Head gasket change??

[keplinger78]

Hello,
I got my 4" exhaust and now I'm going to change the head gaskets that are leaking.Is there a way to tell what side is leaking so I don't have to do more work than needed? Also do you have to use new head bolts?I have service manuals and they say to use new bolts.

Thanks Tom K.

[sixnickel]

Don't fool around DO BOTH head gaskets!! If one side is gone the other might not be far behind. For nice balanced compression across the heads DO BOTH!! As far as head bolts go they are "torque to yield" in English that means they are a one shot deal, use them once and throw them away.

[ercaduceus]

I would go with new ARP bolts. I have has much success with them in gas chevys and have not reason to believe they wont do the job in a diesel. I would inspect the old heads well before you put them back on. You don't want to waste your time with a warped or cracked head.

Good luck,

[ehoski]

Buy new heads, new bolts, and new gaskets for both sides. It is not much more work to do both and most likely both heads are cracked--maybe small--but they are there. No more than new heads cost, it is worth it to go the extra mile. I would also inspect the surface of the block while you're there and look for any corrosion near the piston. I pulled mine off and had to replace the block due to corrosion where the block stops the flow of coolant on the front of the engine. That was cheap fun!!

[keplinger78]

Buy new heads, new bolts, and new gaskets for both sides. It is not much more work to do both and most likely both heads are cracked--maybe small--but they are there. No more than new heads cost, it is worth it to go the extra mile. I would also inspect the surface of the block while you're there and look for any corrosion near the piston. I pulled mine off and had to replace the block due to corrosion where the block stops the flow of coolant on the front of the engine. That was cheap fun!!

I'm going to completely rebuild it later,or buy another motor this is to just get it going better,if it still loses water I'll run it till it dies!!!Got the gaskets with the truck,so I'm just out the labor.It smokes when started up for a few minutes so I'm sure it needs rings etc.But for 285K it needs to make me money,It's going to be my welding truck so it needs to make it's own way or It will be set aside.
Later Tom K.

[TurboFire]

Without duel exhaust I don't know how to tell which head is leaking. But, once you have all the injector/intake stuff off, a few more head bolts and you can change both.
A quick and dirty head gasket change will be helped with a tube of Permatex copper high temp silicone. Put a small (1/16 inch) bead around every water jacket and bolt hole in the block and head. Don't forget to put the proper sealant on the headbolts, they are tapped into the water jacket. Do it when it's cool so the silicone doesn't start to dry before you can torque the heads. And yes, you have to get new head bolts, they're a single use item.