2003 Ford Excursion.

133,300 miles on engine and truck.

No chips or any engine mods other than a disconnected EGR.

Leaking coolant on the ground on RHS right below back of right side head.

Some coolant showing up in oil analysis.

If the worst case is true, how much should I expect the head gasket(s) replacement to be?

 

Well I would say 200 for the machine shop to machine the heads(if they are able to)
I would say about 1900 for the labor if you do it thru a shadetree shop
500 for the studs
I can't remember what the headgaskets go for(they include the factory bolts but don't use those)

 

OK. I'm ignorant.

What head bolts should I use? Brand?

I assume Ford dealer would insist on Ford headbolts?

 

Considering your out of warranty and it's all on your dime, I don't think they will care all that much. The brand that most everyone uses for headstuds is ARP.

 

I just had my head gaskets replaced in November.
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There are some other items on the list but they replaced the Oil Cooler and Degauss bottle too.

It looks like total price for head gaskets and stock bolts (Parts & Labor) is $1535.94
This was completed by Ford Country @ the Valley Auto Mall in Henderson, NV.

 

It doesn't look like they machined the heads, did they do that and I'm not seeing it on there? If they didn't machine them and they are warped you will have problems again(trust me on that one, I know from experiance). That and coupled with using the stock bolts, I don't know about that fix, I could be wrong it depends on how they did everything, but my gut tells me something isn't kosher.

 

I asked the same question about "machining" the heads to the Service Writer and he said the tech did a pressure test to see if the heads were warped and he stated they were not warped. Here is the complete description from the invoice regarding what they did about the head gaskets:

CK FOR OVERHEATING, TEST COOLING SYS, TEST TSTAT OK, PRESS TEST NO LEAKS, TEST PER TSB 07-21-5 FOUND EOT/ECT 45 DEG DIFF, R&R OIL COOLER RETEST FOUND COOLSYS PRESS TO EXCEED 19 PSI, REPLACED HEAD GASKETS PER TSB AND RETEST OK.

Ever since I got my truck back I have been a little worried about the heads being warped. I have about 1 year left on the 5 yr/100,000 mile warranty so if they are warped I will for sure blow the gaskets again in the next year... I hope! Then on to head studs.

 

I have a tractor in at John Deere getting worked on for coolant loss. They said they had pressure tested it and the heads were fine on it. I have a concrete floor in my tractor shed and it's not leaking out of the hoses onto the floor and it's not in the oil, so it has to be going somewhere. Tractor is back in the shop getting worked on again(which reminds me I need to call them and see what's going on with ole faithful).

 

I know what you mean. Before I got my truck fixed I was losing coolant. I noticed little water spots on the degauss bottle and around the cap. I knew I was losing water somewhere else but I never saw any under the truck. Then reading on here about blown head gaskets.... I found out, that was my issue also.
Now I check the water in the Degauss bottle every couple of days (Paranoid! ) and so far I haven't lost any water plus I don't smell coolant anymore. As soon as my gauges arrive I will pull our trailer and "see what happens".

 

Forest, sorry I hijacked your thread! I hope you find useful info from the replies.

 

I can give you a run for your money in that department, Matt knows how paranoid I am and always talking to him about my programming to make sure it doesn't do this or doesn't do that and still have alot of get up and go(I know I'm one of those, want cake and eat it to).

I too am sorry since I helped you out in that endeavor of hijacking, it happens with me alot.

 

Let me hijack my own thread and ask another question:

How hard is it to remove these heads and install the new gaskets and head bolts yourself? Has any DIYer out there done this? What is hardest part?

 

I would suggest someone do it for you. I wouldn't like the idea of removing the cab(or pull the engine out) and do it myself, but if you feel confident in yourself then go for it.

 

Oh man. I wondered if pulling the engine or lifting the body would be required. Is that really true? Is there not enough room to pull heads out without pulling the engine?

Excursions are all of a piece--no separate cab.

 

Yes you have to pull the cab. check out the article in the latest DIESELPOWER Magazine. Its a pretty large en devour. I dont know how they would handle your excursion, probably pull the engine...