Had my truck diagnosed for smoking. Came up with a leaking turbo seal. And I have some stiction going on with my injectors so I was going to have all 8 replaced. He quoted me $2000 for the injectors, 155/00 Warren brand and $850 for a turbo rebuild to stage 1 spec with a billet 10 blade compressor wheel. He said this will definitely add some more power. Question is will my truck be OK? It is not studded, just a straight pipe and egr delete. Had a new oil cooler put on last year. The prices he gave me was parts and labor. He tells me that my truck will be fine. Just wanted a 2nd opinion.

 

Why will you not have it studded?

 

I'm not saying i don't want my truck studded. I'm saying that it's not studded, and would it be OK to add the power without it being studded?

 

You can run extra power without it being studded but the experience shared by many, including me, is that one is chancing a head gasket issue.

You could buy your self some time, but try to get it studded (you can do it ON CAB) as soon as you can or save for new heads, studs, and gasket and let it ride for a while.

 

You can get a brand new turbo for around $200 more with all new parts. I would buy new if I were you. Most hear recommend sticking with stock Motorcraft injectors.

 

I'd go back with stock injectors if you're not planning on studs. Lots of people making respectable power with them.

 

Green I have questions. What exactly do you do with your truck? Is I worker or a shower? If it's a shower you need studs. If it is an everyday truck you can get by without.
Me personally, mine is not studded. I can pull and show off all I want. Difference is I don't produce ungodly amounts of boost.
If the later is what you want, get it studded.. My truck is well maintained and can outrun or give a good go at it.
Now here's the thing....... I use and live by my truck...AKA why it is well maintained. If you want a Dragster to impress you need to put a whole lot of money in it. And that's all good. Question is what do You want??

 

my truck is my every day driver. I don't work it. I don't even have a trailer. I use it for norm truck struf, haul firewood, deer hunting stuff. Nothing major. I do drive it 100 miles a day to commute for work. I am always easy on the pedal, tires cost to much to be burning them off. It would be nice to have a little extra power when I go to pass someone.

So we are talking studs, do you just replace the head studs one at a time? Or do you have to pull the heads and put new gaskets also? I might just go ahead and have it studded and get the extra HP and not worry about it.

 

If your gonna go studs? Do it Wright, pull the heads and have them checked for cracks. New gaskets. Doing things the Wright way will save you a lot of money in the long run.

On the passing in traffic. I can go from 0 to about 70 in just a few seconds. If your 6.0 runs right, that shouldn't be a problem. I say this all the time. My Truck will flat out haul AS-

 

Doing head studs can be a can of worms. Cracked heads, warped heads, poorly prepped blocks, bad machine shops, dishonest repair shops, cheap aftermarket parts slipped in, overcharging, selling parts and services not needed. etc, etc, etc. You have to do your homework and that usually is more work than the average owner wants to put into it.

Then you need to research tunes. There are some out there that might still endanger head gaskets due to being poorly written. Some can potentially damage transmissions. Also, none of the tune writers will write a tune that includes an EGR delete anymore (at least none that I know of).

The concept of completely "bulletproofing" a 6.0L is really a myth (as one long standing member of the 6.0L community will tell you). Add enough fuel, heat, timing, boost ..... and undesirable things WILL happen. Very few people have a taste for spending THOUSANDS more after $5-$7k spent on supposed bulletproofing. Not to say it is a guarantee to happen, but it does happen on some percentage that is far from negligible.

As far as replacing the head bolts with studs in a one-at-a-time procedure ............. there is a long standing debate on that. Some people say they have done it successfully. That said, I do not know of anyone who has kept up with those folks to determine what successful means (ie 100k miles ...... 200k miles ..... more?). Most good and honest Techs (and knowledgeable enthusiasts) will tell you not to do it.

Don't get me wrong though - I had head studs done by a very reputable shop. I was and am satisfied with the decision. That said, I had a failed turbo that was most likely due to foreign object damage that pretty much could only have happened as a result of a "mistake" when head studs were installed (ie some small part dropped into a place it shouldn't have been). No proof, just the way I see it since I have done all the other work on the engine. Only posting that because there is always the chance of unforeseen risk. My cost to resolve wasn't huge and I wanted a turbo upgrade anyway. YMMV

 

+1 on what Bismic said. I am a relative newbie on this site. But I can say when the gentlemen on this site give advice... Take it.

 

There was a thread somewhere here from a guy that had done studs 1 at a time without pulling the heads. I think he posted back a couple years later & all was still good; maybe I can find that thread... My thinking on studs is if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Lots of extra labor to install studs vs. just injectors. Personally, I would only go to the trouble & expense of studs if the heads had to come off anyway.

 

OP -- the seals in that Turbo can be done during a rebuild (not all that expensive) along with a heavy cleaning / housekeeping (always a good thing). That along with an initial dose of Hotshot (or comparable competing products), new synthetic oil (multiple brands out there) may very likely buy you more time and mileage. I've seen these stiction-reducing products do some amazing stuff.

Heck you can even pull the injectors yourself, hand refresh, rebuild them with new o-rings (solenoids if needed)................................don't forget to do the top oring under that "C" clip -- tricky but very doable.

Save some $$$ in the process ! What I'm envisioning for you is spending $300- $400 TOTAL on parts, plus a little elbow grease.......................

BTW --- do not believe that abject NONSENSE about replacing TTY bolts with studs without removing the heads -- PURE BS (of the White House variety)

 

I would not do the studs unless the heads had to come off, especially since I don't think its the fasteners that are the primary issue. People have gone for long mileage on factory bolts and short mileage with studs.

The longest I can remember of someone saying they did one-at-a-time and kept up with how it did was about 50k, but I'm not sure they ever kept up saying how they did. Usually, people start doing it when they think they are starting to see an issue, and by then if it was going to work, it's already too late.

One at a time has been used in rare TSB/Recall situations where it did work, marine comes to mind.

Again, I'd leave it alone until it breaks.

 

I thought long and hard about replacing head bolts one at a time, but I was always afraid of cracking a head. But it's too late for me anyway, as I have a minor head gasket leak that will have to be dealt with at some point.

As for injectors, I haven't read a lot reviews for Holders Diesel, but Ed at ficmrepair is a big fan of theirs. With exception of the body, all parts are new, and they have a 3 year warranty, the longest in the industry.