Oil drain to do a Head/ Head Gasket RR? + more

[Rawze]

(06-06-2016 )AndrewH Wrote:  Well I think I may be up against a gasket/head issue like @Waterloo and others have experienced recently. The truck now has approx 860,000 mi with very low idle time (only for warm ups and cool downs). I will know more I suppose after I test with the exhaust gas leak test that Napa sells. I'm not losing coolant, but little bubbles have been appearing more lately. I've been dealing with this for about a year now, but it would go away so I don't know. I take very good care of this truck, it is driven by me @ 10 BST or bellow 98% or so of the time & the oil is still golden at 15k. I need to do an oil change but I think it may be head time too... I don't want to waste ANY money if I'm actually at this point right now... So my questions to the community is:

1) does the oil need to be drained to do the head/gasket RR?
2) are the head gasket kits off eBay worth looking into? ($450 range)
3) (not a question) I already know from research here that the new Head is the way to go
4) how much should I expect to spend on the new Head itself/Gaskets/ + Labor. I plan to schedule time with Mr. Hag because i could hardly justify spending this type of money with someone on the outside who has no reputation for quality and pride in their work.

Maybe this thread could help a few others along the way and as always, thanks in advance and Safe Trails to you all :)

I am pretty sure that Mr. Hag will only use OEM parts. There is a reason for that. -- I wouldn't trust ANYTHING off e-bay for something I could not just pull off myself and throw away if it were bad or failed later. -- Just my own take on it. For couple hundred more, you can have an actual OEM part. throw that e-bay idea in the trash can! -- Fast!.

I would think head around $3700 (a bit less perhaps) and the upper gasket set (all gaskets for upper half of the engine come in a kit) for another $700~ish?

* Be prepared for the worst case scenario jut in case,.... You never know what you are going to find after removing the head.


As far as draining the oil --- ANY TIME you plan on taking the engine apart, or removing the head,.. Before you do anything to it, you need to pressurize the coolant system and let it sit for several hours with the oil pan off to ensure you do not have a liner leaking too. It is absolutely stupid not to do this test. -- I let mine sit overnight and it surprised me, found a micro-leak at cylinder #6. It turned out out be an injector cup, but could just have well have been a liner.

I also did an injector leak-down test on mine before tearing into everything as well. No sense in taking the head all apart and not changing injectors that may be leaky. It saves labor and down-time and is the right thing to do too.


So... I would suggest...

* Do an injector leak test and make plans on replacing any leaky injectors.

* Pull the oil pan off and pressurize the coolant system to a full 20-PSI and let it sit overnight. Check for any other leaks too (hoses, Turbo, EGR cooler, Doser Injector, etc.).

* At 800k+ miles,.. I would heavily suggest replacing the rod and main bearings at the very least while you are at it. Pan will be off already and they are not really very expensive.