Upcoming Head Gasket replacement

kleake · Jul 8, 2016

I've got an 08 job 1, 220k. ***, EGR, EGR cooler ******. The thing runs great, however it does spew out the degas bottle when I'm on the throttle past about half way and slowly getting worse.

Planning to replace
Rockers
Gaskets
Install studs as an absolute minimum.

Considering
Check/mill/repair current heads
or replace with re-maned
or possibly some aftermarket heads I found that are already o-ringed for less than stock heads. Anyone have thoughts or experience with some of these?

Other things I might need to replace.
HPFP?
Injectors?
Turbo?
Front cover?

Estimates from repair shops ranged from $6k-$12k depending on what all they find, so i'm planning to do it myself.
Considering having a shop do some tests before hand to verify condition of pump/injectors, but that will cost another $400 just to check everything. Figure I can do it myself for $2k-$5k if I don't find anything seriously wrong when I tear into it.

Thoughts, ideas, tips, upgrades???
Best vendors for these parts???

I know some of you guys have been down this road already so any help is appreciated.

6.4f350 · Jul 8, 2016

Have your heads checked and then decked if they can be done and remain within spec. Seems like almost all of the reman or aftermarket heads are junk out of the box.

morefuel · Jul 8, 2016

Maybe check lifters and replace.

kleake · Jul 8, 2016

6.4f350 said:
Have your heads checked and then decked if they can be done and remain within spec. Seems like almost all of the reman or aftermarket heads are junk out of the box.

One set I have looked at had been o-ringed, so I would "hope" that they are good, but i'm still hearing that they aren't. For what performance I am looking for, i'm guessing that OEM from Ford may be my best bet.

morefuel said:
Maybe check lifters and replace.

Thank you, i'll put that on my list.

sootie · Jul 8, 2016

OEM Ford heads are rarely new and are just as bad as used head. Get your own heads pressure tested, magnafluxed and decked and you will be further ahead.

webb06 · Jul 8, 2016

Add lifters to that list. Mahle will be your cheapest route for those.

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kleake · Jul 8, 2016

I will pull my heads and have them checked first, then go from there.

How often do lifters fail, I haven't heard of that being an issue before, but I sure don't mind taking care of them while in there.

Petro · Jul 8, 2016

kleake said:
I will pull my heads and have them checked first, then go from there.

How often do lifters fail, I haven't heard of that being an issue before, but I sure don't mind taking care of them while in there.

It's fairly common. I replace them every time I do a gasket job no matter what mileage they're at on both 6.0's and 6.4's. Cheap assurance.

Wizbangdoodle · Jul 8, 2016

You'll find a number of things you'll want to replace. My front cover was starting to pit, so it was replaced. I also replaced the water pump since it had nearly 150k on it. Cheap insurance. Lifters and rockers suffer if consistent maintenance wasn't performed. Since you'll have it apart, I suggest aftermarket uppipes and EGR cooler ****** if you haven't already had it done. With 220k you may want to check your turbos and replace/rebuild them. My harness looked good too, but within 2000 miles of finishing my rebuild, I kept getting a fuel pressure code. Replaced the sensor and then the harness to fix it.

It really comes down to how much you want to save versus how many more times you want to be under the hood, or worse, with the cab off. Hope this helps.

kleake · Jul 9, 2016

I'll definitely add lifters to my list.
EGR stuff is gone so I don't need to worry about that.
I have to admit, the turbo is on my list of concerns. To replace it is pretty expensive, but new seals and stuff probably wouldn't hurt, even though it's working perfectly now.
I will definitely inspect the harness and sensor. On my tuner I can see my pressures and have not had any hint of trouble from that but it sure wouldn't hurt while i'm in there.

Well, I don't mind putting the money in if it really needs it, but so far i'm going to be at about $6k of parts. If I get closer to $10k, a new motor from Ford with warranty starts getting appealing, but then i'm getting pretty close to the value of the truck and not worth the repair.

kleake · Jul 11, 2016

Also considering exhaust. Since the cab will be off, is there any benefit to changing the up pipes or the down pipe? How much performance gain would their be? Exhaust wise, I am currently running hollow cat and *** with everthing else stock. I am already planning to remove the rest of the egr cooler pipe and relocate the ebp sensor.

ckrueg · Jul 11, 2016

kleake said:
Also considering exhaust. Since the cab will be off, is there any benefit to changing the up pipes or the down pipe? How much performance gain would their be? Exhaust wise, I am currently running hollow cat and *** with everthing else stock. I am already planning to remove the rest of the egr cooler pipe and relocate the ebp sensor.

New downpipe might help flow a bit as the factory one is dented I believe and a bit smaller. Up pipes is mostly for reliability or if you want to run different style manifolds

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kleake · Jul 12, 2016

How much improvement is really gained with downpipe and full exhaust vs. hollowed stock with stock muffler?

kleake · Jul 20, 2016

Well, after spending about a week cleaning out my shop enough to get the truck in, it has started........ It will be slow going as I only have evenings and weekends to work on it though.

kleake · Jul 21, 2016

Not too much new to report, everything is step by step as the manual states. I had a couple of extras, but everything is now undone and ready to lift except for one thing. THOSE CAB BOLTS ARE A PITA!!!!!!!!!! Can't use an impact on them, so get a LONG breaker bar and get ready to wear yourself out! They turn hard all the way! I thought about putting my 1/2" cordless drill on there once I had them loosened up,,,,, ha, not even close to enough power! Then I got out my old trusty 1/2" electric drill that has gear reduction. That thing will snap off drill bits and not even phase it,,,,,, but I forgot that it's so old it's not even reversable! So, I wore myself out on the first 4, and will do the next 4 tonight and then lift. Definitely the hardest part so far, everything else was really pretty simple.

Lipka101 · Jul 21, 2016

Nice! How are you lifting the cab?

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kleake · Jul 21, 2016

4 1300lb hoists is the plan. One on each corner of the cab, you can see them hanging from the rafters in the picture. They are mounted to share the weight across 2 rafters each. I'm guessing the cab weighs in at 2klbs so around 500lbs each. I plan to lift it, roll the chassis out from under it, then lower it down to the floor so it's not suspended for too long at a time.

f350guy · Jul 21, 2016

kleake said:
How much improvement is really gained with downpipe and full exhaust vs. hollowed stock with stock muffler?

Here is a picture of mine once I chopped it in half, it really does not flow well. Granted I do not run a race tune or anything, I noticed it took longer for EGTs to climb and it allowed the turbos to sing. It is double walled from the factory for heat retention to help with the under cab emissions components. A better flowing air intake will drastically help airflow into the turbochargers too, the Nolimit one is the cheapest and easiest solution.

Other stuff I would replace while in there would be the belt drive system. Tensioners OEM Ford only, I seem to recall one idler too. OEM Ford use higher quality bearings than the aftermarket. I went around and around with the **** in the aftermarket dealing with this, not going to do that again.

I would install at least a larger high pressure turbo as access will never be easier and probably that BD manifold/uppipe set. Low pressures are pretty easy to R&R cab on.

ALL NEW cab mounts, whether you choose Ford or Daystar. Updated thermostats, hoses, degas bottle, and a coolant filter.

Maybe ported intake manifold as I read good things about them.

These lifters I like, but I am not sure anyone is running them - http://sideactiondiesel.com/SADP-ROLLER-60-64-POWERSTROKE-LIFTERS-_p_36.html Perhaps someone can chime in?

kleake · Jul 21, 2016

f350guy said:
It is double walled from the factory for heat retention to help with the under cab emissions components. A better flowing air intake will drastically help airflow into the turbochargers too, the Nolimit one is the cheapest and easiest solution.

That is the stock downpipe right? If so, this definitely would be a good time to address that. Any brand recommendations? I've got an Air-Aid filter in the stock box and added a few holes in the lid for better flow. Definitely did the job.

f350guy said:
Other stuff I would replace while in there would be the belt drive system. Tensioners OEM Ford only,

I've already replaced one tensioner about 5K miles ago. I'll look them all over again while in there.

f350guy said:
I would install at least a larger high pressure turbo as access will never be easier and probably that BD manifold/uppipe set. Low pressures are pretty easy to R&R cab on.

I'll look into that, not sure I want to spend the cash on that at the moment though. I did notice a turbo seal has started leaking as i'm pulling it apart, so it may be a good time anyway. I'll research.

f350guy said:
ALL NEW cab mounts, whether you choose Ford or Daystar. Updated thermostats, hoses, degas bottle, and a coolant filter.

All my cab mounts look good? Why do you recommend replacing them? Newer softer rubber for better road sound isolation and such? Already have new thermostats, updated hose and a coolant filter. Newer degas bottle might be a good idea. What is the difference in the updated design? I've seem talk about it, but never spotted the change.

f350guy said:
Maybe ported intake manifold as I read good things about them.

I would like this, but probably out of my range.

f350guy said:
These lifters I like, but I am not sure anyone is running them - http://sideactiondiesel.com/SADP-ROLLER-60-64-POWERSTROKE-LIFTERS-_p_36.html Perhaps someone can chime in?

Already have new OEM lifters from Ford. They were higher, but I didn't want to trust others even though I know there are plenty of good ones out there.