Anybody here blow a head gasket with a stock truck. Truck is used for towing 8000kg tanks for oilfield work. 2004 PSD kingranch 182,000 km.

 

We've seen a few headgaskets fail on stock (fleet). Most headgasket failures that we've seen have been modified (or suspected to be modified). A headgasket failure can usually be associated to failed turbo that is overboosting.

 

I can say that my turbo has not failed otherwise I would have extreme lag when taking off. Can still hear the turbo whistling. I think it blew because i tow with towhaul all the time and now i cant

 

Also, does anybody have an estimate for the price to replace the head gasket. I've heard many different stories.

I originally bought my truck in Red Deer, Alberta at Festival Ford. WHen I saw the truck I wanted to buy, I fell in love with it. Never had to goto the garage once and I bought the truck with 110,000km on it. That was last year in Febuary. I moved to downtown Edmonton shortly after and found a FORD dealership called Healey Ford. I really liked that place except when I got my tranny fluid replaced. I started getting a knocking in my shifting and still have it to this day (the kid working on my truck looked no older than 19 yrs old seriously). For my oil changes I goto minute lube in Red Deer. I get 15w40 of synthetic and I noticed that my truck ran smoother. They also changed my tranny fluid because they said it smelt burnt (this was a month after healey ford changed it). They told me to put the emergency brake on and hold down the break and shift through the gears every 10 seconds so the oil spreads evenly. After a short drive, the knocking sort of went away. Couldn't feel it but could hear it still. I guess its ok. Now I moved to a town called Innisfail that is South of Red Deer. My truck now has about 168,000km. Mostly towing km. My extended warranty was good untill 170,000km. I took it in because of the gasket and they said that warranty wont cover the cost and that parts and labour will come to about $8000. I then went to the dealership in Innisafail at Fourlane Ford. They said that it would cost around $5000. Mostly paying for the labour and about $30 for the head gasket. My boss had a blown head gasket and got it replaced in Whitecourt which is about a 2 hr drive from Edmonton. He paid $1500 for parts and labour. Hes going to give me the reciept so I can shove it up the mechanics butt here in town so he cannot give me any grief. I guess if he dosent want to fix it for that price, than I'm heading to another dealership (Even if it is 4 hrs from where I live).

 

I blew my headgasket when in stock configuration. Dealer replaced them under warranty, and installed my supplied ARP headstuds for a small extra charge.

 

turbos can fail in full boost, as well as no boost configuration.

 

$8000 dollars sounds awful stiff for a headgasket job. If you've been a loyal customer at any particular dealership, you may be eligible for after warranty assistance which on a 6.0 can go as high as 185,000km. But it looks to me like you've been doing you maintenance elsewhere, so you may be out of luck.
Next thing is that Mercon SP smells alot different than Mercon and Mercon V, so perhaps there was nothing wrong with your fluid.
And, are you certain your headgaskets are gone, and not just your EGR cooler?

 

Is this $8000 Canadian? Eve so that's $7,038.54 USD...If they are wanting to charge you $8K for changing the head gasket I wouldn't want to trust them to do the job since it sounds like they haven't done many...At least I hope they haven't gotten many out of people for $8K. My brother-in-law has a HotShot Service with 6 F350 PSD's and all have had at least one head gasket change. These are all non-tuned vehicles that are driven/abused by all types of drivers. There are 4 '04's and two early '05 models. They replaced the head studs with ARP's on the last few and have not had any problems. The dealer changed the studs on his other trucks just last week and put the ARP's in at no charge. I'll find out what his charge was for the last two gasket changes. Do you know if they were quoting you labor for pulling the body? Some dealers don't like to improvise the labor disposition to accomodate the customer.

 

I'm just curious where you got those ARP head studs and about how much they cost? Thanks

 

He was on backorder with Summit Racing for a while because he wanted all 6 sets at once. He paid just over $450 a set only because he bought 10 sets. I think they keep them instock now. You can probably get them from Jeggs or any of the online Diesel Shops. They seem to run about $525-$550. I think there may be another company that sells a similar but higher tensil-strength stud.

 

I'm pretty sure the head gaskets are blown. Truck runs hotter than usual (temp needle is inbetween the hot and cold). Also can see some coolant leaking down very rarely and there is dust around the heads that looks damp. I cleaned it once and two days later it was dirty again. I'm guessing that when I take it in, i'll get the EGR valve, EGR Cooler, Turbo (Vaines sticking possibly), and fan clutch looked at as well. Along with a system flush with new coolant and a oil change.

Oh and are these ARP head studs a good choice for me seeing that I need to get the gaskets replaced.


And that quote for the pricing was the cab of the truck comming off. They said its the best way to fix the problem. I'm worried that there will be some rattling or vibration afterwards that I wont be too pleased with.

 

Reidicus...You guessed it right with the dealer taking the cab off...This will give you plenty of other problems. Mostly rattles! The dealer that wants to take the cab off is a very clear indication that they have done very few head gasket replacments. Any Diesel Tech that has done a handful of these has been around the block or figured out how to do it without removing the cab. There really is No need for someone that has experience.

The ARP studs will be extra insurance and I would spend the money on those vs. labor of all the extra work they want to do. The problem is with the head gasket mainly, but your stock studs have probably stretched enough to replace them. I don't remember if they include stud replacement in this job. I can tell you that with the new style gasket and the ARP studs you won't have to worry about this again unless you really are running the truck hard. They usually charge around $300 to flush the coolant and replace with new. It's usually on the high side, but it puts the burden in their hands in case they don't get the gasket done right. They should check the intake and mating surfaces for proper clearance.

The best advice I can give you is to find an actual Ford Diesel Tech to do the job and for them NOT to remove the cab. Some dealers are good with cab removal, but most leave it to some green-horn that doesn't know the proper steps for removal/relocation.


Good Luck and Let us know the outcome.

 

Removing the cab is the best and easiest way to do major engine repairs, including head gaskets, on the 6.0l. I've done about 8 head gasket jobs that way and have not had one come back yet with any kind of vibration or rattles.

I have no idea why they would quote you so much to do the job. Even if they have to replace one or both heads (due to warpage) the job should be less than half that amount.

 

Hypermax has a new headgasket that sais its good for tuners and chips (up to 30psi). And whats the difference in the newer style head gaskets?

 

I agree on removing the cab. There just isnt enough room in there to do the job right. Originally, Ford wanted everyone to do it cab on, but after everyone started to do it cab off, they realize that is the best way. For those non-believers, Ford for the 08 model year is reversing the cab mount bolts( you no longer have to remove carpet to get to them ) they come in from the bottom. If it wasnt the best way, why are they doing that?