My dad got his truck out of the dealer the second time after having a blown head gasket. Unfortunately after the second time of this, the warranty had expired after it left the shop. What is happening is that the overflow/fill tank is releasing air pressure causing a wistle. It was doing this before each head gasket job. Now it is doing it again. The cap reads 16 psi and apparently it is exceeding the limit. Could this be a blown head gasket or a very unlikely coincidence? The oil shows no signs of water contamination. Although it didn't show this during the past 2 times either. I was told about a fluid that you can get from Napa that is called Blue Devil that is supposed to help seal up any leaks that there may be in the cooling system though I don't know if that would work if the engine is pumping exhaust into the cooling system. Anybody have any ideas. The truck is a 2003 F-350 Dually King Ranch. If you do a post search of my name you will see all of the other posts that I have made in the past pertaining to the truck.

 

So this is the second time your dads truck has blown the head gaskets? If the dealership didnt check the heads to make sure they were flat then that could be your problem. Is he running a tuner or a chip?

 

No, this would be the third time if indeed it does have blown head gaskets. He is using a tuner. It is a Diablosport. But since the second time the head gaskets blew and the fact that he has no warranty, he had been easy on it. He almost believes that they just let it sit in the shop for a couple of weeks until the warranty ran out and then gave it back to him.

 

It was under warrenty when you took it in and they wont warrenty it because it passed the date while it sat at the shop before they looked at it? If that is the case then wow! Definately time to find another dealer!

 

you will not have coolant in the oil because the oil pressure far exceeds the coolant pressure. you are more likely to have oil in the coolant. But that is the same thing my truck did and they did the head gaskets, and 1 head was warped.

 

How difficult would it be to replace the head gaskets ourselves. Unfortunately we don't have access to a lift. How much would you think that it would cost us in parts and what we would save versus the dealer now that it is out of warranty? I'm sure we will have to have the heads checked for warpage.

 

Its going to be tough doing it yourself without the proper tools. Mine was coverd under warrenty but the TEC. stated that mine would of costed around $6,500 for the head gaskets and 1 head plus labor. Not sure what it will cost you to do it but im sure it will be cheaper. But then you have to weigh the do it yourself without the right tools, lift etc. or pay the dealer to do it.

 

Go to utube and search 6.0 vs 7.3 you will see a six part series explaining the problems that came up with the 03 6.0, he talks about head gasket
failure as being one of the major problems and how the 7.3 had 4 bolts
per cylinder and the 6.0 had alot fewer bolts , dont remember how many,
he also talks about the one use bolts that they tourque to a pretty low torque spec. and then tighten about 1/2 turn from there, the bolts stretch,
he talks about a head stud kit he recommends to all customers that do
heads on the early model 6.0's and the kit cost $500.00 but well worth it, the torque spec. on those is much higher and he said with this kit he has not seen a head gasket failure, someone correct me if I'm wrong but didnt ford use a stud setup on the later models to combat this problem ?? The guy on these video's knows alot about these motors and there is alot of great info there. Someone on this forum directed me to that series, dont remember who but if you read this thank you.

 

There is no doubt it is hard work, and you have to be on it and pay attention what you do, but there are some of us, who did it without the proper tools on their driveway ( talking about myself).
If you are not afraid to get dirty some, and you know which end you have to grab on the wrench, there is a big possibility than you will be able to do it.
There are a couple of "special" tools what you need ( engine hoist - around $100 in any Freight Harbor Tools store, a torque wrench up to 250 lb/ft , and some more what you actually can pick up anywhere)

First of all, you need the workshop manual, you can find it here in the tech folder, read it, memorize some of the steps, so you don't have to run in and out the house.
Than you need a couple - few days to do it so.
In looking back, I highly recommend you to take off the hood from your truck - give more room for the hoist.
Take off every "little" thing what's in your way:
Disconnect and remove the batteries, Drain your coolant, take off the degas bottle, disconnect and remove the FICM. Air filter, intake tube, and turbocharger has to come off too. For this, disconnect the Y pipe and the downpipe behind the turbo, open up the oil filter, pull the filter out, and let the oil drain back to the engine. Grab the star socket, and remove the oil filter housing, so you'll have room to grab and pull the turbo. Don't try to lift it over the drain tube, the tube can slide out from the HPOP cover. It is hard if you do it for the first time, you have to find the position for the turbo to slide out from that little hole where it sits. Remove the alternator, and work your way in to the intake manifold. Disconnect the EGR cooler from the exhaust up-pipe, and remove the turbo mount before you try to pull the intake. Make sure, that you move the intake and the EGR cooler together. The orange or blue hose can slide on the EGR cooler pipe.
Now remove the valve cover, and follow the instructions in the workshop manual to remove the injectors, Glow plugs and rocker arms and rods.
The workshop manual gives you really clear instructions to do this job, I'm just going to tell you the "secret" to do it without lift the cab or pull the engine:
-Remove the black air box ( or just the half of it ) on the passenger side. Only the plastic cover, that will hive you enough room.
-To make your job easier with the exhaust manifolds, remove both fender liners.

I don't think you will have any problem to pull the heads now. Take them to a good machine shop, they will tell you if it is shaveable or needs to be replaced.

GET THE ARP HEADSTUDS!!!
To put it together, you have to pay attention when you positioning the heads, the new gaskets are coming with new positioning rings and they will make sure that the heads are sitting right. Before you put the heads back, place the studs in to them, and secure them with zip-ties or some tape to make sure they don't hang out on the bottom side. And now comes the real fun - tie up the studs to 245 lb/ft. It is hard, especially on the driver side, the stud on the really back. You have no room to put the socket and wrench on, but if you lift your motor from the under side with a floor jack carefully, that 1/4 inch will give the room you need.
Now just follow the order in the manual to put it together, and keep in mind , this is the time to do the EGR COOLER DELETE or BYPASS.

If you do this for yourself, it will cost $650 ( ARP, machine work, gaskets ) and the EGR bypass, what's like $140.
If you take it to ANY shop, it starts at $3-4K.
So decide for yourselves which way is better for you, and good luck if you decide to do it yourself.

 

dcaddi2, I completly agree with you!

 

How long ago did they fix it for head gaskets? The local dealer near me warranties their work for a year. If it was less than a year you might want to check with the dealer.

 

checked my notes I saved and from what I can gather ford didnt put studs on these but see below for changes, also posted this in another 6.0 thread.
could someone explain these changes , I'm not a dieseltech ...

Subject: 2006 6.0L Diesel Power Stroke Cylinder Head Commonization
Effective Date: Ford Production Assembly Plants - January 11, 2006
Kentucky Truck Plant (Super Duty) & Lorraine Assembly Plant (Econoline)
Description
Changes are being made to the 6.0L diesel cylinder head, head gasket, crankcase block, rocker
arm carrier and injector hold down clamps for the 2006 Super Duty and Econoline Program. The
action is taking place to facilitate/communize the International manufacturing process for the
upcoming 6.4L program. The 2006 6.0L used in Ford vehicles after January 11, 2006 are being
referred to as "Commonization Engines".
Part number details are provided on a separate excel spreadsheet.

Figure 1 - New cylinder head
1. Carrier boss bolt holes M10 x 1.5
2. Injector clamp bolt holes (relocated)
The new cylinder heads have several casting changes including a slight injector clamp bolt hole
relocation (2, figure 1) and the carrier boss bolt hole size and location changes (1, figure 1). New
cylinder heads also use 32 mm cup plugs replacing the old 28 mm cup plugs.
The cylinder head gasket is also new to accommodate the new 20mm cylinder head location
dowels. Pre commonization head use 18mm dowels
Note: At this time the new cylinder head assembly is not interchangeable with the previously level
head.

Figure 2 – Previous Level Cylinder Head
1. Carrier boss bolt holes M8 x 1.5
2. Injector clamp bolt holes (original locations)
Note: The previous level cylinder head assembly is not interchangeable with the new head.

Figure 3 - New Block Assembly
The new crankcase (block) uses two 20mm cylinder head locating dowels per head.
The old crankcase (block) uses two 18mm cylinder head locating dowels per head.
Note: The new and old block assembly is not interchangeable. This affects replacement of all 6009
short blocks and the 6010 bare blocks.

Rocker Arm Carrier:
Figure 4 - New Rocker Arm Carrier
Casting changes to the rocker carrier provide increased clearance for new injector hold down
clamps (figure 6). The new carrier also uses only 2 bolts and locating dowels to attach the carrier
to the head.
The new rocker carrier is serviced in a Rocker Arm Carrier Kit which includes the rocker carrier
cover, gasket and necessary dowels.
Note: The new and old rocker arm carrier kits are not interchangeable.

Figure 5 – Previous Level Rocker Arm Carrier Kit
The old rocker arm carrier uses 4 attaching bolts to hold the carrier to the old cylinder head (figure
2).
The previous rocker arm carrier is also serviced in a kit which includes the rocker carrier cover,
gasket and necessary dowels.
Note: The previous level rocker arm kit is not interchangeable with the new kit and will remain
available for service.
Injector Hold Down Clamp:
Figure 6 - New Injector Hold Down Clamp Assembly
The tail end of the new injector hold down clamp is being reduced to avoid interference with the
rocker arm carrier wall. Injector hold down clamp bolt torque will increase from 24 lbf·ft to 25.8 lbf·ft
and bolt head size will increase from T40 to T45.
Note: The new and old injector hold down clamps are not in interchangeable.

Figure 7 – Previous Level Injector Hold Down Clamp Assembly
Note: The new and old injector hold down clamps are not in interchangeable. The old injector hold
down clamp will remain available for service.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>