7.3 Headgasket questions

JD3020

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My truck has not really moved since January 2016 i believe, the stock turbo started squealing on Christmas Eve and it got parked. Before that my sidewalk crew had been using it to move snow blowers and salt around a large condo complex, at some point the A/C compressor locked up and my belt went bye bye. Nobody knows how long it ran without a water pump but IIRC oil temp was north of 250* when i got to it and shut it down. The truck seemed to be alright once i got a new belt on it, but i sorta remember the coolant level slowly dropping but didn't see any major signs of a leak(230k mile OBS work truck, every thing leaks). But again this is 2+ years ago so who knows, could've been leaking before.

So at this point i would like to pull the engine and throw it on a stand to do compression, leak down, and ideally test the HG's separate from anything on the chassis that could be leaking. IF its even possible to test headgaskets on a stand. I really want to avoid pulling the heads as that would add $300 in gaskets plus machining cost, on top of the $550 for studs. Or with a 7.3 can you get away with not machining the heads? This engine has roughly 190k working miles on it IF the JY was telling the truth when i bought it, the 250/200%'s had 20k and blown up a few engines when i bought them 4 years ago, and i've put another 15k on em with plenty of towing and racing/sled pull abuse. And i'll probably be running a used or Chinese 72-75mm turbo since i sold the 468 i had. The less money i put in this engine the better. :badidea:
 

co04cobra

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Put a waterpump on maybe in new tstat, do a compression test in the truck if you want and run it.

That is still the beauty of a 7.3, in general it just doesn't give a sh!t if it was hot or not.

IMO. It would be a waste of time to pull and then reinstall a engine if you have that many doubts about it.
 

JD3020

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The engine will be coming out to fix some oil leaks regardless, but at this point my plan is to pull the drivetrain out of my 97 ECLB and throw it in my ECSB and make a cheap racer/puller/toy out of it. Not going to put many miles on it or work it, otherwise i'd be getting another engine. Just trying to use what i have and do it as cheap as i can.
 

mandkole

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I'm not reading anything yet to suggest the motor should come out. You could do all basic tests in the truck at this point. As soon as the brake pedal got hard from no vacuum and no steering assist I'm surprised they didn't stop running it... is this the obs or sd? (Edit)
 
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