re manned heads. All work is guaranteed for 12/12.

 

Restlesswildman- thats a great price, what state is that in?

 

I am in SW Ohio. I didn't get out of the shop that cheap, because we addressed a few other issues that are common on high mileage engines. It had 250K on it when the head gaskets went. They pulled the engine, replaced the lifters, resealed the bed plate, front cover and anything else that wasn't covered on the head stud part. Before they tore into it I had an injector that someone(possibly me, ok it was me! I realized I forgot to clean it out as the valve cover was going on...the wife still won't let me forget it!) that loosened up due to not cleaning the bolt hole out when it was reinstalled. A major oil leak that turned out to be the front crankshaft seal. So the shop owner wanted to make sure I didn't have a bad lower end or any other issues that could possibly be put on him. So I was out the door for $5300 for all that work. Plus he gave me a 12/12 warranty on the work. Plus he put a 4" turbo back exhaust on it since, I only had 40k on a replacement oil cooler. His head stud package includes everything but a turbo and intake and a set of remanned heads.

 

Would you mind pming me the shop name? Im over by pittsburgh but id drive that far to save a couple thousand. Ive made cinci in about 6hrs.

 

So I had a weird dream, could a clogged coolant filter cause the degas to overflow and act like the HG’s are blown? I had a dream last night that, that was my issue. Prolly just a dream, but weird.

 

couldn't happen

 

Depends on what universe he was in at the time.

 

That’s why I asked, lol!
I guess that’s why they call them dreams.

 

UCF o-ringed heads solved my puking and coolant pressure issue. They are remanufactured and machined stock heads and if your heads aren’t cracked beyond repair you’ll get $500 off.

 

Well, she’s sitting at Rob's Fleet Service Northwest. Decided that the best thing to do was to get her fixed. Rob was referred to me by lots of Oregonians and other forums. So here begins the journey, thanks for all of your responses and advice.

 

Pics, let me know your thoughts. Sounds like whomever did the previous head job did not get it flat. May have not been machined...


Cylinders look good!

Dirt in the intake?