I have coolant pucking from the degas bottle and engine light came on when towing boat. Took to local Ford dealer for diagnosis, they reported that engine logged codes P006A, P132, P0238, P0401 & P0404. After failing boost test & egr test. They preformed a coolant pressure test, pressure dropped. They recommended new egr valve & turbocharger, egr & oil coolers. I declined repairs and researched situation. Found TSB 06-3-8 Coolant Degas Bottle Overflow. I completed service proceedure as outlined in TSB, first find was that coolant fill cap would not hold pressure past 14psi, replaced cap & continued with pressure gauge hooked up inline with degas bottle hose from intake and test drive noted that gauge needle would peg out at WOT,full boost. TSB recommends headgasket replacement. I have already purchased stock oil & egr coolers as recommended replacements of Ford dealership. I am convinced that I should replace stock headbolts with ARP bolt set, but should I use stock or aftermarket headgastets. And since I already have the new EGR & Oil Coolers should I replace them anyway. I did not get an Oasis report or do I have any proof that they have been replaced before. I could message vin if you request. Any & all comments & advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

The ARPs are a must and you MUST get the heads machined and pressure tested. From what I understand, the stock head gaskets are good to use up to 500-550 hp. When I had my head gaskets done I also did a EGR cooler delete kit to get rid of another possible problem of an EGR cooler failure down the road. Good Luck

 

N. I. C. Thanks for the reply. Is the machining and pressure testing done by the dealers everytime they do a headgasket or do you just check for flatness & reinstall if withing spec. I also wanted to know if any work has been done to it previous to my purchasing the truck. There was a thread about Oasis reports at the top of the forum list but it was closed. Is there anyone here that could provide that.

 

Texas -the machining is done at a local (good) machine shop and is not covered but has to be done and is not real expensive (when I had mine done it was about $400) Sorry I cant help with the Oasis but I'm sure someone else can. Good luck.

 

Go to the SuperDuty section of this forum. You can request an OASIS report there.

 

I had the understanding that the 6.0L heads could NOT be machined as the chambers and valves were tight up againest the mating surface with no additional "meat".

I'm assuming they machined the mating deck surface for flatness?

 

Yes that is all just check for flatness

 

Yes they can be machined, but within tight parameters. Ford doesn't do it, because they subscribed to just replacing heads versus machining and machining is far cheaper then a new set of heads.

By the way, my heads are machined.

 

tex25025,

What machining did you have done to your heads? Was it the mating surface for flatness also?

Thanks!

Steve

 

From what was told to me, yes it was for flatness.

 

Thanks, good info.

I may have got the "can't machine" line from an online video by a 6.0L engine "expert".

Thanks again.

 

Ford officially wants to just replace them and that's probably were they got it from.

 

To be acceptable to Ford, heads must be within .002 inch of flat. If they are not within tolerance Ford's position is to replace them. Ford definitely will not machine the heads for warranty repair work.

If you are doing head studs, the aftermarket consensus is that machining is quite acceptable (even preferable). If you machine them, take ONLY .008 max. HOWEVER, some folks have machined .007 and .008 and reported no issues at first. Then a year later they had repeat head gasket issues. Who knows if it is the amount of machining or the quality of the work. I have been reading more and more that .005 is a more conservative limit.

It ultimately is an individual choice. Ford videos are informative and useful to watch in that regard. Forums where you can post and poll before finalizing your decision are far better than trusting one source of information (no matter where or who it comes from). Just keep in mind, when it comes to high performance mods, many folks on forums will give a good report on the mods (at first) but then the "long term" answer turns out to be 180 degrees different.

Folks like Tex25025 have done extensive research ..... and has his work done by one of the best. Good to have you as a resource on the Forum Tex!! When it comes to major mods - it is wise to read a TON (and ask a TON) before diving in.