0 head gasket replace ?s

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grueny

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04 head gasket replace ?s

Ok i have a buddys 04 powerstroke. He blew a head gasket on one side and wants to get it fixed. it is a bone stocker. He has 123,000 miles on it and uses it as a daily driver and work truck. I have not worked on powerstrocks much before. What is the easiest way to do the head gaskets and any upgrades to insure that there will be no more problems down the road. The plan is to keep the truck stock and maybe add a chip later. We do not have a lift so what is the easiest way to replace it and what parts will i need? we r going to be replacing both head gaskets and not just the side that is blown. Thanks for the advice guys.
 
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ARP headstuds and stock gaskets are the way to go. can be done cab on but make sre you have the heads magnafluxed for cracks and checked for warping. its going to be a pita to get those back ones.
 
It can be done in cab but its a PITA for sure. Lemme see if i can find the post of some dude who did it. It may not have been on this forum. I'll PM it to you.
 
I do them quite often here at my shop. The way we do it is remove the engine, stock headgasket's and ARP's. Not really that big of a deal, we normally do the EGR delete at the same time and address any other issue's we see. Not trying to plug for my shop, just offering advise. Gary
 
any advice is great. Were is the best place to get the studs and the gasket from. Would the stealership be ok to get the gasket from? Were can i get the egr blocker at also. I knew it was going to be a pain in the a** to do it without a lift. Would it be any help to put the cab up a little bit like on jack stands. just to raise it a couple of inches or no. I know we have to get the heads checked to make sure they r flat.
 
Gaskets

Dealership is WAY expensive for headgaskets. I believe you have to buy the kit including the headbolts that you DONT use anyway. If you need some factory headgaskets let me know. I have a few sets new in the boxes.
 
Yea i will need some head gaskets to fit. PM me with the price and all that. i told the guy that it will take us two weeks to get everything all done and buttoned up. i am working on it all this week and have to get the heads done.
 
Ok so the truck is putting out white smoke when it is cold. once the truck is warm it stops. is that still a blow head gasket or is it something else?
 
When I dont have a lift, I will undo all the cab bolts and lift the front of the cab up till it just about hits the box. Gives you that just enough room to work on them without wanting to kill someone... lol
 
no the truck had the egr system replaced about a year and a half ago. They also said they flushed the motor to get rid of all the junk in it. Should i start with the egr delete? How long does it take to do the egr delete?
 
Pull the EGR solenoid out of the intake and look at it. Any sign's of water getting around it will let you know if the cooler has bursted again. It should be extremely sooty and sticky with all that crud, if it's nice and clean do the delete. I think the book call's for 6 or 8 hours just for the cooler. Gary
 
ok any more opinions on what else it could be? i pulled the egr solenoid and it was kinda sooty and it had some coolant on the valve inside it on the top. there was no water or coolant inside the manifold.
 
so there was fluid on the egr valve? if so then its another bad egr cooler...
 
Thanks guys. I am going to do the egr delete and get ride of that system completly. I was also talking to the guy that i get parts from and he told me i have to run a tunner to turn off the egr system. If i did just the delete and didn't fix the computer it would throw a code. Is this true? i thought it was in the 06 and up that it would throw a check engine code.
 
i think youre right on the years, but maybe it started in 05? on my 04, it never threw a code when i unplugged the valve. and Doug (PSDplayer) has a really nice EGR deleted manifold if youd want to go that route.. ive got one on my truck, and love it!
 
what other route do i have if i don't get the manifold that is welded? Can i just get the plate and weld it to my excisting manifold? Like i said i am not a powerstroke guys. I have seen kits with the manifold and with out. which is the best and what is the difference?
 
heres a couple of pics of my manifold that Doug deleted the egr on.. if you dont want to go this route, you will need to find a way to block off the coolant flow through the manifold, block off the exhaust portion, and then you could either use a plate or just leave the valve in.. i went with Dougs manifold because of the way he built everything, and the price.


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